"Americans, as with citizens of other countries, were not only buying photographs of themselves, but also collecting photographs of celebrities."

I had an incredible week of research at the Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity along with visits to the Archives at the Whyte Museum...and I finally got to visit the Moore & Whyte historical homes after 25 years! So exciting. The Museum had a wonderful exhibit of J.E.H. MacDonald paintings but, I have to say that I am partial to his studies rather than his large complete paintings. I remember feeling the same when I saw Tom Thompson's work at the Winnipeg Art Gallery many, many years ago. There was a lot of reading, good eating, walks and visits with wildlife - a fox crossed our path (a good omen, I think!). I am so grateful to archivists Paul Hickling at the Paul D. Fleck Library & Archives at the Banff Centre and Elizabeth Kundert-Cameron at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies.

When Veronica Funk decided to take art history classes in 2021, she hoped things had changed since her time as an art student in the 1980s.

She says she was disappointed to find they hadn't.

"The lectures discussed women as a male artist's wife or a male artist's daughter rather than them as artists in their own right," she said. 

Funk says she's learned that a lot of female artists in Alberta were successful in their day despite unequal opportunities compared to their male counterparts. But they've been on the sidelines of conversations about Alberta's art history. 

Her project "Women of the West" is trying to address that by painting portraits of female painters from Alberta's past. These will be exhibited alongside those artists' stories and images of their work.

The public can watch Funk work on the project at the Alberta Society of Artists' Crossroads Market gallery this fall as its first-ever artist-in-residence.

"I want people to see what a great history and legacy these women have left here in our province," she said.

Artist aims to inspire"The focus of my work has become storytelling — honouring the lives and stories of women through portraiture." 

That's what it says at the top of Funk's Instagram page. Scroll down and rows of colourful portraits of women from projects like "Woman's Work" — a series that drew attention to how women were disproportionately affected by pandemic job losses — show what she means.

A mother to two adult daughters, Funk says she felt like so much progress had been made on gender equality in her lifetime. 

"It just keeps getting highlighted in my daughters' era. I was really hoping we were much beyond this," she said.

By uncovering the stories of women of the past, she hopes to inspire today's women.

"I think when you see somebody else's success as a woman, you realize that you can achieve that success as well," she said.

She says everyone can take something away from learning about these women. And hopes that, by seeing the work, people learn what she feels should be essential Alberta history.

"I find every time I'm sharing these stories with other people, they're amazed by them. The things that I think should be common knowledge are not."

The process of finding that knowledge and making it common isn't so simple, though.

Funk says it isn't always easy to find information about women in the arts as their work often wasn't written about or documented as extensively as men.

To further her research, Funk visited archives, including Lethbridge's Galt Museum and Archives, where she worked with archivist Bobbie Fox.

The Galt's archives hold photographs, diaries, audio recordings and more related to southern Alberta. Some items in the collection date as far back as the late 1800s.

"We've had so many amazing female and women artists. So I immediately helped her do searching on our database to bring some of those stories out," said Fox.

One of those artists was Edith Fannie Kirk.

Born in England in 1858, Kirk was a painter who lived in Lethbridge for the last 35 years of her life. Described as an adventurer, Kirk painted watercolours of Lethbridge and surrounding prairie and mountain landscapes.

According to a 2015 exhibition at the Galt, Kirk was educated at prestigious art schools in England and France and didn't hesitate to share that knowledge with the community.

In black and white newspaper photos, Kirk can be seen with the Lethbridge Sketch Club, which she was influential in setting up in 1936. The group continues to exist today as the Lethbridge Artists Club.
Project is 'life's work,' says artist

These photos and notes are just the beginning, though. Funk has visits to the Banff Centre and Whyte Museum lined up to look at their archives.

After that, she plans on visiting archives in Edmonton.

"Over the next year, I think I'm going to be making lots of visits everywhere and lots of emails and phone calls," she said.

She has a two-year plan for the project that includes exhibits and a possible book, but the more she learns, the more she feels there is to be done.

"It totally feels like it'll be my life's work," she said.

In this month's eNewsletter I have included a draw for another True North Tarot Deck. To sign up for the newsletter or to send an email to be included in the draw, please visit my Contact page here.

I recently had the opportunity to take part in a wonderful interview with Tabitha Lester of the Calgary Art Community. I thought the questions were lovely:

What first inspired you to try art?
I have always loved art and cannot remember a time in my life that I wasn’t drawn to all forms of arts and crafts. At 4 years of age I learned to crochet and hand sew. In grade 3 I began drawing the Archie comics because I was named after Veronica; my parents had immigrated from South America and my mother used comics to learn English. I was fascinated by the Indigenous art and anything handmade When I moved to Alberta during grade 11, I was finally given the opportunity to study drawing and painting formally in drafting and art classes then went on to study Art & Design at Red Deer College in the mid-1980s.
Was there ever a moment you wanted to quit art all together, and if so what brought passion and inspiration back?

About 15 years ago I became discouraged by the art world. At that time my work was represented by galleries in Canada and the U.S.A. Sometimes work would be damaged or ‘go missing’ and at others I wasn’t paid for sold work or received very hurtful criticism and I decided to give up after 10 years of professional representation. I donated supplies and studio furniture and decided to focus on my other work and family. I began bursting into tears randomly and thought that I had finally succumbed to clinical depression, which is common in my family history. At dinner one night as I was crying I said I didn’t know what was wrong but my daughters (quite young at the time) told me, “Mommy, you just need to paint.” I began painting again for me and haven’t looked back since.
Have you gone to art school or are you self taught? If you’re self taught what resources or exercises did you use to learn?

I studied Art & Design in the 1980s, then went on to mentor with a painter, a potter and a stone sculptor through the Winnipeg Art Gallery. When I returned to Alberta 25 years ago, I received the most encouraging unofficial mentorship from Alberta artist Audrey Mabee. I loved what I learned and all the different media I was exposed to in art school and really appreciated all the encouragement I received from my instructors, but I think I learned the most from professional artists. The biggest lesson was to trust myself.
What is the most challenging part about being an artist for you? How did you overcome that challenge?

There have been several challenges ranging from learning new media, I used to work in woodcut prints, had a kiln to create hand built sculpture, was accepted into Fashion Design in Ontario – I didn’t end up going – and returned to my first love…painting, to physical challenges. My studio is in my home so changing the type of paint I use throughout the years to accommodate that has been challenging but fun. Also, a number of years ago I developed adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder) in both my shoulders. After many years of treatment, I have had to give up working on the large canvases I preferred so I began creating larger bodies of work on smaller canvases. That was another wonderful turning point for me though it also brought challenges, such as how and where to exhibit the work as it isn’t typically shown in commercial galleries.
What does art mean to you?

It means everything. Not only does it help with my mental health as I don’t struggle with anxiety or depression when I create regularly, it is also incredible to hear how my work affects others deeply. That is so rewarding.
What would you recommend to new artists trying to build a career? What are the keys to success?
The first thing is to trust your instincts…pay attention to what you like to create and how you like to create it, don’t worry about what is popular because that changes rapidly. The second would be to treat yourself as a professional artist…create your own website, there are many great free platforms out there. Finally, try things out to see if they resonate with you (ie. Markets, check gallery websites for their submission process,
Print-on-demand like Society6/Red Bubble, etc) but don’t spend any money that you cannot afford to loose. This is a great way to see how you like to present your work in the world. I also have a page on my website with information from this to stretching canvas and finding inspiration (www.veronicafunk.com/free-art-esources.html).
What would you go back and tell your younger artistic self if you could?

Several years ago I wrote a list of what I would tell my younger self:
Ten Things...
1/24/2013
Recently I came across a photo from art school and wondered, 'What would I tell my 20-year-old self now?'...and these ten things came to mind:
1. Don't hold too tightly to anything...letting go allows you to let other, greater things in. Honestly...you'll learn this to be true.
2. Enjoy the process...seriously. The work is so much fun, don't worry about what you 'should' do or how to do it, just have fun in whatever you do and it will all fall into place.
3. Nothing happens overnight...it takes time to build a portfolio, and more importantly, to build your character.
4. The tough stuff, both personally and professionally, usually precludes the good stuff. Those 'dark nights of the soul' are necessary for growth and development...it's true!
5. Don't be afraid...I know that at 20 you think you feel infallible but fears do arise. Let them go. Just breathe.
6. Be kind and gracious to others. And when you aren't, because there will be those times, apologize...and mean it!
7. Don't complain...don't fall into the trap of negativity...it's not becoming. You always, always have a choice...whether that is to change your attitude or your circumstances. It's not someone else's fault or job to make you happy. It's up to you.
8. Keep working. Whether that is caring for yourself, your home, your family, your job. Apply yourself and do your best.
9. Do it your way. There is no one-size-fits-all method of success. Trust your heart. If you want to teach, teach. If you want to write, write. If you want to do many things, do them. If you do what is true to you, you will find joy.
10. Keep learning...by talking to others, reading, taking classes. Even if it doesn't feel connected to what you do, it will trigger ideas.
Where do you see yourself in the future? What are some of your goals?

Right now my goal is to figure out how I want to use watercolour as it has been my latest challenge. I’ve also become interested in more Artist Residencies in order to spend some time to work on a new body of work, one that focuses on women again.
What drives the inspiration in your paintings? How would you describe your style?

My biggest inspiration is the world around me and how I respond to it. The ‘Simple Pleasures’ series focused on interiors as I had two babies who had to be nursed for over two years because of sensitivities so I sketched the room around me while I sat then transferred those sketches to large canvases. My ‘Sacred Vessel’ canoes began because I had missed northern Manitoba, the Churchill River, the boreal forest for so long and the work helped to ground me. The idea for the portrait projects actually started because my youngest daughter suggested I paint portraits because I hadn’t done them since I applied for college – then the work work high realism in pencil, which I didn’t enjoy so I began utilizing colour and pattern in an illustrative manner. The ‘Nasty Women’ were a positive spin on a negative political situation: ‘The Grandmothers’ was inspired after I learned that my great grandmother had utilized a Canadian medical book to learn about sterilization in South America, her photograph is apparently still displayed in a hospital in Paraguay and began just before COVID19; ‘Woman’s Work’ was a response to the fact that women were predominately affected by job loss during COVID19.
My style traditionally features pattern and colour though that has been changing slightly lately. The focus of my work has become storytelling…honouring the lives + stories of women through portraiture

"Copyright laws enacted contemporaneously in England protected photographers' rights over those of the subject."

“Color is the place where our brain and the universe meet.”

– Paul Klee

“Art is not a thing, it is a way.”

– Elbert Hubbard