MOOSE MOUNTAIN PROVINCIAL PARK - The Artist Colony of Moose Mountain Provincial Park has several new artists attending this year and Michelle Psiurski is one of them.
Psiurski was born in Regina, grew up in Rouleau and has resided in the Windthorst-Glenavon area for the past 24 years. She is married to Tim Psiurski and has two adult children: her daughter Shelby, who is a psychologist nurse and her son Logan went into farming.
Psiurski grew up with a passion for art and was always drawing or sketching something during her younger years.
A friend bought her an acrylic paint set and she began to practise different painting techniques.
She is self-taught with a little help from her mentor and longtime friend Shirley Rumble.
Her main focus is on landscapes and animal portraits, and she sources her reference photos from friends and family who are happy to help.
With having a few experienced photographers as friends, she uses those photographs for diverse backgrounds and experiments to try and find the one that complements the project on which she is working.
Most of her work is free-hand drawing, unless it is a pet portrait, then it is traced to ensure the pet is captured exactly the way the client wants.
Using acrylic paints most of the time, Psiurski has begun to use pastel pencils, which are different from pencil crayons. Pastel pencils are softer and produce a soft, more vibrant colour than an ordinary pencil. She enjoys working them.
This will be her first time at the Artist Colony through the help of her friend Rumble, who pushed her to apply.
When Psiurski was accepted previously, COVID-19 hit and the colony had to cancel all the artists, which was disappointing but understandable to her.
She applied once again this year, was accepted and will attend the Artist Colony from June 25-July 1.
Unfortunately, her friend Rumble has passed away and will not see Psiurski at the colony.
“I know that Shirley would be very proud of me,” said Psiurski.
She is also a painter by trade, working on homes on the interior and, depending on the job, the exterior. Although the projects are assorted sizes, the detail is still important.
She will have many of her paintings at the colony and hopes that people enjoy them as much as she does.
“I just like to make people happy, and I hope my art puts a smile on their face,” she said.
