BIOGRAPHY

Hannah is a Canadian, self-taught oil painter, based in the small hamlet of Bezanson, AB. While working full time as an oilfield medic, she pursues art in her free time. Beginning her art journey since the age of 3, nature has always been her biggest inspiration. Without formal training, she works primarily with oils and has experience in several other mediums such as watercolour, graphite pencil, and acrylics. Her inspiration is rooted in the works of Robert Bateman, Jill Soukup, Dustin Van Wechel, and Mark Boedges.

At the age of ten, Hannah sold her first commission, jumpstarting the idea to turn her art into a career. Over the years she has participated in many juried events and competitions and received several awards for her artistic talent, including recognition at a national level. In 2017, her art was chosen to be placed permanently on a utility box in the city of Grande Prairie, AB. For the 2023-2024 Remembrance Day Contest, she won 3rd place nationally and 1st place provincially in the senior black and white level. For the 2025-2026 Stampede Poster Competition, she made it into the top 30 and was given the opportunity to attend several photography and artist feedback masterclasses with Covy Moore, Jill Cross, Kristy North Peigan, Doug Levitt, and Brian Bastita.

Although Hannah is self-taught, she has taken several classes and workshops to help develop her skills in her career. In her youth, she took watercolour and mixed media workshops at the Centre for Creative Arts in Grande Prairie, AB. She also joined Susan Woolgar in a landscape painting workshop with the Federation of Canadian Artists in 2019 and has been mentored by Elizabeth Hutchinson in several one-on-one sessions in 2023.

Hannah has also had experience teaching children’s drawing classes at the Markevich Creative Studio in Grande Prairie. She occasionally hosts acrylic painting classes for adults at her mother’s flower farm, Sunflower and Swallow, AB.

Hannah’s art has been exhibited in two local youth exhibitions at the Centre for Creative Arts in Grande Prairie. Her work is held in many private collections, internationally. Starting in 2019 Hannah became a supporting member of the Federation of Canadian Artists and in 2025, she was accepted as an Exhibiting member, allowing her to submit her work into exhibitions with the federation.

Through commission work, competitions, and a few workshops, Hannah has flourished in her artistic abilities as well as finding her own unique style and voice. In her pursuit of art, she continues to strengthen her skills and find new opportunities to share her perspective as an artist. Currently, she aims to display her work in further exhibitions and learn more about teaching her own masterclasses.

Artist's Statement

I am an oil painter of Alberta, painting stories close to home. Rooted in the forests, foothills, and wide skies of Western Canada, I create realistic, emotionally resonant paintings focused on wildlife, landscapes, and local agriculture. My work blends detailed observation with a quiet, almost meditative stillness that reflect my connection to the natural world. I am drawn to animals who pause in transition - watching, waiting, disappearing into the woods. Other times, my attention is caught by layered hills, trickling creeks, or fallen trees, inspired by the movement in their stillness.

The gaze of a wild animal is never casual to an artist. They see more than we do and ask for nothing in return. My primary role as an oil painter is to capture more than anatomy, but the soul and story of each creature in its natural habitat. I want the viewer to feel sense of intimacy, respect and wonder. Similarly with landscapes, I aim to highlight the movement in what is still or the beauty in what is often overlooked. These quiet moments and unique connections with nature spark my curiosity to uncover the layers beneath them and share these discoveries with other people.

My background and love of natural science informs my work, but my approach is always intuitive. I let gesture, light and texture guide the storytelling, often taking inspiration from my own field studies, photographs and time spent hiking, observing and simply being in nature. I work primarily with oil on canvas, starting with an underpainting, where I will exaggerate edges and play with large shapes. Colour is placed overtop of the underpainting, making it easier to focus on subtle hue and saturation shifts. Once a general impression of the subject has been established, I move into thin layers of finer brushwork in certain areas to create the illusion of depth. This process is slow, but through delicate decision making I am able to bring the subject to life.

CV

Bezanson, AB, Canada

780 - 831 - 8018

@HannahShkolnyArt

I have recently graduated with honours through an online homeschooling program with the Center for Learning at Home. As a self-taught artist, I sold my first commissioned piece at the age of ten. Over the past eight years, I have continued to create commissioned works, developed bodies of work for exhibitions, and earned numerous awards for my art, including recognition at the national level.

Education

2024 – Centre For Learning at Home

High School Diploma – Chem 30, Bio 30, Math 30, Social 30, English 30, Art 30

Public Exhibitions

2018 - Center For The Creative Arts - Black & White Show

2017 - Center For The Creative Arts – Youth exhibition

2017 - Utility Box Beautification Program – chosen and paid for permanent artwork by the city of Grande Prairie

Art Awards

2025 – Beautiful BC Exhibition with the Federation of Canadian Artists

2025 – Small Exhibition with the Federation of Canadian Artists

2025 – Calgary Stampede Youth Art Competition – Top 30

2024 – Grande Prairie Stompede Art Competition – 1st Place with $3000 compensation. Judged by Elizabeth Hutchenson

2023 – Legion Remembrance Day Poster – 3rd place in Canada $750

2023 – Grande Prairie Stompede Art Competition – People’s Choice Award $300 award

2022 – Legion Remembrance Day Poster – 2nd place in Alberta $250

2017 – GP Canada 150 Art Competition – 1st place 2017- Grande Prairie Utility Box Art Competition – permanent location in city and paid an artist fee to have displayed permanently

Experience

Nov 2024 – Feb 2025 – Art Teacher

Worked at the Markevich Creative Art Studio in Grande Prairie as a youth art teacher.