For most artists, there are milestone events in a career.
Developing an interest in art, studying, learning and gaining the needed skills, possibly selling a first work, and proudly having a solo show of your own at a gallery or arts-related venue.
Then there’s a real biggie – like being chosen as the artist whose work will grace the front of the Melissa’s Road Race (Sept. 28) official T-shirt.
This year, the 34th annual for the uberpopular 10- and 22-kilometre road race, the Melissa’s shirt will feature the artwork of Banff’s Karen Minish.
“I’m really excited about this,” said Minish. “I was approached by Deb Boutilier when I was in Melissa’s last September. She’d bought a little painting of mine from my first show about 15 years ago, and she asked if I was interested in doing something for the shirt. I said ‘absolutely.’
“I’m really excited to see what my painting will look like on a shirt, especially when a couple of thousand people are wearing it.”
Minish’s work, done specifically for the Melissa’s shirt, On Fire, is an acrylic painting designed to fit the shirt format. The work, like the shirt, though, won’t be revealed until race day.
“And afterward, the painting is kept in the restaurant at Melissa’s, so that’s pretty exciting,” said Minish. “And, I thought it was important for me to have a show at the same time as the road race is on.”
With the timing falling together nicely, a Minish show of acrylic paintings, Colour Explosion, will be hung at Wild Flour Banff’s Artisan Bakery Café in September, with the official opening on Friday (Sept. 6), from 6-9 p.m.
“It was serendipitous that they had an opening,” she said. “I’m in there for the whole month.”
While many Valley residents will be familiar with Minish’s vocal endeavours with Bow Valley Chorus, Variety Nights, Christmas and seasonal shows, as well as on stage in opera, musical theatre, film and cabarets around North America, the Manitoba native is also a self-taught visual artist.
Her visual arts talents range from stage props and set designs to stained glass and papier mache sculptures and acrylic and watercolour paintings.
“Mostly I paint with acrylics,” she said, “because I’m impatient and like to work fast. The Colour Explosions show will be new works I’ve been working on for the past few months.
“It’s an eclectic mix; whimsical, very colourful, some abstract and, because of my prairie roots, I guess, skies come into play. I love the drama in the sky.”
Minish’s last show was in the Banff Civic Centre, Jewel Tones, in 2011. Her works have also been hung in the Banff library and at Cornerstone Theatre in Canmore. She’s also taken part in group shows with the Canmore Artist’s Guild, Homegrown Art show in the Banff Town Hall and at Canmore Hospital’s Art from the Heart.
Along with her “first” of a design for the Melissa’s shirt, Minish has also completed her first diptych, Purple Giant, which features bison. “I’ve never tackled animal before in a painting,” she said. “And it’s pretty imposing, so I’m pretty excited about this one.”
