The event included a viewing of community-contributed art exhibitions, a pencil and watercolour art demonstration from artist Maureen Harvey, and an announcement of the winners of an Ekphrastic Poetry Contest.
The evening concluded with a thank you celebration for the generous art donations from local Athabasca artists Sylvain Voyer and Maureen Harvey—who both donated a number of artworks to AU’s art collection, housed in the Thomas A. Edge Archives and Special Collections.
Sylvain Voyer
In spring 2025, Edmonton-born artist Sylvain Voyer generously donated a collection of artwork to the Athabasca University Thomas A. Edge Archives and Special Collections. The donated collection explores the Tawatinaw Valley in Athabasca, where Voyer has had a countryside studio for over 30 years. Known as plein aire painting—the act of painting outdoors—Voyer’s iconic prairie land and sky acrylics are recognized for his treatment of colour, light, and space.
Voyer was a founding member of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, a founding member and former president of the Canadian Artists Representation. Voyer was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws by Athabasca University in 2012 for his contribution to the visual arts in Alberta.
When reflecting on what drives him as an artist, Voyer said he was inspired by a message in Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax.
I was taken by the idea of this guy discovering this beautiful forest of trees. Near the end of the story he says, ‘I speak for the trees,’ and I use that as my theme.
“That was always a major thing. I wanted the sky to be very, very much like the experience I had and generally, my paintings are about my experience,” he said.
“It's much like a musician, you know, like you perform and you hope people will [resonate]. I think as an artist, I'm trying that visually."
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Maureen Harvey
Maureen Harvey has been living in Athabasca on a farm for over 50 years—a location where she has found inspiration for so many works of art. In spring 2025, she donated a collection of watercolor paintings of shoreline ice at Jenkins Lake to Athabasca University Thomas Edge Archives and Special Collections.Shoreline Series is a collection of drawings and paintings of the Jenkins Lake Shoreline in Athabasca that she created when she was inspired while walking along the beach and observing unusual shapes.
“Lying flat and resting my elbows on the ice, I took many photos. Stippled paper enhanced the texture of the snow and ice of the small compositions as well as pencils and inks for colour and shapes,” she explained.
“The larger pieces were drawn on 300 lb paper using watercolour paints, coloured pencils, and inks. The photos from Jenkins Lake inspired me to explore the shapes, the light, and the contrasts until the magic of the moment bounced from the page to the viewer.”
Lying flat and resting my elbows on the ice, I took many photos. Stippled paper enhanced the texture of the snow and ice of the small compositions as well as pencils and inks for colour and shapes.
During the World Art day event, Harvey hosted a watercolour demonstration where participants sat at tables and sketched and painted an object in front of them, with her guidance.
“The learning curve is really wonderful, and anybody who has a block and doesn't know where to begin you just, you know, get any object and just start scribbling. And it's wonderful, because I do think the exercise of drawing, for its own sake, has been forgotten by many people.”
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