Jeannette Hay

Animal Fine Artist

 

Bio

 

 

Jeannette was born in Montreal Canada and from an early age it was obvious to all that she had a special connection with animals.

 

At age four she moved with her family to England, as a teenager – she was enrolled into the Chantry School of Art in the heart of beautiful Devonshire, England where she graduated two years later. After three years in Spain, she enrolled into the Graphic Design Course at George Brown College where she later obtained her Graphic Design Certification. There followed some years of specializing in logo design both in Canada and Massachusetts, USA before returning to her first love, that of animals.

 

On returning to Toronto, her works were soon in high demand as an animal portraitist. It was during this time period that she got the cover of Canadian Arabian News magazine, she also entered and won the Toronto (Ontario, Canada) Library competition and received a medallion presented by the Mayor of East York, (a borough of Toronto) for Outstanding Artistic Achievement.

 

Concerned by the rapid disappearance of certain wildlife she was urged into works that often have a spiritual and an environmental message within them.

 

"With each of my paintings I endeavour to move people emotionally. Hopefully that emotion will motivate them to safeguard and improve their own environment. Everyone needs to be brought to an understanding that to protect their own personal environment they must also protect those of our endangered species.

Man is the only creature who is actually actively destroying his very own environment ! On this planet as we plunder our natural resources and sacrifice our wildlife, this cannot be successfully sustained ultimately – you reap what you sow - so let’s all work towards a single goal - for all of us to live & survive on this planet in abundance!"

 

Jeannette is accomplished in watercolour, coloured pencils, oils, photography graphite and scratch board techniques. More recently, she has been working & exploring in acrylics, which have become a new passion for her.

 

"I started working in coloured pencils before it was "fashionable" or accepted. Now of course it is a fully accepted medium. I love them because it gives me the bounce and clarity of watercolour without trying to balance the water, the paint, brushes and pad when I am out in the field, for example in a horse stable, or a barn full of animals. I find it quite freeing in that way.

 

In December of 2000 while temporarily living in Los Aneles she worked on a public art project there called the Community of Angeles with her friend and fellow Canadian artist Lura Schmiedeke.

 

Their proposed design was one of the first twenty to be picked out of some 2000 designs submitted to be painted and completed in a matter of two months. Their angel design “Guardian of the Skies”  was one of 400 angles to be picked & go on public display in downtown Los Angels from Feb 2001-May 2001. Later It was chosen as  one of eighty decorated angels to be auctioned off at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in downtown Los Angeles by Sotherbys  with all the proceeds going to two charities, Catholic Big Brothers and Volunteers of America.

 

She has now returned again to her native country, Canada and has re-started her animal portrait business again.

 

She continues to paint and draw what she loves most – animals.

 

Her work can be found in various private collections both in Europe, Canada and the USA. She is a member of both the Artists for A Better World International and Toronto Artists for a Better World as well as the Scarborough Arts Council.

 

 

Favorite Quote:

"We are responsible not merely for our own happiness; we affect and are affected by the concerns of all others on this globe."

- Dalai Lama

 

 

 

Exhibitions

2005 – The Bluffs Gallery, group showing, Scarborough Arts Council, Toronto Canada.

2005 – Art in the Park, Scarborough Arts Council, Toronto Canada.

2004 - AHA! Artists Helping Artists Art Exhibition, Pasadena Conference Center CA, USA.

2004     -  AHA! Artists Helping Artists Art Exhibition, North Hollywood CA, USA

2003  -  AHA! Artists Helping Artists Art Exhibition, North Hollywood CA, USA

2002, 2003, 2004 - Group exhibition, Artists for a Better World International Arts Festival, Hollywood CA, USA

2003, 2002 - Montrose Visual Art Street Fair, CA.

2001, 2002, 2003 - Group exhibition, Visual Artists Association Celebrity Center, Hollywood, CA.

2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 – The Rose Breast Cancer Variety Arts Show, Hollywood CA, USA

2000  -  Arts Festival, Festive Earth Society, Toronto, Canada

1999, 2000 -  The Visual Artists Association of Celebrity Center International – Valentines Day Art Exhibition & Sale, benefiting the Hollywood Education & Literacy Project.

1999  -  Toronto Artists for a Better World Annual group show

1999  -  Say No To Drugs, Say Yes To Life, Summer Street Festival, Toronto, Canada

1998  -  Toronto Artists for a Better World Annual group show

1997  -  Toronto Artists for a Better World Annual group show

1993  -  The Gallery at the Fairways, Mississagua, Ontario

1989  -  Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Nathan Philips Square Toronto, Canada                   

1987  -  Toronto Library juried competition winner, showed in all participating Libraries, Toronto, Canada

 

 

Founder

 

2001 - Co-Founder Artists for a Better World International, Los Angels, CA USA

1998 - 2000  President, Toronto, Artists for a Better World, Toronto, Canada

1995 - Co-founder: Toronto, Artists for a Better World, Canada

1988 - Founder:  “The Artists Group” - Vancouver, BC, Canada

1978 - Co-Founder G.A.S.A – (Graphic Arts Students Association,)     

                                                George Brown College, Toronto, Canada.

 

 

Awards

 

2004 - Honorable Mention, Call to Arts! Juried Visual art Competition

1999 - Civil Commendation - Mayor of Toronto:

For involvement in the decision making process and enthusiastically giving time and skills through her membership in the Toronto Mayor's Task Force on Drugs.

 

1987 – Won the Toronto Library competition (Ontario, Canada)

1987 – Recipient from Mayor of the City of York:

“Medallion Award  - Outstanding New Artist,”  Toronto Library competition.     (Ontario, Canada)

 

1979 - George Brown College :

Graphic Design Recipient:  - St. JAMES AWARD  “Outstanding Student, with above average marks.” 

 

 

Lectures

 

2003 -Los Angeles, “How to expand your group” lecture, for Artists for a Better World International.

2001 -Toronto Artists for a Better World ("You don’t look like an Artist " workshop)

2000 -Toronto ("Solving The Artist's Suppression" workshop) Toronto,

 

 

Board Member

 

2005 – Guild Opera Company, Los Angeles, California, USA

 

 

Publications

 

2004 – Calender - Toronto Artists for a Better World International, first calendar competition one of 12 winners.

2004 - Cover  Design - “Bamboo Souls” Toronto Artists for a Better World International, Los Angeles  CA, USA

2004 - Cover Design – “The Way to Happiness” booklet for Toronto Artists for a Better World International, Los Angeles, CA, USA

2003 - Cover  Design – AHA! (Artists Helping Artists) booklet for artists.

2003 - The info Line – Your creative Guide for the foothills & Hollywood areas – CD cover promotion Hollywood, USA.

2003 - Creative Artists Forum for Expansion – “Creating the Next Millinnium – newsletter, Hollywood, CA, USA

2001  - CD Cover – “Breakin’ Out” by Boomer, Hollywood, CA, USA

1999 - The Venue – A publication of Artists Liaison Services, Issue 2 – “Introduce yourself” Toronto, Canada.

1989 - Canadian Arabian News Magazine

 

ADMIRATIONS:

 

“Her work is both striking and intriguing – the animals seem to be alive & ‘jump out’ at you.” SL 

 

“There is such detail to her work. Only a deep understanding and love for wild animals could produce such amazing work.” TC