Gail was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. She began her art training at age seven from a prominent Alberta artist. Taking weekly art labs lasting two to three hours, it demonstrated to her parents that the decision to enroll Gail into these advanced lessons was the correct decision. Being exposed to art at such an early age allowed Gail to experience many different mediums.

These early lessons formed Gail's ability to capture through the study of live models, her lifelike originals of both the human and animal form.

Today Gail is a full time artist and has a successful art school; "Gail Adams School of Art". Gail with her two assistant art teachers still demonstrate the same commitment and dedication of exposing over 250 students to the true appreciation and love of art.

Although Rosa currently resides in Edmonton, Alberta, she was born in the Netherlands. As a youngster, her mother exposed her to a world of books filled with colourful illustrations. This, of course, spawned her lifelong interest in art.

After moving to Edmonton, Rosa obtained diplomas in 'Fine Art' and 'Fiber Art' from Grant MacEwan Community College. Her education also includes numerous art courses and workshops from the University of Alberta, NAIT, and Red Deer College. After studying fused and slumped glass with Boyce Lundstrom in Oregon, she now focuses almost exclusively on glass.

Rosa has always appreciated the chance to learn and improve on her artistic ability. Today, she enjoys the youthful exuberance of her students, and has used them to bring out the playfulness in her own style.

StillArt Photography is a home - based business started by friends Amy Miller-Longson and Samantha Franke. Through the art of photography, they strive to share their passion for nature, animals and the hidden beauties in our world.

Both Amy and Samantha are self-taught photographers. When not taking photos, Amy is kept busy in her small animal veterinary practice in Devon Alberta, horseback riding and spending time with her husband. Samantha also is employed at the veterinary clinic and has her hands full being a part-time student, and looking after her two beautiful horses.

I was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. I started drawing at the age of 12. I started painting (in oils) at the age of 14 until the age of 19. I drew and painted mostly wildlife. Then, I stopped drawing and painting for 22 years.

In 2006, at the age of 41, I experienced a life changing event. Due to that experience, I decided to return to something I love. Painting. I simply love watercolour paintings. I have been taking classes and being mentored by Willie Wong for two years now. I am also a member of the SWCA.

My name is Colleen Hutnan-Wigelsworth, my company name is White Brahma Creations. I have been making jewelry for 13 years. Everything I make is done with prayer, intention and is blessed. I make everything by hand with unique designs & I also do custom work. I guarantee my work for life & I welcome repairs. My work comes from my heart, is a physical manifestation of gratitude for life. I grown and learn with each piece I make. I see my work as having many layers. Like layers of growth represented in tree rings On one level my work is pretty; on another my most of my supplies come from our Earth mother, and the oceans; and are her children that I have been granted stewardship of. Each stone has its own color, power, vibration and can share that wisdom with us if we are open to hearing it. Life is a gift to us and what we do with it is a gift back to the Universe.

Devi is a 26-year-old elephant who is housed at the Sri Lanka National Zoological Gardens in Colombo. Devi’s style is apparent with long brush strokes and an occasional ‘dab’ of color. A paintbrush is presented to her during her painting session and if she does not want that color, a different colored paintbrush is presented. She is rewarded with fruit and sugarcane when the brush makes it to the canvas. Devi has proven to be a docile and loving elephant and it is likely that these painting sessions have increased her stimulation as a zoo animal.

Elephants in Need (EIN) is a Canadian Non-Profit Organization protecting wild elephants and enriching the lives of captive elephants in Sri Lanka through public education and fundraising.

EIN began working to support Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage and teaching elephants to paint in Sri Lanka in 2003. Through our activities it is hoped to create awareness about the plight of elephants, provide enrichment for captive elephants, and raise funds by selling paintings.

Dianne Meili, a Cree-Metis writer and artist, has been "playing with mud" and making pottery for five years. She focuses on pieces that are a joy to use and behold, often sculpting animals and other Aboriginal symbols into the the cups, plates, bowls, teapots, statues and masks she makes. All of her pottery is high-fired and her glazes are lead-free, microwave and dishwasher safe. Her signature long-legged spirit horses have become quite a hit in Edmonton, judging from recent craft shows she's attended. She decorates her spirit horses with horse hair tails, elk skin manes, and tucks mountain medicines, turquoise medallions and crystals into the "blanket rolls" each horse carries. If you want a unique, one-of-a-kind gift for yourself, or for a friend or relative, be sure to visit Dianne.

Doug is primarily a self-taught artist. He completed a Commercial Art program at the College of Trades and Technology and 1st year of a Fine Arts Degree program through Memorial University of Newfoundland. Doug is versed in many mediums including oil, acrylic, pastel, watercolor, colored pencil, photography, pen and ink, graphite and wood carving. Doug’s current works are in oil. His paintings are rendered impressionistically with a knife. His work is influenced by Tom Thompson and the Group of Seven and Bruno Cote.

Don has traveled extensively and has a collection of photography representing all corners of the globe. His favorite city to photograph, however, is Edmonton and he especially likes to capture nature and wildlife in the city’s river valley and Hawrelak Park.

Gayle Taylor is a native of Alberta, Canada, born in Fort McMurray and growing up in Calgary. She now resides in the Warm-Hearted Community of Bon Accord, Alberta. A self-created artist, Gayle has started her vision to become an artist at an early age and today is striving to create more unique and personalized art working mainly in acrylics. She is also a member of the Visual Arts of Alberta Association and ArtWanted.com as well has taken a course, Making Art Your Business, at the University of Calgary. Having worked in many jobs to support her art, Gayle is now working full-time in her home studio.

Gus is a self taught artist who started painting 11 years ago when he retired. His love of nature as a child growing up in rural Alberta is evident in his painting. He starts putting paint on his work and lets it speak to him. As the landscape takes shape he starts to see the wild life that could be there. He tries to paint so the viewer feels like he can walk into the picture. He brings the animals he paints to life by showing their strength and beauty using many colors, shapes and textures and a palette knife which gives an illusion of the animals coming off the work of art.

Heidi was born in Sweden but came to Canada at a very early age. She comes from an artistic background her grandfather was a wood carver and Master Carpenter in Germany.

Heidi has been involved in various artistic mediums over the years but it wasn’t until 3 years ago that she enrolled in the Hidden Talent Art School in St. Albert to pursue her desire to paint. “I decided to take the plunge and give it a year to see if I could actually paint something I would be proud to hang on my wall. From the moment my brush it the canvas, I was hooked and have been painting ever since.” Heidi paints in Oils and her main interests are painting wildlife and people.

Julie Popowicz has been drawing for over 30 years, experimenting in mediums such as watercolour and pastel before deciding on pencil as her media of choice. Having no formal art training, she has slowly taught herself how to create such realistic works. Art runs in her family, and she is most happy when she is continuing this tradition.

Julie was born in Germany, and now lives in Alberta, Canada, with her husband, Mike, and two children. Her interest in art has been lifelong and she has always particularly enjoyed drawing people. She likes working with pencil, partly because of the convenience ("you can draw almost anytime, anywhere"), but also because she finds a "special beauty in the simplicity of a pencil drawing."

Julie does portrait commissions of people and animals, and is always experimenting with new subject matter to further develop her skills in artistic expression.

Leanne Schnierer is a native Edmontonian. She has been painting for 17 years in acrylic and 3 years in watercolour. Leanne has recently discovered a love of pet portraits in pencil. As a member of the Society of Western Canadian Artists (S.W.C.A.), she is becoming more active in her love of art and is striving to create unique paintings and animal portraits. Leanne can be contacted at petportraits@telus.net

I was born and raised in Alberta and began painting at a very young age. I studied fine art at both Grant MacEwan College and the University of Alberta. My work is in numerous public and private collections throughout Canada, the United States and England. I have been published in publications such as Prime-Time magazine, Synchronicity, See magazine and Mosiac magazine. Painting has been a passion for me all my life. Professionally, I have been creating for over 10 years. While I'm away from the easel, I partake in activities such as thrift shopping, going to the library, reading, watching my birds outside at the bird feeder, riding my bike(weather permitting), watching old movies, and crocheting...

Louise is an Edmonton artist who belongs to the Edmonton art club and SAVA- a society for Alberta Francophone artists. She is a retired teacher who taught art and completed the art certificate program at the University Faculty of Extension after her retirement. She loves to experiment with artistic effects in different mediums.

Lucy is the Valley Zoo’s resident elephant artist. She was born in Sri Lanka, and found as an orphan. Her exact year of birth is unknown, but is guessed as being 1975. Lucy enjoys painting, and her work is prized as it is highly original. Her paintings include brush motions with horizontal lines, dabs, and circles, which are rare for an elephant to demonstrate. The zoo keepers who work with Lucy say that the paintings created with these unusual brushstrokes are done when she is feeling very happy, content, and goofy.

Megan has been inspired by the world around her since she can remember. She has always had a heart for Mother Earth, and all creatures created. She has pursued Art for many years, and has found her greatest passion in Oil painting, pencil crayons, graphite, and tattooing, although she is open to many other art forms that may come her way. She is a full time mother to three children whom she hopes are as inspired by this beautiful planet and all creatures upon it as she is. As a mother she is learning the fine balance of parenting and finding enough time to create all the art she has within her. Enjoy.

Melissa Ryan - Melissa's Blog - Melissa at CafePress

Melissa Ryan has been welcoming people to enjoy her creative chaos professionally for over six years. She has a BA and a BFA from Concordia Univ. Mtl. She spends most of her time selling her art at local markets, festivals, and vending on the street. She has participated in over seven festivals and has created over six solo shows from Halifax to Toronto to Edmonton and she has her work available online, in stores and in galleries in each province. She just completed two artists in residencies. The first at The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in N.S. where she carved a ships figurehead, and she just finished documenting on canvas the equipment used by the Canadian forces at CFB Gagetown. For this Fundraiser she will be diving deep and painting a series on sea turtles, penguins and seals.

Ming Zhen Wang - For more information on Chinese paper cutting, visit: www.travelchinaguide.com

Ming Zhen Wang is a professor at Beihua University of China and is currently in Edmonton visiting family. She has been a traditional Chinese Paper Cutter for many years and her work has been displayed at University exhibitions. The most popular paper cutting designs are the animals of the Chinese zodiac, but she also has other works including ducks, lotus flowers and eagles. Ming can also do custom paper cuttings from pictures.

Ngam, also known as "Chapati", is a fifteen year old Elephant with a singular past. Abandoned by his mother after his birth in Isreal, he was given to the Thailand Elephant Conservation Center by the Jerusalem Zoo. Coincidentally, he was flown across Asian in a jumbo jet.

He possesses gorgeous, symmetrical tusks, earrning him the nickname Phlai Ngam ("beautiful tusks") from his mahouts (trainers). Thoughtful, vertical lines characterize his artistic style.

I was born in Kent, England. I moved to Edmonton with my family in 1981 and I now reside in Leduc. Although I first tried painting in England when I was 16, it was not until 1994 when I joined Leduc Art Club that I began to paint seriously. I credit local painters Coral Horner and Jim McIntyre with helping me develop composition and technique, and Tyler Thompson and Gail Adams with inspiring me to strive for new levels in my work.

I was immediately drawn to wildlife painting and especially working in oils that allow me to bring out richness when painting fur and feathers. All forms of wildlife interest me but I am especially drawn to North American and African animals.

The tactile quality of working in the fibre medium drives my desire to explore the combination of colour, line and imagery to create works that are often themed toward environmental issues and those related to conservation of wildlife and geography. Combined with these themes I also explore my role as a feminist working in a medium that was historically used to subjugate women. I start work with pure white cloth and build up layers of paint, cloth and thread using a myriad of techniques including photo transfers, screen printing, block printing, dyeing and painting on fabric.

I was born and raised in Edmonton. I am 28 years old and have a passion for animals of all kinds. I work in a Veterinary hospital as a Veterinary nurse. I have been interested in art and creating art for 14 years. My paintings include wide variety of genres including surrealism/realism, animals/wildlife, and contemporary pieces. I work mainly with acrylics and charcoal on canvas.

Up until June of 2007 Sandra ran her own successful commercial interior design business but ran away to join the circus of brushes and palettes that whispered to her infant heart. Her unique gift for revealing the beautiful spirit in heavenly creatures and whimsical spaces has brought her much attention in a very short period of time. Her work has been championed as ‘masterpiece’ by well known national artist Bernadette McCormick. Sandra has been a guest of ‘Night of Artists’ events and has been featured at local Edmonton art galleries such as the Centre d’arts visuels de l’Alberta. She has recently been cavorting with local note makers and players, particularly Sue Hodge, to marry the essence of her art to music. The results have manifested a broader creative experience for both the performers and the appreciative audience.

My name is Shareen Baker, I grew up in beautiful South Africa and after meeting a wonderful Canadian man, got married and moved to Canada, I have been living here for 5 years now. I have always had a love for art, and am a Graphic Designer by trade. I got into Lampworking a year ago and love working in this new limitless medium.

Lampworking is individually made glass beads. Narrow rods of Italian Morretti/Effetre glass are melted over the flame of a torch, the molten glass is then wound around a mandrel and holding it in different positions allows gravity to help the bead take form, tools are also used to create the desired shape. Different glass colours are added to create patterns on the bead. Each bead is then carefully kiln annealed for durability. I then assemble them into unique pieces of jewellery using sterling silver, pewter, copper and Swarovski crystals.

Som Chai was born 8 years ago to a private owner in Chiang Mai. He is too small to be an elephant taxi and carry people, so he was sent to the Thai Elephant Conservation Center for training until he becomes larger. Som Chai is just learning to paint and his lines are very vertical.

Wanalee was born in 1998 at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center. An enthusiastic member of the Lampang Elephant Art Academy, she is a chubby, charming young artist. Her paintings are characterized by a dramatic "sweeping arc" style. Wanalee is a Royal Elephant as she was adopted by Her Royal Highness Princess Galayani of Thailand. One of Wanalee’s canvases sold for 1,000 pounds at Bloxham's Gallery, in London.