Let The Water Flow - The Artistic Journey of Don Engerdhal: A Profile
Artists Roots in Hinton
Don has deep roots in the artistic community in Hinton, a testament to his years of dedication and service that have enriched the local cultural landscape. Having served for 18 years as the Town of Hinton Arts Coordinator, and 25 Years as the Artistic Director of the Performing Arts Theater of Hinton (PATH), he is a central figure in fostering the arts within our community.
His lifetime of effort in organising events, exhibitions, and workshops have not only provided platforms for local artists to showcase their talents but has cultivated an environment where art and community intertwine.
Innovation in Isolation
The onset of the global pandemic posed challenges that ended in-person events and shuttered PATH, giving Don a big blank space in his creative calendar. Seeking an artistic outlet, he took back up watercolour painting when he signed up for an online class for $7 where he could paint along with an artist based out of the UK. Since that workshop, he’s taken others including a retreat held at the Black Cat Ranch, and more online workshops with artists in Australia, and Brazil.
A few months after he got back into watercolour, members of the community started asking him to teach a class. At first he hesitated. “I thought, I’m not a qualified instructor. I’m still learning too. But then I realised that I could use that approach - I’ll learn with you. We’ll go on this journey together and see what comes of it.” Even though he says he knows he’s not an expert he can show some little tricks and things that he’s found along the way. He approached it with the idea that everyone can just explore. He’s learned more from so-called mistakes than he has through instruction, a testament to just trying things for himself.
A Philosophy of Exploration
Don’s art is characterised by exploration and a penchant for the natural world. Some of his pieces are inspired by local scenes, like his series on the Beaver Boardwalk, or mountainscapes near Folding Mountain or Jasper. Others are inspired by places he and his wife Maureen have visited like waterfalls seen on a recent trip to Iceland. He didn’t know this himself until he was an adult, but Don is brown/green colour blind. “Trees aren’t always brown and green. Sometimes a tree looks blue, or you can change the pallet entirely.
At first he was worried that being colour blind would affect his art. But, art is open to interpretation, and people are accepting of that. Now, he doesn’t stress about it. “How you paint is up to you, because everything is subjective.”
Workshops help him do that. Some workshops suggest exercises to hone different skills. Like exercises where you reduce the pallet to one colour or two colours. Or a ten brush stroke exercise challenges him to create a composition with focus and visual appeal. “I love being challenged to try new things you know. It’s always great to have someone give us suggestions of what to do for an exercise.
Watercolours: A Medium of Fluid Expression
Don’s approach to watercolour painting is characterised by a fluidity and an openness to the unpredictability that the medium invites. He believes in the beauty of mistakes and the lessons they show us. “How do you know that mistake is a mistake?” Engerdhal wonders, celebrating the accidental and the spontaneous. “Let the water do the work instead of you doing the work.”
“I used to do watercolours on acetate film, overhead projector film, and do a different thing on each layer. If you don’t like something you can take it out and try something else. It's very similar to when you’re quilting or collage where you’re putting layers over top of layers and different patterns. It’s all part of the exploration.”
Style evolution
A detail oriented person, his professional path has leaned heavily on those skills. When it comes to art, he wants to be more free with his style. “I always felt that I had to be in control in order to be able to be good at it but letting yourself go and letting the medium take over and you just coax it along was so refreshing.”
Now he’s leaning more towards the abstract. Art has become more of a process of releasing and allowing himself to be less rigid. “You want the element of surprise. What if I add salt, or a wax candle or something like that, how is it gonna react or interact with that.
What’s Next
Don is gearing up for some larger pieces, and is taking a workshop with an artist in Australia whose style is very free. This will open up a whole new set of skills.
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He’s also thinking of organising a weekend artist’s retreat that would focus on fun, and skill building. In talking with Don we learn that watercolour is a form that offers versatility and the process of creation is fun as it reveals new surprises.
You can see Don’s work for sale at The Old Grind, and on occasion you may see him around the area painting a plein air. If you see Don in the wild, don’t hesitate to stop and talk to him about his art as he welcomes the chance to talk to people about all of these beautiful places around us that inspire him.