William Kurelek
Canadian painter
1927-1977
Teaching Slideshow By R.M.
Anderson
William Kureluk is a famous
Canadian artist.
• He was born in Whitford, 75 miles northeast
of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
On March 3, 1927.
Breaking land in Alberta
He lived on a grain farm during the
"dirty thirties".
Times were hard.
These things are sent to try us
He went to a one room
schoolhouse.
Ukrainian pioneer #1
William liked to paint prairie
landscapes because he had grown
up there.
Snowdrift fun
Green Sunday
• William was the oldest of seven children. His
parents had come from the Ukraine. William
went back to the Ukraine to see his dad's old
village and paint the people.
William painted landscapes with acrylic or oil
paints on a board.
Winter road in Alberta
To make a new painting, William would apply
acrylic or oil paint on a board, and then outline his
images in ballpoint pen.
The Blacking pen
• He would use colored
pencils to create texture,
and then scratch, scrub
or brush the surface for
detail.
He finished by adding further details in
pen.
Building a cord cradle
Kurelek’s parents were
Ukrainian immigrants
who lived a very difficult
existence after they
arrived to Canada. He
often painted the
hardships of immigrants
who were forced to
work difficult, laborious
jobs.
Polish Lumberjacks
He liked to work long days and
nights when he painted.
Breaking the ice for cows in winter
William got a special award called
the "Order of Canada" when he was
fifty years old.
Ukrainian pioneer #4
• William Kurelek
believed that art
was a gift that
came from the
heart and the
mind. He
produced over
2,000 paintings
during his
lifetime. He died
on Nov. 3, 1977
of cancer when
he was fifty years
old.
Ukrainian pioneer #4
You can see his paintings in these
books.
• To My Father's Village
• A prairie boy's winter
• A prairie boy's
summer
• Kurelek's Vision of
Canada
• Kureluk Country
Milking Time
Links
• His prints
• More art
•
http://www.tundrabooks.com/authors/K
urelek_w.html#interview
•
http://www.lochgallery.com/artist.php?artistID=35
Chicken in a bucket
Resources to check out.
• National Film Board of Canada movie about William Kureluk 1967,
10 min 07 sec
Kurelek. Daly, Tom, Bill Pettigrew, and al, Montreal, Quebec :
National Film Board of Canada 1966, 1967.
• With WK in the Workshop; a Memoir of William Kurelek. Dedora,
Brian Stratford, Ont.: Aya Press / Mercury Press, 1989.
• William Kurelek, the Suffering Genius. Ewanchuk, Michael,
Winnipeg: Derksen Printers and M. Ewanchuk Pub., 1996.
• Kurelek, a Biography. Morley, Patricia. Toronto: Macmillan of
Canada, 1987, c1986.
• Kurelek's Vision of Canada By William Kurelek and Joan
Murray.
Edmonton, AB: Hurtig Publishers, 1983 80pp.
• Book review
Pencil crayons add detail and
colour.
Ukrainian pioneer #6
Other artists use pencil crayons to
show light and colour shades.
Knox Gill “The Marbles”
Demonstration of pen and ink
techniques
Demonstration of pencil crayon
shading