Artist’s painting picked for box of Forty Creek’s special whisky
Piece inspired by War of 1812 chosen for rich portrayal of Canada’s history
A Calgary artist has had her work chosen to illustrate the packaging for a renowned Canadian whisky.
Sheila Schaetzle’s painting, To the Confederation, has been reproduced on the box and label for a special release of Forty Creek Confederation Oak whisky.
A limited number of the bottles are for sale across Canada, including several stores in Calgary. The suggested retail price is $69.95.
“It was quite exciting to find out I’d actually won,” says Schaetzle, whose work will also be shown at the Calgary Stampede’s Western Art Show now through July 16.
Earlier this year, the team at Forty Creek, a distillery in Grimsby, Ont., invited Canadian artists to share ideas for a new package that would celebrate Canada’s history.
“We received many impressive submissions from artists across the country and we are very appreciative of the enthusiasm each artist demonstrated,” says Forty Creek spokesperson John Andersen.
“Sheila’s submission did an outstanding job in artfully combining the richness of Canada’s history and the important role it plays in the Forty Creek Confederation Oak whisky.”
When Schaetzle heard about the competition through the Society of Canadian Artists, she began to research the region in and around Grimsby.
Once called The Forty, Grimsby is where some of the War of 1812’s most important battles were fought.
“It pulled me into the stories about the War of 1812, and I found myself reading more and more about it,” she says.
The result is an acrylic painting of soldiers in red, against a backdrop of Canadian oak trees.
“I wanted to create a composition that featured the soldiers in a positive way and makes them look strong,” she says. “But I also wanted to put them in a setting that was very calm and peaceful and very Canadian, as well.”
She chose to paint the white oak trees because they date back to pre-Confederation times in Grimsby and because their oak is now used to make the barrels for the limited-edition whisky.
“As soon as I read about the white oaks and how they’re now used for the barrels, I knew I had to include them,” Schaetzle says. “Trees are something that I paint all the time.”
Born and raised in New Brunswick, Schaetzle moved to Calgary when she was in her late teens. “Art has always been a part of my life, ever since I was a very young child,” she says. “I sketched and studied art all through high school.”
As an adult, she gave up art for many years. But she returned to it in 1998, when she began taking painting classes at night. Before long, she began exhibiting and selling her work to collectors in Canada and Mexico.
Schaetzle’s winning painting currently sits in her home in southeast Calgary, as, for now, Forty Creek has only bought the rights to the work, not the actual work. Schaetzle says she has one of the bottles featuring her work now, and she hopes to buy a few extras. “I’m definitely going to stock up on a few,” she says. “I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m excited to share with family and friends, that’s for sure.”
While Forty Creek started out as a Canadian company in 1992, it was sold in 2014 to Gruppo Campari, an Italian-based corporation that includes Aperol, Skyy Vodka and Grand Marnier.
I wanted to create a composition that featured the soldiers in a positive way and makes them look strong.