A year end art show at Christina’s Art School on Thursday evening offered more than a display of finished paintings. It gave visitors a look at what steady encouragement, discipline and time can do in the hands of a teacher who has spent decades helping students believe they can become artists.
The show featured work by students ranging in age from seven to 87, a span that says as much about the school as the paintings on the walls. Christina Thoen said the school is rooted in fine art training, with students learning to really draw rather than rely on shortcuts.
At the centre of this year’s show was featured artist Jeannette Scarf, a retired nurse who said she had not done much art before joining Christina’s classes 10 years ago after encouragement from a neighbour. Scarf said she spent 42 years in nursing before retirement opened the door to something new.
Arjun Pillai/Daily Herald
Attendees take in student artwork as Christina Thoen speaks about the pieces during Christina’s Year End Art Show.
That long development was one of the most striking things in the room. Scarf’s paintings showed not only patience and care, but the kind of confidence that can only come from years of learning, trying, correcting and continuing. Much of her work was inspired by animals, and some of those paintings carried the feeling of candid moments, as though the subjects had been captured without human interference. Her work carried warmth rather than self-consciousness, and she said she hopes people simply feel good when they look at it.
Another painting in the show offered one of the clearest examples of Christina Thoen’s teaching skill and the kind of working relationship she builds with students over time. A portrait of the actress Lucille Ball from “I Love Lucy” stood out for the way reflection and light in the eyes gave it a striking sense of life. Thoen said the painting felt more alive than the reference picture, and seeing it in person made that easy to believe. It showed what can happen when a teacher helps a student move beyond copying and toward understanding how to truly bring a subject to life.
“Having Christina as my instructor gave me a lot of confidence over the years,” Scarf said. “When you finish an art piece, and then she says, okay, your picture is done, time to sign it, and then she always went around the class and say we have a masterpiece.”
Scarf said art has brought her both creativity and peace. Though she does not call herself a teacher, she encourages others to try classes because, in her view, talent can be cultivated if people are willing to start. “I think we’re always learning,” she said.
For Thoen, that kind of growth is excatly the point.
Theon, who was inducted into the Prince Albert Arts Hall of Fame in 2025 in the builder category, said the recognition meant a great deal because she has been creating and developing artists in Prince Albert since 1995. In last year’s Hall of Fame tribute, she was credited with teaching more than 2,000 students over the years, after first starting her school at home and later expanding as demand grew.
In Thursday’s interview, Thoen said what continues to drive her is watching students discover joy in their own progress.
“Seeing their eyes light up, and seeing that joy,” Thoen said. “And then mostly what’s really exciting is to see them grow and develop.”
Arjun Pillai/Daily Herald
Christina Thoen sits in her office surrounded by artwork and collections purchased over the years at Christina’s Art School.
She said students move through a developmental program that begins with graphite drawing and gradually works toward more difficult mediums. The goal is not to produce copies of the teacher’s style, but to give students the tools to find their own voice through strong fundamentals and a sharper way of seeing.
“Everyone’s an artist,” Thoen said. “I believe that it’s really about truly learning to see.”
That philosophy has shaped more than one generation of artists in Prince Albert. In an earlier interview this month, Aurora Art Group chair Susan Prakash said the Aurora group itself grew out of artists who had taken classes from Thoen and were inspired to branch out on their own, evidence that her influence has reached far beyond the walls of her studio.
Thoen said she started the school because she wished a place like it had existed when she was a child. She wanted to create a space where children and adults could learn that they, too, could draw and paint. That belief still sits at the heart of the school.
arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca
