Artist’s Inspiration: Urszula Hajdyla

We asked local artists to create works inspired by John McCrae’s In Flanders Fields for a special juried art show commemorating the centenary of the poem. The submissions we received were incredibly varied. Each artist brought a truly unique perspective to the poem. In this blog series, the artists explain in their own words the motivation for their work. See more artist inspiration stories here.

Last fall I received emails  from the Guelph Art Council and City of Guelph offering me an opportunity to participate in Remembering “In Flanders Fields”. Since many of my past relatives have lost their lives fighting for their country (Poland), I felt a duty to contribute my art work to this event.

I chose to create my artwork on canvas where I have produced some of my most recognized pieces. In the first movement of this piece I painted three poppies on the left top corner of the canvas with each poppy representing an inspiring individual.

One poppy is dedicated to John McCrae who fought so proudly for Canada, another for my grandfather who passed away fighting in World War I, and the last poppy for my uncle who passed during World War II.

Next step I decided to paint the monuments behind the scene (to show detail in the environment), then I created a soldier’s hand lying on the ground which represents:

“STOP- NO FIGHT- NO WAR”.

I used green acrylic paint for the fields and helmet, and plastic wrap from an onion and gel medium to create texture on the green areas.

I then finished the piece using white and orange paint to emphasize all four seasons of the Canadian year. I used Golden Acrylic branch paint and gloss varnish UV protection to protect the piece.

Born and raised in Poland,  Urszula’s natural given talent allows her to paint and draw with passion. She has been creating art since her teenage years. Urszula has been exhibiting her art work in Canada since 1993. She has received the Juror’s Awards in many group art exhibits. Urszula offers her time to those suffering from Mental Health disorders, teaching them to see life through colour and texture.