By Jenn Watt

Famed Canadian wildlife painter Robert Bateman will be teaching a workshop at Haliburton School of Art and Design this summer.
From Aug. 9 to 11 Bateman will be taking students through the process of creating a work of art.

“I think he feels really connected to this area” said HSAD principal and dean Sandra Dupret in an interview with the Echo .
“He is donating the piece he’ll be working on during that time to the auction” she said. The annual auction raises money for students of the arts college.

Bateman’s workshop will be called Passions and Practices and the HSAD catalogue says students will learn “how to foster creative ideas in accordance with his belief that a good idea is the basis for a strong work of art.”
Bateman’s works which typically feature painted wilderness scenes are incredibly popular and can often be seen as prints. He is frequently described as Canada’s most popular living artist. According to The Globe and Mail there are approximately one million of his prints in circulation and another million coffee table books.

The workshop description clarifies that Bateman is not teaching an art studio class but that he will be sharing “tips and techniques” and students will go for a hike to take photos for upcoming works.
“You are invited to bring a digital image of one or two pieces of your work which Bateman will gently and publicly critique for the enlightenment of the group” it reads.
Lunches will be catered by Rhubarb restaurant.