Bringing Art and Nature Together at the Humanics Sanctuary and Sculpture Park

Blog 26


Since I moved to Cumberland almost 15 years ago, I have a beautiful studio with lots of natural light. While I love my studio, I prefer to paint or draw on location, especially in the summer. Luckily, one of my favourite sites is only minutes away from my studio: The Humanics Sanctuary and Sculpture Park. The park is situated in a nine-acre wooded ravine with walking trails leading you along multi-cultural and multi-religious sculptures. The amazing sculptures represent themes of family, religion, and philosophic concepts from around the world. It is a peaceful place to relax, meditate, pray and appreciate both art and nature.


While I often come to the park to walk our dog, to paint and draw with fellow artists, I wanted to extend this joy of being inspired by the beautiful surroundings of the park. To encourage the community to experience the benefits of art in this beautiful natural setting, I prepared two drawing events as well as a painting party that were suitable for everyone.


The drawing events were held on August 5and August 19, 2019. Participants could venture out into the park and create individual sketches or colour some of the colouring pages that I had prepared of various sculptures. The goal was to make the event accessible and relaxing for everyone.

The next event was the outdoor painting party on August 10. The weather was rather temperamental: We experienced strong wind gusts, dark clouds in the sky, as well as the sudden change from heavy rain to brilliant sunshine. It was an interesting setting, but the group painted happily under my guidance and sheltered by the tent. I had picked a lotus flower for the occasion as the lotus is associated with eternity, purity and peace, self-awareness, love and compassion, the overcoming of suffering and spiritual development. It also symbolizes beauty, fertility, prosperity, and eternity. The participants had a lot of fun and left not only with their unique painting of a beautiful water lily, an appreciation for the beauty of the park, but also developed connections between each other.

If you would like to join me for another “Drawing Animals at the Humanics Sanctuary and Sculpture Park” event, please visit the park on Sunday, September 15, from 10:30 am to 12 pm. Come out to draw in the beautiful natural setting of the Humanics Sanctuary and Sculpture Park, 3468 Old Montreal Road in Cumberland, Ontario, K4C 1H9. You can either create drawings of one of the sculptures or colour some of the prepared colouring pages of the sculptures or related to the theme of harvest. The fee of $5 includes all materials. There is an additional admission fee to enter the park, but you are welcome to stay in the park for the whole day. Pre-registration at https://www.kerstinpeters.ca/product/drawing-animals-at-the-humanics-institute/ is recommended.