Meghan Armstrong has heard the stories about starving artists. She worries she might become one.

But last week, the 21-year-old budding artist enjoyed a morsel of success. And it was sweet.

In a unique venture with a downtown Calgary business, Armstrong sold a painting. It went for the princely sum of $175.

Shannon Oatway, Business Edge
Artist Meghan Armstrong is thrilled over selling her first painting, 'Check Mate'.

The sale was memorable on two counts: it was Armstrong’s first-ever sale; and it was the first artwork sold in a project called the Emerging Canadian Artists Profiling Initiative.

“You don’t know how surprised I am,” said the University of Calgary student, who was genuinely thrilled.

“My parents’ house is getting pretty full (of paintings), so this is pretty awesome to know someone else likes what I do.”

The sale was made thanks to Canadian Career Partners, a human-resources company based in downtown Calgary. It has created a gallery of sorts in its 18,000-sq.-ft. office and instilled a buzz among its 40 staff members and visiting clients, some of whom will hopefully purchase the art.

The idea is to showcase the works of new local artists, free of charge, and teach business skills to enhance their marketability.

In mid-March, company staff hung 50 paintings – and placed one sculpture – belonging to 28 local artists. Last week, the company invited the artists to see the showcase.

“We have space to double the number to 100 pieces,” says Gary Agnew, a partner in the firm who expects more artists to join the initiative as word spreads.

“The idea is to give something back to the community, and we think this is an innovative idea that will work.”

Here’s how the initiative works:

* Budding artists submit pieces of art. If the work is suitable, paintings and sculptures are placed in the office.

* The artist is responsible for framing, while the company provides insurance.

* If a client or staff member buys a painting, the artist receives the full price. (Canadian Career Partners does not take a commission as a gallery would).

* The company is creating a website where all the paintings can be viewed online this summer.

* In September, 5,000 Calgary clients will be invited to a two-day showing at the office to review and purchase the art.

“We had been on a mission to buy art, but we decided to support lesser-known or budding artists,” says Agnew. “We had talked to one gallery that would come in and do the office. But we’d pay a fee for that, and the gallery would take 35 per cent in commissions from the artists. That seemed like a lot of money that these people can’t afford (to give up).”

Agnew says company staff can help teach the artists, many of whom are young students, about business fundamentals and expose them to the corporate culture.

“One of the stipulations is that we have two events a year and the artists have to attend,” says Agnew. “If someone is going to buy a piece of art, they want to know the artist, especially if it’s a budding artist. People are much more likely to buy that way.”

Agnew’s group has approached local art groups, the U of C and the Alberta College of Art and Design. The response has been positive, although no works from ACAD students currently adorn the walls.

Agnew stresses the art must fit a corporate environment, which means no blatant nudes or the rotting-meat-hanging-from-a-hook exhibits that occasionally cause a stir in national galleries.

All of which is perfectly fine with Judy Perrin.

A nurse by profession, Perrin has been painting seriously the past five years and sells her work on a regular basis. She and a small group of artists are always looking for venues – restaurants and show homes, for example – to display their work.

“It’s another way of exposing ourselves, so to speak, to get our work out there and our names recognized,” she says. “What’s nice here is that Gary and this company are doing this because they are interested in art themselves.”

Perrin began painting 14 years ago when she was pregnant and now works part-time with Care West. Nursing, she says, supports her artistic habit.

“I couldn’t live without my painting,” she says. “It’s my passion.”

Armstrong, a fourth-year student in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program at the U of C, appreciates the sentiment.

But she’s also wary.

She confesses that she, too, loves painting but has considered a career in industrial design or architecture when she finishes her current degree, because she finds the notion of the starving artist “a bit scary.”

However, five of her pieces were selected to hang in Canadian Career’s eighth-floor office. The one with the “Sold” sign hanging from it, she admits, has her excited.

“It shows hope,” she says. “It could be a first step.”

Agnew believes many artists will make strides through the initiative.

“There is a lot of very good art and if we can help expose their work to the public, we think it will sell,” he says.

He hopes other companies will open their doors to local artists as well, thus building a larger pool of potential buyers.

It’s a nice undertaking for everyone involved – especially artists who like to eat.