This art gallery operates on a really neat concept. They basically have a team of artists who will…read morepaint -- from scratch -- a famous painting of your choice, for a much more affordable price. Let's say you want one of Monet's paintings; they'll get one of their artists to study Monet's classic techniques and imitate them. You get a reproduction of your favorite Monet painting, for a lot less than the real thing. The paintings are mostly oil on canvas, just like the real deals. I was amazed to learn they're painted from a blank canvas, and not just expensive prints, as they usually are. Some of the famous paintings I saw in the gallery were James McNeill Whistler's "Whistler's Mother" and Jacques-Louis David's famous work of Napolean, the powerful one where he's on a horse and about to charge into battle. Of course, good art has a hefty price. A great painting will usually cost you at least $300, for the average size. But I saw some works here that cost less than that, and it's a great deal if you think about it, because these pieces are probably the closest thing you'll get to authenticity. They also do portraits, so if you want to have a loved one (or yourself, for all you narcissists) painted, just bring in a photo and they'll reproduce it in oil on canvas. It's cool that you don't have to be a millionaire to have fine art in your home.

From the owner: Copycat Art Reproductions specializes in re-creating paintings by the masters: Monet, Van Gogh,…read moreRenoir, and many more. We also do custom portraits and can reproduce any photograph into an oil painting. Every single piece of work we carry is 100% hand painted by commissioned artists.

Laurel did caricatures of our family this summer at an outdoor event in Leduc…read more She was engaging, funny, and quick! After the school year started, we realized she had done a caricature for every teacher at our school as well! I asked about it and it turned out that she had done individual caricatures of each teacher from their yearly staff photo and it was given to each teacher as a year end gift! How cool is that?!?! I'd highly recommend her for corporate events or large parties!

We met Laurel through an event this week and she was wonderful! She takes about 10 minutes to draw…read moreeach caricature (I timed it) but you wouldn't know it in the details she adds to each drawing. We waited an hour and a half to get our picture, and it was worth every minute. She's also super friendly while you're sitting with her and even though it could be awkward having someone stare intently at you, she made us very comfortable. I will absolutely be considering her for the next big event I have. Such a treat!