About the Artist
Finding My Way Back to What I Love
As a child, I can remember being captivated by the images of nature. We lived in N.W. Ontario in the country surrounded by forest. I spent most of my time outside, with my dog, on an adventure in the woods. As a youth, I loved painting images of scraggy jackpines against the vivid northern sky. As I grew up, life took a different direction. I got my degrees in Phychology and Education, got married, raised my children and worked most of my career supporting at-risk youth and families. Along the way I studied fine arts at the University of Victoria.
After a break of several years, I'm reconnecting with my passion for painting. In the process of rediscovering who I am as an artist, here's what I'm noticing so far:
I love bold, vibrant colours. I'm especially drawn to the colours of my childhood, These include: all shades of blue- the refreshing depths of water, the spacious skies, a sense of calm. There are also the many rejuvenating greens of a garden and the forest paired with the plush pinks and crimsons of berries and flowers.
I love the interplay of light and dark and the chemistry this creates.
I enjoy emphasizing how light lands on a blossom, a branch, a face.
I love shadows and how they enhance the light and, at the same time, create some of the most interesting textures on the canvas.
I am inspired by nature's design and seek to capture its simplicity and beauty.
One of the gifts of painting is discovering beauty in places I had previously overlooked, often the small and commonly deemed insignificant details. My passion is to share my personal perspective on beauty with others.
My Creative Process
I work with both acrylics and oils. I often work monochromatically in acrylics for the initial layer of the painting. It gives me a quick picture of the composition, the lights and darks.
I love the rich colour and texture of oil paints and find that I favour using them. The painting process is fluid and intuitive. I work in shapes, colours and textures wet on wet. I often add glazes of colour in several areas. I like to use a finer brush to add details.
Even before I ever start a painting I do a lot of exploring and contemplating. Mostly I do a lot of looking. I live in a beautiful part of the world, Vancouver Island, BC and 99% of the time I work from photos that I've taken on neigbourhood walks or exploring Greater Victoria and the Island. Sometimes I devote a hike to collecting inspiring images. In addition to taking photos, I sketch and make some water colour studies. In my studio I pour over the images to find that arrangement that really speaks to me. Sometimes I do a few small studies to see what layout works the best but most often the composition is so evident that I dive right in.
At present, I am experimenting with more abstraction and use of expressive colour.