I was truly blessed; born in God's country, otherwise known as The Warm Land on Vancouver Island in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. Inspired by nature walks over pasture lands and along creek beds, I began drawing as soon as I was old enough to hold a pencil.
Years later, influenced by the works of Andrew Wyeth, Mary Pratt and another island girl, Carol Evans, I began painting photo-realism with watercolour. The original watercolours hold an "Oh, I've been there" quality which may account for the popularity of several limited edition prints published at that time.
Eventually I was captured by the complex simplicity of artists like Rothko and Turner and I fell in love with edges. A desire to produce larger, freer and more expressive pieces forced me to grab a bigger brush and the more forgiving medium, acrylic. This series is really an adventure and although I begin each piece with an initial concept, a leaping in layer (and what a leap that can be), I let each successive layer be dictated by the previous.
As for colour, I’m definitely an intuitive painter using or mixing what my hand reaches for automatically. It has taken me several years to trust this process but it definitely works for me now just as it did for Picasso who said:
“A picture is not thought out and settled before hand. While it is being done it changes as one's thoughts change. And when it is finished, it still goes on changing, according to the state of mind of whoever is looking at it.”
Each new painting stops when I stand back and hear a whisper, enough, knowing that what longed to be created has finally arrived on the canvas and I was able to get out of the way and let it happen. Most recently, I have been adding texture to paintings with various acrylic molding pastes and a power sander — never a dull moment.
Exhibitions
SERIOUS ADDICTIONS II, Finer Things Gallery, Shawnigan Lake
ELEMENTAL, Sopa Fine Arts, Kelowna
ART IN BLOOM, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Invitational
U8, Sopa Fine Arts, Juried Group Exhibit
DIVAS, Adele-Campbell Gallery, Whistler, Select Women Artists
BLOOMIN’ ART 2003 & 2005, Ports Theatre, Nanaimo, Invitational Biannual Group Exhibit
SERIOUS ADDICTIONS I, Finer Things Gallery, Shawnigan Lake
BEFORE THE BARD, T. Gill Bunch Centre for the Performing Arts, Brentwood College
BEYOND THE BARN, Independent Juried Group Show, Cowichan Bay
THE JOY OF WINTER, 2001 to 2005, Adele-Campbell Gallery, Whistler, Annual Group Show
GALA OPENING 2004, Main Street Gallery, Sidney, Select Artists
VINOTECA, Zanatta’s Vineyard, Private Invitational Group Show
BIG BEAUTIFULS, Benchmark Gallery, Duncan, Exhibit & Book Launch
BIG BEAUTIFULS, Herald Street Caffe, Victoria, Exhibit & Book Launch
THE NATURE OF ISLAND ARTISTS, Invitational Biannual Funding Exhibit, Victoria Natural History Society
THIS SHOW’S FOR EWE IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, Annual Independent Juried Show, Cowichan Bay
BLACK & WHITE, Paton Place Gallery, Victoria
ART³, Paton Place Gallery, Victoria
BIG BEAUTIFULS, Paton Place Gallery, Victoria
TAG 2002 & 2003, Trackside Art Gallery, Victoria, Rock Solid Foundation Mentoring Artist
TAG 2002 & 2003, Maltwood Museum, University of Victoria, Mentoring Artist
OPENINGS, Paton Place Gallery, Victoria
SOOKE FINE ART 2000 & 2001, Annual Juried Exhibit, Sooke
SPRING FLING, Paton Place Gallery, Victoria
GRAND OPENING 1999, Paton Place Gallery, Victoria, Owner/Curator
SPRING ART SHOW, Cowichan Valley Arts Council, Juried Exhibit
THE NATURE OF ISLAND ARTISTS, Invitational Biannual Funding Exhibit, Victoria Natural History Society
FEDERATION OF CANADIAN ARTISTS, Goward House, Victoria, Member Exhibit
SIDNEY FINE ARTS, Mary Winspear Cultural Centre, Sidney, Juried Exhibit
Gallery Representation (current & previous)
WHITE ROCK GALLERY, White Rock
SOPA FINE ARTS, Kelowna
FINER THINGS GALLERY, Shawnigan Lake
MAIN STREET GALLERY, Sidney
ADELE-CAMPBELL GALLERY, Whistler
FAT CAT FINE ART, Victoria
GALLERY AT 60 DALLAS, Victoria
PATON PLACE GALLERY, Victoria
BENCHMARK GALLERY, Duncan
Awards & Publications
THE WHISTLER QUESTION, Whistler
THE PIQUE, Whistler
THE TIMES-COLONIST, Victoria
THE CITIZEN, Cowichan Valley
BOULEVARD MAGAZINE, Victoria, Cover
BC GROWERS MAGAZINE, Vancouver, Cover
CLIPPER MAGAZINE, Victoria/Seattle, Features Editorial
AWARD OF EXCELLENCE, Spring Art Show 1997
AWARD OF MERIT, Spring Art Show 1996
Events
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE, Shawnigan Lake School, March 2006
MOSS STREET PAINT-IN, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, annual event
HATLEY PARK PAINT-IN, Royal Roads University, Victoria, annual event
Education
No list of schools, post-secondary or professional development — I emerged from the ranks of the self-taught artist. I did own a successful studio/gallery, Paton Place Gallery, on Herald Street in Victoria, BC, for over three years before moving to Shawnigan Lake.
"All education is self-education." ROBERT HENRI
Art Related Donations & Associations
Cowichan Therapeutic Riding Association, Annual Fund Raiser
Cowichan Valley Woman Against Violence, “Diva Fest”
Victoria Women’s Transition House
Pink Martini Smooch, Whistler
Trackside Art Gallery, Mentoring Artist, Rock Solid Foundation, Victoria
Shawnigan Lake Business Association, Director
Federation of Canadian Artists (past member)
Canadian National Institute for the Blind, donation for Invitational Show, Victoria
Big Sisters
Collections
Corporate collectors include Investors Group, Saunders Book Company, Loopstra Nixon LLP in Toronto, Shawnigan Lake Chiropractic and Shawnigan Lake School. Private collectors extend across Canada and the US, with many as far away as Japan, Australia, Norway and Switzerland.
Other
President of Big Beautiful Holdings Inc. and the creator of Big Beautifuls®; a line of products which match paintings with inspirational messages and quotes including a writing journal & soon to be released art calendar. Our mission is to promote self awareness, esteem and confidence in women of all ages.