I am a late-bloomer when it comes to painting. My interest in pursuing art was sparked when a teaching assignment in the school I worked at included several Art classes. I would teach myself the concepts, practice them, then create a lesson plan before heading into the classroom to teach the students. There is no better way to learn something than to have to teach it to someone else.

My tenacity, curiousity, and willingness to explore has allowed my artistic skills to flourish. I was granted a sabbatical from my job as a High School counsellor to study at the Vancouver Art Therapy Institute, and in 2012 I graduated as an Art Therapist. Bringing counselling and art therapy together produced amazing, positive results.

When I experienced the benefits of creating art myself, and understood the value in playing and exploring, I became fascinated by the powerful, healing aspects of art. Creating allows me to tap into and express emotions from the depths of my being, to tell my story, in ways that verbal language can’t touch.

I love creating multi-layered vibrant landscape paintings, often depicting big skies, aurora, mountains, prairies, or other elements of nature. I enjoy using acrylics, watercolours, oils, inks, mixed media, gels and texturizing mediums, all dependent on my mood and what I hope to convey. Depicting scenes, people or places that are often overlooked, shining a spotlight on them so others can connect with them, brings me great joy.

As a founding member of Route 22 Artist Collective Gallery, I believe strongly in the power of collaborative efforts involving art, whether it’s by taking art out into the community, or by bringing community members to the art itself. Artists bring more beauty to the world and, bonus… art heals!