A Studio Video Tour

A made a little video tour of my studio, sharing my art, projects and creative process...

I created this video as a recipient of the FANS (Fund for the Arts on the North Shore) 25th Anniversary Grant Program, At Home with NS Artists. A special thank you to FANS for their support.

Hope for the flowers - part one

I've been painting away in my studio… but soon it’s time to put my brushes down…

In a couple of weeks I'm heading off to Iceland to stay at an artist residency for one month. I'll be staying on a small island in the north of Iceland for the month of June (and then a two week driving tour of the West Fjords!) …

I’ll be exploring the beautiful northern landscape for some new inspiration to create (and it won’t be trees!).

So now it’s time to put my paints away and prepare for an all new adventure…

Hope For The Flowers - work in progress

Stay tuned to hear more from the land of fire and ice!

Hope For The Flowers - detail

Off to Hawaii!

Everything that is created begins as a seed of an idea.

One painting began as a pretty photo I took from a spring garden. Looking closely at the garden was like peeking into a tropical jungle… The vibrant and lush paradise of a tiny garden world of dancing flowers and hidden creatures swimming in greens and blues…  Each flower appeared to be dancing… And so I called this painting Three Graces.

And just like all gardens, many more seeds were planted… The cycle of creativity continues.

This week my newly designed Three Graces dress is off to the lush and tropical land of Hawaii...

 

Watch the creation of Three Graces:

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The Three Graces Dress is off to Hawaii!

Visit the Boutique

Dream Catcher

A few years ago I lived in a little cottage in the woods. The cottage was surrounded by trees… Great, big grandfather trees... On winter evenings, it was very dark as I made my way home through the woods, (with the help of the light shining from my cell phone). Inside the cottage I felt safe though, nestled amongst the trees and listening to the rushing stream that ran past the cottage, and the occasional owl or chattering raccoons.

It was during this time that I began my forest series of paintings. My painting Dream Catcher is from the forest near my cottage in West Vancouver. While painting Dream Catcher, a little story began to form… and so I wrote it down. It’s called Dream Catcher, a Fairy Tale.

You can read along in my blog here, or flip through the shortened version I created on Steller.

Dream Catcher, 60" x 48", oil on canvas

Dream Catcher is the first in a series of paintings that explore the forest as a place of fairy-tales, myth and magic. In stories and legends trees are symbols of wisdom, strength, endurance, protection, secret knowledge, life and fertility. In fairy tales the forest symbolizes the unconscious and is a place of initiation. Entering the dark forest and the unknown, one confronts hidden aspects of the self in order to experience a re-birth and gain a new understanding and knowledge of life.

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Now available ~ Fine Art Prints

These museum quality fine art prints are available in standard sizes and ready to frame with a one & a half inch border, or in larger print sizes with a smaller border and ready for to custom framing.

Visit the Print Store

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Available in the Boutique

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Enchanted

My latest painting 'Enchanted' will be on display during the North Shore Art Crawl, March 5th and 6th, before moving on to its new home (overlooking the forest) in West Vancouver. 

As always with a large painting that takes time to create... there is a story behind the picture. Or rather, from within it. And the story is revealed to me as I paint...

It's called 'The Seven Witches and the Keys to the Kingdom', but you'll have to stay tuned for episode one...

Enchanted  36" x 60"  oil on canvas

Featured Design ~ The Daisy Dress

The Daisy Dress 

Essence Word: Dream
Element: Air
Colours: Sky Blue, Emerald Green

The Daisy Dress comes in either a fitted or flare style. This design represents the essence of Spring (fun, adventure, dreams and new beginnings) and is fashioned from the painting Daisies. The Daisy Dress is created through a digital design process, transferred onto fabric, and then printed, cut and sewn by hand.

Visit the Boutique

Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter ~ Which one are you?

Take the Quiz!

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- Available in sizes x-small to x-large
- Printed and sewn by hand in Canada
- Vivid print that will never fade after washing
- Cover-stitched edges
- Made from 72% ecopoly/28% spandex manufactured in Canada
- Fabric treated for moisture wicking to keep you comfortable
- Easy care: machine wash cold. Tumble dry on regular or hang to dry. Fabric is naturally quick to dry.

Sign up and receive 10% off featured designs.

Autumn Special ~ Emerging Red Leggings

I love Autumn. The nights are cooler, the days seem clearer... Change is in the air and I can feel the energy of new projects beginning to emerge...

“Red is the dynamic energy that flows through all living things... and emerges as herSelf.
Red is smart and knows what she wants. She takes decisive action to bring her dreams to reality... Red is strong, courageous and ready to step forward into her dreams. Bold and dynamic, she walks her own path...”

Leggings designed from the painting "Emerging Red" symbolize the energy of Autumn

In the Life Cycle of Creativity, the painting Emerging Red symbolizes the energy of Autumn.

Autumn is about stepping out, creating, energy and action.

As you emerge with a new sense of self in the world, you are clear on who you are and what you want to create. It's time to reap what you have sown as you harvest your dreams and make them real.

After Summer’s inhale into Being, Autumn exhales into Doing. This is a time for action and creating your visions into physical form.

ESSENCE WORD: CREATE

COLOURS: VIBRANT RED, ELECTRIC BLUE, BRILLIANT GREEN

ELEMENT: FIRE

Take the creativity quiz and find out which season you are... Take the Quiz!

 

Autumn Celebration Special 

The Emerging Red leggings are on sale for a limited time!

Visit the Boutique and receive 10% off (Valid until Sept. 30th, 2015)

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The Tapestry Dress

“Nature uses only the longest threads to weave her patterns, so that each small piece of her fabric reveals the organization of the entire tapestry. ”

— Richard P. Feynman

The Harmony Arts Festival is coming up and each week I'm featuring a new clothing design for the show. Each design represents one of the four seasons and this week's feature is the Tapestry Dress designed from the painting Tapestry. Tapestry represents the essence of winter. Winter is a time to draw inward, nurture, heal and transform. It is the end of the life cycle, a time to return home… Connecting to Mother Earth and preparing for the next cycle of birth and creation. This dress is a colourful tapestry of the forest floor; a vibrant sleeveless dress designed from the painting Tapestry.

Visit the Boutique

Have you taken the quiz?

Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter
~ Which one are You?

I made a quiz that describes each season in nature's 'Life Cycle of Creativity'. You can take the quiz to find out which season you are in... 

Dream Catcher

Dream Catcher  60" x 48"  Oil on Canvas

My painting Dream Catcher will be on display at next weekend's North Shore Art Crawl, before moving to it's new home... 

I'll be at 195 Studios on Pemberton Ave., North Vancouver March 7th and 8th, 10 am - 6 pm. Hope to see you there... (and be sure to catch our fashion show at 1:00 pm March 7th!).

Here is a little story I wrote last year while painting Dream Catcher:

The Woodsman and His Wife

Sometimes I don’t know what comes first, the painting or the painter.

One day, while in my forest painting, I realized the painting was painting me…

Somewhere along the way, my painting became it’s own creation, with it’s own purpose and reason for being...

So I stepped back and let it speak to me.

It was telling me a story...

Once upon a time there was a Woodsman and his wife who lived in a tidy, little cottage in the woods. Surrounding the cottage were beautiful red, yellow and white roses that filled the air with their scent every summer.

But winters in the cottage were bleak and cold. From morning until night the Woodsman would be gone, hunting in the forest and chopping wood for the fire. The Woodsman’s wife stayed home, weaving rose patterned tapestries and minding the cottage. They were long, lonely days and she would count the days until spring buds would once again appear in the garden.

One particularly cold and dark winter day a baby daughter was born to the Woodsman and his wife. She had lips as red as rubies, hair as yellow as the sun, and skin as white as snow drops. They named her Rose so the wife would always be reminded of her summer roses whenever she looked at her.

But the Woodsman’s wife was not a strong woman and after the birth of their child she became ill and shortly thereafter she died.

In his grief the Woodsman cried out in distress, “Who will mind the roses? They will surely die!"

Just then there was a knock at the cottage door. The Woodsman opened the door and an old woman entered...

(Continue reading...)