This painting captures a tender moment between my husband and our puppy, Lucy, who was only about 12 weeks old at the time. We'd only had Lucy for a few weeks when I took the original photo and it really shows how much love was already growing between these two. There was no question about who Lucy had picked as her favourite human and honestly watch their bond grow has been one of the highlights of 2021 for me.
In creating this painting I realized that because painting has been such a male dominated field for centuries that we've seen far more depictions of male artist's painting their wives as opposed to female artist's painting their husbands—or same sex couples painting their partners for that matter. These intimate paintings have run the gamut from the erotic to the tender and have contributed to all the various ways that women are seen in art through the male gaze.
But what about masculinity as seen through the female gaze? Would men see themselves differently if they saw how we see them? Not just all those "traditional" notes of masculinity, but also moments like this one. I think of all my female friends who have described those tender, hidden moments of fathers playing with their children... or finding themselves unexpectedly emotional watching a movie... or simply showing the sort of love and vulnerability to a partner that they might not feel comfortable showing the outside world.
"Dream a Little Dream of Me"
8" x 10" acrylic on canvas
Completed: December 2021
(Not for Sale)
This painting was based on a photo I took at the 2019 Calgary Folk Music Festival at Prince's Island Park. It was our first time attending the festival and it was lovely to just sit out on the grass and soak it all in.
It was only later, when I decided to capture this moment in paint, that I realized how much I loved that I had inadvertently captured my wheelchair in framing the photo. In Googling around to discover other wheelchairs in art, I found that they seem to be rare and usually depicted as an intrusive subject in the frame representing pity or longing. I love that here my chair is represented as it truly feels to me—my constant companion that allows me to attend wonderful events like this one.
"Trusty Steed"
12" x 12" acrylic on canvas
Completed: January 2020
(Not for Sale)
You can find this painting included in my 2022 Fine Art Wall Calendar.
]]>The first time a tornado warning came up on my cellphone my reaction was basically "There's a what now?!"
I'd only lived in Calgary for a little over 2yrs, so as a former west coaster I was still getting used to the idea of extreme weather. Things like ultra-bitter cold... golfball sized hail... tornadoes...
At the same time though, I do love a good storm.
This painting commission was based on a photo taken by the owners of Five’21 Coffee Roasters of a tornado that swung close to Calgary in July 2020. During the middle of a global pandemic, they were able to create an extraordinary memory that their kids will be able to treasure for a lifetime.
"Storm Chasers"
12" x 12" acrylic on canvas
Completed: October 2020
SOLD
You can find this painting included in my 2022 Fine Art Wall Calendar.
]]>This one was done as a deliberate echo of my 2017 painting, January Chill, which has a similar composition with sun shining through a twisted tree on a frosty west coast morning.
The thing that I love about this piece though is the introduction of the warm autumn colours contrasting with the cool shadows in the snow. It's something that I had never encountered before until our first winter in Calgary and I remember being absolutely enthralled. I couldn't stop taking photos around our neighbourhood and probably have a few more paintings I could do with all the shots from that day.
"October Chill"
10" x 10" acrylic on canvas
Completed: February 2021
SOLD
You can find this painting as a greeting card and included in my 2022 Fine Art Wall Calendar.
]]>I snapped the photo of this poppy on Memorial Drive in Calgary one summer evening and knew immediately that I wanted to do a painting of it.
The evening light that fell so precisely on this single poppy was also so incredibly fleeting. After I'd taken the photo, I looked up from my phone to find that the sun had shifted just enough that the light on the poppy had already disappeared.
It is easy to forget that all moments in life are like this. Fleeting, precious and then gone.
"Poppy in the Fading Light"
14" x 11" acrylic on canvas
Completed: November 2019
You can purchase this image as a greeting card.
]]>This painting is named after one of my favourite R.E.M. songs going all the way back to my high school days. Every time I looked at the reference photo I would find myself singing the first few lines of it in my head.
"Nightswimming.... deserves a quiet night..."
I've always loved the rolling piano part in that song and some day I'll get around to learning it. In the meantime, however, these geese lit in the reflection of the Peace Bridge will continue to conjure the tune in my head.
"Nightswimming"
10" x 10" acrylic on canvas
Completed: August 2020
SOLD
You can find it as a greeting card and included in my 2022 Fine Art Wall Calendar.
]]>This piece was inspired by a story that I originally wrote for my partner. It tells of a short, stubby lighthouse that longs to be of use to someone and of a scrappy tugboat that fears the ocean’s great storms will one day swallow him up. In their partnership, however, they discover how much more each of them can be together.
The painting was created to be included as part of my solo exhibition, Find Your Heart(h), which celebrated the relationship between myself and my partner ahead of our wedding in 2019.
My partner also recorded a podcast reading of the original short story that was included alongside this piece in the exhibit.
"The Lighthouse and the Tugboat"
11" x 14" acrylic on canvas
Completed: July 2019
(Not for Sale)
It was an especially snowy winter in Vancouver back in 2017. When I once again found myself snowed in, I decided to take the opportunity to paint this photograph that I'd taken the previous winter. I'd just upgraded my iPhone that January and I had been particularly impressed by the new phone's ability to capture light and shadow.
"January Chill"
10" x 10" acrylic on canvas
Completed: February 2017
SOLD
You can also purchase this image as a greeting card.
]]>"Find Your Heart(h)"
12" x 12" acrylic on canvas
Completed: June 2016
(Not for Sale)
You can purchase this image as a greeting card.
]]>In late 2013 I began painting studies of Louis Comfort Tiffany lamps and other glass works. I was fascinated by the intense colour of these pieces and the way the light interacted with the glass. I wanted to see if this look could be replicated in acrylic paint, so that it would appear as if light were shining through the “glass” of the painting.
This led to a series of painted studies that have taught me a great deal over the years. I’ve learned that Tiffany stained glass’ beauty lies in the imperfections that were created in the glass to generate that riot of colour. Also, for the brilliance to shine through, there needs to be a balance of greys, browns and other muddy colours.
I have since taken the lessons learned through these studies and applied them to the works I am creating now of everyday scenes that glow like stained glass windows.
Still, every so often, I’ll return to doing another examination of Tiffany glass art. I find these pieces to be very relaxing to create—like taking a warm bath in pure colour.