About theresa
I paint the British Columbia landscape so you can immerse in its peace & beauty.
One of the best things about Canada is its landscape... calming, inspiring, invigorating. Stepping into it, even through art, can deepen our connection and appreciation of this incredible Earth.
And sunflowers? They first made their way onto my easel after admiring blooms on the way to the trail.
The calming effect of nature
Remember the last time you were surrounded by nature? How did you feel? What did you see and hear?
Maybe you noticed light streaming through the trees and spilling onto the ground. Or clouds scattered against a brilliant blue sky. How about the sweet smell of Ponderosa pines wafting in the summer breeze?
My paintings are meant to transport you to timeless moments, as you sink into a state of peace.
What's to love about British Columbia?
If you're from here or have visited, no explanation is needed. Dramatic mountains, beautiful lakes, towering conifers, rugged coastline. The landscape proves to be awe-inspiring, over and over again.
But if you have yet to discover the magic of BC, let me introduce a small part:
The Okanagan Valley (where I live) is semi-arid and known for it's hot, dry summers. Rolling mountains flank the lake... and are covered with grasses, sagebrush and coniferous trees. The trees play a big role in my paintings. Ponderosa pines are a common sight in the area and easily spotted with their deep bark patterns and tilted trunks.
I'm attracted to the grounding energy of Ponderosas.
It's deeply calming, and their sweet smell in the summer is like no other. Walking along the trail, it feels as if I'm being welcomed into the peace, and my intention is this resonates from my art.
My inspiration doesn’t end at pine trees and trail views. Sunflowers have found their way into my practice as well.
It all started with tall blooms over-hanging the sidewalks as I headed to my local trail. In typical artist fashion, I HAD to stop, enjoy, and take a ridiculous amount of photos.
Their unusual shapes get me every time. Random, lopsided blooms are beautiful, in my eyes.
Sunflowers feel like pure joy, filled with character and brightness. But also with an earthy presence. Late season is my favorite time, when there's a mixture of new and wilted.
That mixture is what I love to paint most - a beautiful contrast of bright yellow blooms beside brown and curled - oh how they shine together.
Making art feels like a calling
In my studio, surrounded by paint and brushes, I sink into creativity and let go of expectations. Beautiful colours unfold as paint mixes, and I relish the first strokes of a brand new painting.
Making art has always felt "right" to me - like an extension of speech. A way to communicate feeling and expression in a truly creative way.
Creating will always be a part of my story. Driven by colour and curiosity... to make things that surprise and delight. I push on to the next new piece, with the excitement that each is unique and unseen by the world before.
Embracing the freedom to express
I focus on joyful energy, movement and bold brushstrokes. I play with shape and line, I obsess over the details of colour.
I mix paint, and mix again. There are countless combinations I could put on the canvas that start with the same few tubes of paint.
The possibilities seem endless, and days feel short.
Once an artist begins this journey of translating the world around them, life becomes extra inspiring and days bittersweet. I could never come close to capturing all the ideas that percolate in my head, but will definitely still try. Wish me luck!
~ Theresa
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From then to now
My Story
Ever since I was a young girl, I dreamed of being an artist.
Yes, I'm one of THOSE people who's always known what they wanted to do! In fact, I've been absolutely sure I was an artist long before making anything that could be considered skillful.
For me, there's a strong internal connection with making art - it gives me peace and I feel completely at home, doing it. There are no boundaries, creativity makes things sooo interesting, and the possibilities can be truly endless.
I love being able to interpret something in my environment in a new way. To create a piece that's never been seen before. To follow intuition and make art completely unique in its marks and energy.
At age 12, I took a 6-week course where I fell in love with paint.
My parents drove me once a week to an artist's log home on the prairies (where we lived at the time) to learn and create in her studio. Imagine beautiful wood from floor to ceiling, and windows that looked out towards the natural landscape. It was awesome.
My childhood was spent in Saskatchewan. Long winters provided plenty of time to fill by making art. Drawing, coloring, painting, crafting... I loved making everything! So much that I would stash cardboard paper rolls, buttons, paper clips - you name it - and store them away for my next strange project.
Even with this massive attraction to creating art, it didn't become my focus until much later, as I went on to pursue a more "stable" career.
Eventually my inner voice prevailed... and after over a decade in graphic design, I made the leap to full-time artist. I'd been living in British Columbia for many years, where my surroundings became the biggest influence of my practice.
Now I spend my days obsessing over which hillside or flower to paint next :)
One of my favorite things is to be in nature. So I have an ever-growing library of hiking photos / and an ever-growing list of things to paint!
I'm grateful to live and be able to share such a gorgeous part of the world - the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada.
Creating that connection between us, the land, & the things that grow and thrive from it, is at the heart of my work.
I paint in my studio in Kelowna, BC, just three blocks from the trail.
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