I am a mixed media abstract artist. I spent my formative years in Venezuela and the Netherlands before immigrating to Canada with my parents, initially to the east coast and a few years later out west.
I have always been interested in working with textiles and studied textile and design at Olds College and weaving at The Banff Centre of the Arts. In 1989 I established my own needlework business that specializes in reproductions of museum samplers from Europe and North America as well as teaching workshops. My involvement in the arts has extended into painting and I’ve has been taking workshops and courses over the past number of years.
I am always fascinated by being out in nature whether in the mountains, in the country or by the ocean. The contours of the land and the colours of the different seasons are beautiful and I try to bring these into my art.
When I start a piece I generally don’t have a preconceived idea as to the end result but work intuitively. I build up layers of paper and paint, and these get sanded, gouged and scraped into. I respond to what appears from layers below. Recently I’ve been working across multiple panels of different sizes and depths, incorporating discarded objects as well as fabric. These materials and surfaces add a new dimension of texture to the work.
CV
Solo Exhibitions
2019
Excavate, Harris - Warke Gallery, Red Deer, AB
Excavate, VASA Art Gallery, St. Albert, AB
2018
Through the Window, Kiwanis Art Gallery, Red Deer, AB
2017
Within the Circle, solo show, Spruce Grove Art Gallery, AB
Group Exhibitions
2023
Art Gallery of St. Albert, Alberta
2022
Innovations-2022, the 31st Annual International Open Juried Exhibition of ISEA, St. Albert Art Gallery.
Bay 1 Gallery, group exhibition, Edmonton, Alberta.
Shine the Light, virtual juried small works exhibit.
Bay 1 Gallery, group exhibition, Edmonton, Alberta.
Shine the Light, virtual juried small works exhibit.
Active Members Exhibition, juried group show, Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver, BC
2021
Abstractd’Art Collective group show, Calgary, AB
80th Anniversary juried group show, Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver, BC
Connections, Art 55, international online group show
Abstracted, juried group show Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver, BC
The Era of Change, Visionary Project, juried online group show
Artists Choice , juried group show, Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver, BC
2020
Disrupting the Stillness, Visionary Project and Lohme Art Gallery juried online group show. Sweden.
The Golden Hour, juried online group show, O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley, CA
Natural Worlds, juried online group show, the Arts Alliance, Santa Fe, NM
Part I: The Era of Seclusion, Visionary Project, juried online group show
Around the Edges, juried online group show, the Arts Alliance, Santa Fe, NM
Painting on the Edge, Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver, BC, Catalogue
Abstracted, juried group show, Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver, BC
Vision 2020, juried group show, Kiwanis Art Gallery, Red Deer, AB
2019
Shaping Alberta, juried group show, CARFAC, Calgary and Edmonton, AB
Baby It’s Cold Outside, juried group show, Kiwanis Art Gallery, Red Deer, AB
Abstracted, juried group show, Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver, BC
2018
Quest Art's 2018 TD Wealth, juried group show, Midland, ON
Smaller, Smaller, Smallest, juried group show, Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver, BC
Members Spring Exhibition, juried group show, VASA Gallery, St. Albert, AB
Spring into Art, juried group show, Federation of Canadian Artists, Calgary, AB
My Kid Could do That, juried group show, Kiwanis Art Gallery, Red Deer, AB
Abstracted, juried group show, Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver, BC
2017
Into the Garden Renewal , juried group show, Kiwanis Art Gallery, Red Deer, AB
Art Harvest, juried group show, Federation of Canadian Artists, Calgary, AB
Showcase: small spaces/big ideas, group show, Alberta Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, AB
Canada 150, juried group show, Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver , BC
Trains, Planes and Automobiles, juried group show, Kiwanis Art Gallery, Red Deer, AB
All Things Spring, juried group show, Federation of Canadian Artists, Calgary, AB
2016
Little Treasures, group exhibition, Galleria De Marchi, Bologna, Italy
10 x 10 show, Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver, BC
Out of the Closet, juried group show, Kiwanis Art Gallery, Red Deer, AB
Abstract Exhibition, juried group show, Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver, BC
Art Education
Studied under
2021
Sara Post, Surface History
Mark Eanes, Language of Design
Fran O’Neill, Abstracts through Seattle Artists League
2020
Mark Eanes, Language of Colour
Lorna Crane, Perfectly Imperfect
Cheryl Taves, Insight Creative
2019
Nicholas Wilton, Art2Life CVP
Katherine Chang Liu through Vancouver Island Workshop
2018
Michael Shemchuk through Vancouver Island Workshop
Nicholas Wilton, Art2Life CVP
2017
Michael Shemchuk through Vancouver Island Workshop
2016
Pat Wheeler through Vancouver Island Art
2015
Jean Pederson through Red Deer College
Liba Labik through Red Deer College
Susan Woolgar
2014
Jean Pederson through Red Deer College
Samantha De Silva
2013
Jen Mallinson through Red Deer College
Susan Woolgar through Red Deer College
Erin Boake through City of Red Deer
Awards
2021
Certificate of Merit for Keeper of Secrets and The Way Through, Creative Quarterly (Iss 61)
2020
Certificate of Merit for First Caressing Breeze of Spring, Creative Quarterly (Iss 60)
Certificate of Merit for Keeper of Secrets and Harvest in the Painting and Photography online show from Art Room Gallery
2018
Honourable mention for Back Alley Blues in the Abstracted show of the Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver BC
Artwalk Developing Visual Artist Award, City of Red Deer
Published
2022 Wild Lands, Jen Tough Gallery, Blurb Books
Fun Size Jen Tough Gallery, Blurb Book
The Journal, vol. 20449. The Ohio State University
2021
Art Ascent V48 Winter April 2021
Creative Quarterly 61, Artisanal Media LLC
2020
Creative Quarterly 60, Artisanal Media LLC
2016
Little Treasures, Galleria De Marchi, Bologna, Italy
Collections
Private collections in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and the United States.
Professional Affiliations
Federation of Canadian Artists
Federation of Canadian Artists-Calgary Chapter
Red Deer Arts Council
Alberta Society of Artists
Arts Alliance
Insight Creative
Isea, International Society of Experimental Artists
Gallery Representation
Federation of Canadian Artists Gallery, Vancouver
U Gallery, online gallery, San Francisco