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Welcome to my website, featuring my paintings and workshops, as well as information on my books and upcoming travel. Both my painting and my writing are influenced by my background as a biologist and the years I have spent living and working close to nature. I began drawing, as many biologists do, with field and specimen sketches. Working in a botanical garden, I became enchanted with the formal beauty and meditative quality of botanical painting. In recent years I have explored the great versatility of acrylics paints and mediums, in landscape, still life, and abstracts. Abstract in particular has pushed my boundaries as an artist and helped develop an understanding of the power of composition and colour.

I have shown my paintings in Vancouver, Victoria, and Nanaimo, in galleries, solo, and group shows. My paintings have received awards in juried shows and are placed in many private collections. I am an active member of the Federation of Canadian Artists and teach both in my studio and for institutions such as the University of British Columbia Botanical Garden, and Malaspina Community College Continuing Education. I also travel to other communities and venues to give guest workshops.

In small classes, in my garden studio on Protection Island near Nanaimo, B.C., I strive to create a supportive, relaxed environment, where students can wade into art for the first time or return after years of other work which has kept them from painting. Drawing and painting, like any other skills, can be learned and built upon, and each step along the way can be fun and rewarding. Many of my students return year after year and have become accomplished artists in their own rights.

Student Testimonials