Artist Profiles

What inspired you to become an artist?

Art was always my thing from the very beginning. All through school I was the kid who was constantly drawing — especially horses — and my parents were incredibly supportive. I just knew this was what I was meant to do. There was never anything else I wanted more.

The challenging part was figuring out how to build a life around it. Finding a way to support myself through my art took time and creativity. Opening my gallery and offering art related services like custom framing and printing made it possible. It gave me both the materials and the outlet I needed to keep exploring, creating, and growing as an artist.

What mediums do you work in, and what draws you to them?

I work in a range of mediums, but my primary focus is oil paint, especially on paper. I’m drawn to oil because of its extended drying time, giving me the freedom to blend, adjust, and build a wide range of colours without losing vibrancy. Oils also dry to the colour I intend, unlike acrylics, which tend to darken, so I can work with a level of precision and subtlety that really suits my process. I also love working in soft pastels for many of the same reasons. They offer pure, immediate colour and let me play with composition and tone in a very intuitive way. Both mediums give me the ability to explore colour deeply and let the image evolve naturally as I work.

How would you describe your artistic style or the themes you explore in your work?

My paintings are mostly contemporary impressionist, defined by bold spaces and heightened, non-literal colour. I often begin by laying down strong underlying colour and then painting the negative spaces first, allowing the image to emerge naturally from the background.

This approach creates a distinctive separation between my strokes and colour fields, giving the work a structured yet expressive feel. My love for the outdoors draws me time and time again to landscapes and I use my work to help me broaden my knowledge of my surrounding environment.

How does Huron County’s landscape, people, or way of life influence your art?

Huron County is my home and my heart, and it’s the landscape, trees, and native fauna of this place that inspire my work almost exclusively. When people say there’s no place like home, I feel that deeply; the fields, riverbanks, and woodlots around me are the foundation of my artistic language.

In my current body of work, I’m drawing my reference points even closer. I’ve become increasingly interested in the role of native flowers and trees in our local ecology, and how understanding them can shift our perception of beauty. Invasive species surround us, and learning to identify and mitigate them has changed the way I see the land. At the same time, discovering and celebrating native plants, and the ways they support insect life, has become a joyful part of my process.

Paintings that honour these small ecological “wins,” like Joe Pye Weed thriving along the riverbank, make me genuinely happy. They allow me to celebrate the resilience and quiet importance of the natural world right outside my door.

What inspired you to become an artist?

Growing up in Bayfield my mom was a teacher and dad was a mechanic. I bought my first 35mm Pentax camera when I was 15. Capturing local people and places fueled my passion and shaped me as a film director and photographer.

What mediums do you work in, and what draws you to them?

I have always liked working in black and white for my personal street photography. I mainly shoot on film, but I also like monochromatic cameras and digital infrared.

How would you describe your artistic style or the themes you explore in your work?

I always seek simplicity in my shots by finding unique composition and point of view. This allows me to photograph people and places that I hope inspire people to explore the story behind the subject.

How does Huron County’s landscape, people, or way of life influence your art?

Having worked all over the globe, I find that Huron County is the place that fills my soul. I feel fortunate that I have been able to capture the immanence of Bayfield and preserve memories of growing up in a small lakeside community.

What inspired you to become an artist?

My work is rooted in an understanding of the past. She has studied traditional stained glass and knows that the transmission of light is the essential function. Her work probes the mysterious process by which light is transformed into ideas and emotions.

What mediums do you work in, and what draws you to them?

I have been working in stained glass for over 40 years. My work is primarily flat glass, intended for private and public spaces, enhanced with sandblasting and glass painting. 

How would you describe your artistic style or the themes you explore in your work?

Always, in my work, there has been a desire to balance a traditional visual vocabulary with a modern sensibility.

How does Huron County’s landscape, people, or way of life influence your art?

Life along Lake Huron offers a constant dialogue between water and land, shaping both the imagery and colours of my art. Supported by a thriving local creative scene, I value the chance to participate in the galleries and cultural events that make this region a haven for artists.