1. Looking back, when did you first realize that art would become such an important part of your life?

I spent my childhood and early teen years living on an orchard in the Similkameen Valley. Apparently, I was a daydreamer. Some of my earliest memories are of reading, and drawing. I drew in the dry dirt and in the wet sand with a stick. I drew with leftover blackboard chalk on the schoolyard pavement. Most days after school, I drew on my grandfather's thin yellow typing paper with a stubby pencil and an eraser that did not erase. At night I drew all over my bedroom walls. Every inch of those walls was covered with lines, squiggles and circles. I needed to draw. And draw I did; all over my textbooks, study notes, blackboards, cookbooks, newspapers, board reports, and travel journals. And I still draw. Either quick 20 seconds contour lines on large canvases as a guide to begin thick impasto oil paintings or pinstakingly, precise contour lines of herbs and flowers on beautiful paper or wooden panels. 

 "I needed to draw. And draw I did."

It was while at UBC that I ventured into the world of oil painting, but only as a hobby and with discarded tubes of paint found in the discount bin at the UBC bookstore. Interestingly, I did enroll in a studio arts course, and in a final English assignment on Joseph Heller's Catch - 22, instead of writing, I drew and painted the characters. Still, even though I loved drawing and painting I did not take myself very seriously. And, I certainly would never have considered a career as an artist. 

Finding Her Voice

When I moved to Kamloops with my husband in 1976, I continued to paint on a limited basis. I also became involved in the building and development of the Kamloops Art Gallery. During those early years I met artists such as Mary Pratt, Agnetha Dyck and Daphne Odjig. They encouraged me to begin to paint professionally, but only when the time was right. In the summer of 92, I travelled to France for a summer painting sojourn through the Capilano College extension program, with Kiff Holland as facilitator. During this time, I met someone who told me I must "study, compose and splash paint" when I returned to Canada. Arriving at the airport, I greeted my husband with "I need to go to art school." "Absolutely," he responded. "You have my full support." Three days later I was enrolled in the Fine Arts Diploma program at Cariboo College, my entry point in becoming a full-time artist. 

3. Gardens, landscapes, music, and emotion all seem to play important roles in your work. What inspires these recurring themes?

After art school I began to paint large, colourful, thick impasto, in your face, Garden canvases, often from different perspectives which cumulated into the 2002 Tapestry Gardens exhibition at the Kamloops Art Gallery. Part of the inspiration comes from both my mother and grandmother and the expectations of women, and the preconceived notion of "women's work." I have fond memories of my mother working on her "tapestries" which were always floral designs. And, as a child I used to visit my grandmother on an almost daily basis. When in her gardens she often told me she regretted not becoming a teacher. She had come from a strict Methodist background in a tiny English village and her father, who was an elder in the church, would not allow her to pursue this vocation. Perhaps, initially, in my way, I was trying to capture my grandmother's and mother's voices. But over time my voice came through. 

My landscapes are either viewed up close in which I feel I become part of the landscape as in the Riverwatch series or from distances such as from the top of a castle, (Postcards from Umbria), through car windows (Search for the Unexpected), slowly walking large expanses of land and feeling the earth beneath my feet (I walk Tobiano) or sitting gazing down the valley of my childhood (Endless Little Bits). I am not sure where my landscape inspiration comes from other then feelings developed in childhood when I played in the orchards or laid on my back and gazed up at the clouds. I brought these feelings in the 2025, exhibition, Unfolding at the Kamloops Art Gallery which included a musical component. 

Postcards from Umbria

 Landscapes from a car window

I walk Tobianio

And why I am inspired by music? Perhaps because music in some form has always been part of my life: classical music, church hymns, my mother's jaunty piano tunes, listening to radio stations, following the musical English Invasion, attending musical theatre and symphonies, listening to the constant reframes of children's recording such as Rafi and Sharon, Lois and Bram, and then later my children's music in the car driving them between soccer games, ballet and equestrian lessons. I just know that deep within, I need music to paint. And, music allows me an opening in responding to sensations I experience, in feeling and looking at the textual lines, shapes and colours in gardens and landscapes. Music becomes part of the dialogue between abstraction and representation in my work. 

Where does the emotional component come from that translates into my work? An interesting question, one that I have spent much time reflecting upon. I believe I am quietly emotional. Perhaps I am an empath, a relatively new term and understanding for me. I store memories. The Riverwatch series depicts my childhood memories and the other emotional impact of those memories upon me as I gazed into the river at my former home and after the death of my mother. These memories are under the water. 

5. You work in oil, acrylic, and mixed media. How do different materials influence your creative process?

Materials and Process

When I begin a project, I consider what I want to say, what supplies are available and what materials would best work to depict my narritave or voice in a particular instance. I know acrylics dry rapidly, and the manner in which I use oils, takes a long time to dry. So, depending on what I am working on, trying to achieve, the drying time can be important. For instance, in the Palate to Palette series, I looked into the contour lines of the vegetables or herbs, then slowly ande meticulously painted what I was seeing with acrylics on balsa wood panels. I chose acrylics because I had a short time frame to produce the work. But I spent considerable time thinking about the project. Once satisfied, I applied a clear coat of resin to the panel. I also chose not to sign these works on the front of the panel. Not sure why other than my signature would interfere with the image. They are signed on the back. 

I use oil paint in my garden series. I may begin with acrylics but I will finish off with oil paint. If I have started a series during a residency, I only use acrylic. Once I return to my home studio, I add or complete the work with oil. I have found it is too difficult to travel with oil paint, especially how I use oils. 

I use oil paint in garden or floral series. For me, I want texture, movement, bold colourful canvases. In order to achieve this, I mix oil paint directly from the tube onto a large glass palette. I will not use additives or extenders. By using thick oils, I allow myself the freedom to move and feel my way around the canvas. This process will take a long time to dry. Plus, it gives me the opportunity to add more paint if the painting has not dried. If the canvas has dried, then I will apply a thin layer of oil paint to the area I want to enhance or change. 

In Unfolding, after many sketches, writings, and consultations with Craig Willms, one of the curators with the Kamloops Art Gallery, I considered the gallery space and determined I needed eleven, 6' by 5' canvases. I started with acrylics, first painting the undercoat and then sketching out shapes and forms on the different groupings. While listening to the playlist created for Unfolding. I began to move across the canvas with oil paint, picking up and mixing pigments. I did not alter the oil paint than to mix colours. Some parts of the canvases have six to eight layers of paint. 

 Photographer Teresa Donck-Matlock. Courtesy of the Kamloops Art Gallery

In some instances, I will go in and rework a series a number of times, even though I may have thought the work complete. I am only able to do this because of the materials I've selected. As an example, with the collage series, Flaneur in Allegretto after a second look, I realized that the pieces must go in a different direction. Because of the materials initially selected, acrylic on wooden panels, not only could I scape back into the panels I was able to add more paint, gold leaf, old musical scores and notes. When I am finally satisfied, I will not touch them again. I expect to add a layer of resin on these panels.