Featured Members

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My name is Jennifer Dillon. I come from a long line of creatives but didn’t begin my journey of acrylics until approximately 10 years ago. I had experimented with various mediums but nothing really clicked or spoke to me like acrylics do.  I am also an Active Member of the Federation of Canadian Artists. I am inspired by the beauty and nature of the Pacific North West. My paintings are a celebration of color, form, and texture, and a relationship between light, shadow, and mood.  Being an artist is a journey of growth and expression and I look forward to where it continues to take me.  

I am a self developing artist who has tried various mediums and have fallen in love with oils.  I have a cat sitting business and find my inspiration from my clients pets.

I have enjoyed art all my life but have been painting in acrylic for the past 16 years.  I have recently been experimenting with various art mediums, but my main passion comes back to acrylic painting. My work includes large and vivid flowers, west coast landscapes, buildings, beaches and most recently urban scenes around Vancouver.

My work has been inspired by the beauty in nature and I have focused mainly on painting flowers.  There is something in their beauty that is beyond words.  As I have travelled extensively, I am also beginning to incorporate scenes from my favourite places around the world.

As I still have my own business, which is helping others develop a mindset and communication skills for success, including other artists, art still plays a big role in my life. I mainly paint in watercolour and am beginning to move to include oils.  Colour is very important to me so I love bringing my paintings to life through vibrant colour.

I am currently on the Executive Board of the South Surrey and White Rock Art Society and an Active member of the Federation of Canadian Artists. 

My passion for Art started when I was a child. I always loved to color and draw. my grade nine teacher was an Artist and she introduced all of us to charcoal drawing, acrylic painting, pastels and pen and India ink etc. I was entranced.

I didn't have an opportunity until later in life to start painting in oils which I fell in love with. 

My work usually conveys a strong sense of light and color. The  subject matter varies from still life, horses, florals, and landscapes such as the BC Forest trails and our Oceans and beaches. The Hawaiian atmosphere and light are also something that calls to me. I love the strong sense of light.

Check out my work on my Website and on my Instagram account @cherylspaint.

Watercolour has captivated me for many reasons - the way the pigments flow in water, the translucency of the medium, the delight in "lucky accidents", the lesson of patience, the joy in learning and the opportunity to meet, study and paint with a wonderful group of talented people.  

Painting is not easy.  After struggling with all the concepts of color and tone, composition and balance, what you put on the canvas expresses the fundamental truth of who you are and how you see the world.  You hope that someone else sees what you see …

My focus on art in high school allowed me to graduate with majors in Commercial Art & Photography. My parents owned a printing business which enhanced my knowledge of the production end of the business. I followed a pathway that led me through the computer desktop publishing. I mastered the ever changing array of programs to marry both my artistic and technical skills. I mostly photograph wildlife and use my photos to produce my art in a life-like manner executing my art in the pure pigment of pastel.

I have been a member of several art communities, having attended a variety of workshops, demonstrations and provided instruction in soft pastels.  My style represents a cross between realism and impressionism.  I dabble in watercolour and oils but my main medium is soft pastels, having been inspired by Degas and Edouard Manet and appreciating the versatility and freedom of soft pastels.  My subject interest is mostly portrait, flora and fauna. 

Bright, energetic colour schemes, pattern and crisp, linear work is the basis of my paintings.

Having grown up and explored our beautiful BC coast for 30 years on boats,  skied our mountains and hiked our forests, these subjects and the creatures that call these places home, are what I love most of all to paint. 

Coming across a lone wildflower pushing up through a tangled, grassy meadow or a tiny woodland orchid found in the deep, moist forest can take my breath away and I am lost in the moment. These are the things I love most to paint although they are becoming more difficult to come across as development expands.  Landscapes can have figures as long as they do not impede the natural beauty of the scene chosen to paint.  They add scale, motion and interest  along with an opportunity to put in a jot of my favourite red ! I paint what I love and I love what I find beautiful.  I received my AFCAStatus with the FCA in  2021.

 I didn't pick up a paint brush until 2010 when I found three tubes of oils in a drawer in my parent's office.  With the aid of the internet and my husband critiquing my work I challenged myself to paint a portrait of my uncle.  To the amazement of my uncle, family, friends and I, the portrait resembled him.  This painting influenced me to strike out into the art industry. 

Now living in Langley, B.C., I am surrounded with nature and wildlife.  With renewed interest I engulf myself with the beauty and textures of every bush, rusty old truck, bear and even a pair of running shoes.  Especially when I am hiding behind the truck to get a photo of the bear in the bush.  I take the photo only to realize I'm stand-in in bear poop.  Right away I want to bring this experience to life on canvas.  TV shows also trigger my imaginative juices.  My husband and I will be watching a thriller, and as the murderer is about to stab the victim, I ask my husband to pause the show so I can focus in on the painting behind the murderer's head.  I then turn to my husband and ask him if he liked the painting.

Creating a story in my paintings is important.  I love using bold bright colors and textures to draw the viewer into my landscapes, wildlife, abstracts and portraits.  Main streaming my works through various Art Societies juried exhibitions, shows and galleries exhibited throughout the lower mainland, helps motivate me to create.  Luckily, I have everything right at my fingertips to provide me with the inspiration required.

My art is a mixed media fusion of colour and rhythm. I use the different mediums freely and expressively and work in layers – adding, removing, adding, removing and adding again - each layer revealing surprises and informing the next. This helps me get energy, joy and expression onto the canvas. 

I am always inspired by the outdoors and in particular by flowers – by their boundless gifts of colour, style, smell, elegance – but mostly by their joyful generosity.  

I enjoy painting on larger canvasses - 36 x 48 being my favourite size – but most of my work is available in giclees and prints as well – as large or small as you choose. I have recently expanded my work to a include scarves, cushion covers and tote bags, as well as greeting cards.  

I am always delighted to take commissions. I currently have Active Status with the Federation of Canadian Artists and am a member of the White Rock South Surrey Art Society. I have exhibited my work at numerous shows in White Rock and in Vancouver, British Columbia.   

Audrey has lived in South Surrey since 2001. Her focus has not always been art, she is well known in the hockey industry as an innovative pioneer of power skating. However in 2001 her life took a turn with a serious car accident. To help in her recovery she took up painting. This has proved to be a blessing in disguise as it has led to development of her inner dream of being an artist. She now balances her life between a busy art career and producing future NHLers. She finds parallels between hockey and painting in terms of technique, flow, rhythm and movement.  

Now an AFCA member of the Federation of Canadian Artists, the mediums which she prefers to work in are watercolor and acrylic. My art is my effort to mix the unexpected with my love of bold color. Federation of Canadian Artists Fraser Valley Chapter The Reach 2014 First Place for Approaching, Watercolor; Mission Arts Council 2018 Annual Peggy Staber Memorial Exhibition Best in Show for Relentless, Watercolor; JUST…SURREY 2020 A Juried Exhibition of Visual Arts First Place for Dancing in the Wind, Watercolor.

Always wanting to progress with my art.  With the winter closing in, it's a perfect time to practice what I have been learning and can't wait for more new things to learn.

Every day is an inspiration, and nature will always provide the unexpected.

I saw these sunflowers growing in a very unusual place and time this summer.  They were on the side of the walkway by West Beach and in July.  The leaf formations were so unusual and different.  They appealed to my creative side and I decided to paint them on canvas in acrylic.

I was an art school reject at the age of 17, when I was told my work was too commercial in style. Instead I studied counselling psychology and after earning my MS, worked for 39 years in non-profit management. I retired that year for fear 40 years in community service sounded like a sentence. I thoroughly enjoyed my career, but throughout, continued my passion for painting on weekends.    

I studied watercolour painting extensively with the late Frank Townsley and was fortunate to participate in workshops with Jean Haines, Paul Jackson, David R. Smith and the artist I’d most like to be when I grow up, Lian Quan Zhen.   

My goal is to bring vivid, deep colour to paper, combined with the illusion of dimensional texture. 

Art from the Heart. Flowers, birds, and nature inspire me to capture the beauty that is all around me. Watercolour does this, but I am always trying to learn something new. Therefore, I play with pastel, oil and acrylic mixed media to fill that need. "Art is for peace of mind".

My passion in painting began with the learning of Chinese brush painting in 1994. My love of nature dovetails with the beautiful expressions of nature revealed in this artform. The natural beauty of our surroundings and the creative minds of mankind have formed a guide that leads my path. 

 Learning the discipline of this traditional painting technique provided me with a good foundation for exploration. The splendid colours of acrylic painting have given me a new dimension in my expression of beauty. In my work, I strive to seek out light and focus on the happiness. Having lived in Canada for most of my life, my work is a reflection of the blending the Eastern artform with that of the West.

"I originally entered the world of art through watercolor nearly 30 years ago, painting mostly representationally (realistically) and began teaching the medium in the early 2000's. About that same time, I took a workshop in acrylic/mixed media and fell in love. While watercolor remains my first love, most of my work now revolves around working abstractly/semi-abstractly in this second medium. I love the sense of freedom and seemingly infinite possibilities of mixed media. I have always been drawn to expressing our world in colour and texture, and continually learning new things. To me, that's what life is all about. Teaching classes and workshops -- both in watercolor and acrylic/mixed media -- allows me to share that enthusiasm with others."

Originally from Windsor, Ont., Nancy spent most of her life in the Seattle area and now lives in Birch Bay, WA. A member and past President of the SSWRAS, she is also a juried member of Women Painters of Washington; an active member and past Board member of the Northwest Watercolor Society; and a member of the National Watercolor Society. She has been published in Watercolor Artist Magazine and in Northlight Books' "Splash 11: New Directions." Her work can be found in both private and corporate collections in Canada and the U.S.

Curiosity - a big part of where I journey with my art.  

I love the mountains, water, nature and the children exploring their environment. I want to express the emotions that are evoked when you are one with the natural surroundings. My paintings are created to reflect this feeling.  Through the use of various mediums, I create a painting that uses texture, shape and colour to create a setting and mood that engages and inspires the viewer. 

When I began my painting career, in 1998, I was amazed at how quickly I had been captured by the world of art and lured into it’s secret paths to paint life, as I saw it.  Painting became such a passion, for me, which invoked a deep desire to capture, photographically, images from all walks of life that could be used for my artistic expressions. These photos became my emotional bond which inspired me to put down on canvas what my heart wanted to convey.  

Plein Air Painting became another avenue for artistic discovery and, what my photographs hide, my eyes capture the truth of what I see... Be it still life, florals, animals, people or landscapes, the whole world became alive and I could hardly wait to start creating my stories. Colors came to life, values took on a different meaning and lights and darks became teachers, in and of themselves. I felt I had so many stories to paint and the challenge to be able to speak through my artwork was immeasurable. My mind had become my artistic voice, always ready for another canvas. 

Today, my artistic signature, into the world of visual arts, is an expression of peace and tranquility with images and colors that may capture your heart and soul and bring about the same emotional response that intrigued me, to begin with. 

I have been drawing and painting since a kid and became most active since my children were young. I have take classes with a number of artists, many from the Federation Gallery. 

Watercolour and Acrylic are my mediums, painting scenes observed while travelling and boating along the coast and islands. 

Impressionistic and occasionally abstract , skies, trees and water fascinate me.

 Favourite artists are Group of Seven and impressionists  

There’s always something new to learn and I keep trying!

Starting later in life to fulfill a dream l went with the model “better late then never” or “never to late to learn”. l have discovered there is always something new, you are never bored. What a great way to spend your senior years.

 I am a west coast Canadian artist that finds my inspiration in the abundant variety and magnificent beauty to be found in this great country of ours. 

 As a west coast Canadian artist I find my inspiration in the Canadian landscape. I recently did a road trip to Ontario with my girlfriend and we ended up by pure chance travelling the "Group of Seven Route" where that natural beauty of the early autumn landscape left me as completely spellbound as I'm sure it did to those artists 100 years ago, including FCA founding members Lawren Harris Arthur Lismer and A.Y. Jackson. 

Carole Milne, a self-taught representational painter, was born and raised in Vancouver and started Watercolour painting in the late 80’s and although she has since worked in oil, acrylic and watercolour, she now works primarily in oil, painting for her own enjoyment.

Her passion is painting and her inspiration is the wilderness in all its beauty-grasses and trees dancing in the breeze, animals with their grace and beauty, and the relaxing feeling of rivers and ocean. It is no surprise that painting en Plein air is very important to Carole. Painting in the peace and quiet of nature is what she enjoys most. Her paintings have been shown in many venues and shows in the lower mainland.

Carole has volunteered and worked in various positions on the executive boards of the South Surrey and White Rock Art Society, the Burnaby Artists Guild, and as a board member of the Semiahmoo Arts. She is a past member of Coquitlam Fine Arts, Burnaby Artist Guild, Richard Major Group, Delta Artist Guild, and Semiahmoo Arts. She is currently a member of the SSWRAS, an Active Member of the Federation of Canadian Arts, and the Fraser Valley Chapter of the FACA. She was awarded a Lifetime Membership in the South Surrey & White Rock Art Society in May
of 2020.

My oil painting journey has been a very inspiring and knowledgable trip for me.  I now apply the abstract to most of my paintings, being drawn to the looseness of the process and just enjoying using the palette knife to make the subjects flow into each other. I've just started this process and am most excited by all the possibilities of it.  When I create my painting, using my imagination and some photos I have kept just for my art, the creativity is limitless. I hope everyone experiences some form of happiness when they look at my art, and it makes their day all that more enjoyable.

Thelma Newbury is a Vancouver born artist working in fabric and fibres. She loves working with vibrant colours. She has always pursued creative crafts: sewing, knitting, crocheting, painting, metal sculptures, etc. After a career in accounting she wanted her retirement years to be filled with beauty, creativity, and satisfaction. She took a one day course to make a quilted-stain glass looking angels for her grandchildren. From there she adapted her learning to satisfy her own need to explore with fabric and other mediums.

Coming from a diverse personal and cultural background, my interests are wide and varied as reflected in the various subjects of my paintings. I mostly paint in acrylic but I have also created works in watercolour and pastels and shift from medium to medium depending on what I feel works better for a particular mood or subject. Hence, my artist statement as follows:
The human eye is a loyal subject to the vagaries of nature and one’s moods. What I saw yesterday may not be what I see today or tomorrow. Whatever it is, there is an angle of beauty in every individual, object, and vista that I see and it is what I endeavour to compose in my art. Each picture is unpredictable and reflects the varying shifts in style and technique.

I started painting post retirement and haven't stopped. My first love will always be watercolour, but I also enjoy lots of other mediums - oils, acrylic, mixed media, alcohol inks, and pastels. I take inspiration from nature and the environment around me on the West Coast.

I am an artist who grew up on a ranch in Montana and now live on the West Coast, both settings have influenced my work. I paint bright, bold paintings which lean to romantic realism.

I have been a watercolour artist for the past 25 years, and have always been drawn to the picturesque West Coast and paint many of the beautiful local scenes.

I live in White Rock with my partner Angelo who also is an artist. Using the pouring method to paint many of my watercolours I create rich dynamic paintings that hang in many homes locally and internationally