As I wind down my career as a landscape architect, I am turning to visual arts to satisfy my urge to create. The art journey began tentatively long ago with gallery hopping in Europe as a young adult and various evening art courses throughout my adult life. The journey became much more serious with my enrollment in the Visual Arts Certificate Program at the University of Alberta Faculty of Extension. There I chose oil painting as my medium based on my exposure to the old masters’ paintings in the European galleries and memories of my Grandmother painting in the kitchen of her small house. She was a hobby oil painter and I inherited her painting supplies including several tubes of 40 year old oil paints, still viable. That was where I discovered cadmium red deep.

During preparation of my exhibition, my artistic journey continued with painting trips to Spain and Japan, mixed media workshops, and venturing into watercolour. Next is a painting trip to India; art has become my most excellent excuse to travel. I hope the journey will continue for the rest of my life.

Johan Lindberg said “an easy way to find your own style is to exaggerate yourself a bit and then find a balance”.  Albert Einstein said “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”. Richard Eyre said “Balance is the enemy of art”. My natural tendency is to seek balance, avoiding extremes and limiting confrontation. I want my art to tip me just slightly out of balance.