About
I am a contemporary abstract artist working primarily in paint, mixed media and some print making. My work considers the ineffable, that which lies beyond words, beyond what’s visible. The work develops from an idea, in layers of marks, colour, and texture derived from gestural marks that mimic a form of writing. Landscape, architectural and sculptural forms, and contemporary design stir my curiosity.
I grew up in the wilds of North Vancouver and the wider west coast landscape which has been a continuous influence in my work. After university, I moved to Vancouver Island and worked professionally as a writer/editor for 30 years. I’ve taught calligraphy and mark making with handmade brushes for local arts organizations and the Metchosin International Summer School of the Arts (MISSA) on Vancouver Island, B.C. MaryLou co-curated a recent exhibition at Metchosin Art Pod.
I work from my home studio on Vancouver Island, overlooking the Salish Sea. I have participated in art residencies in Victoria, the Gulf Islands, Mexico City, and Oaxaca, and was artist in residence at Tidal Art Centre, in May, 2025. My paintings and prints have been exhibited in galleries in Victoria, Vancouver, Lund and New York. My works are held in private collections around the world.
EXHIBITIONS
COLLABORATION: The Alchemy of Creating, Metchosin Art Pod, Victoria, BC. July 4 - Aug 23, 2026. ***Juror’s Choice Award. Group Exhibition.
DISTRACTED ABSTRACTION: Deviations from the Norm, Metchosin ArtPod, Victoria, BC. March, 2026. Group Exhibition
THREADS: Weaving Narratives, Metchosin Art Pod, Victoria, BC January 30 - March 15, 2026. Group Exhibition
Winter Small Works Show and Sale, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria B.C. November 20, 2025 - January 25, 2026
WHITElight: absence.emergence.possibility, Metchosin Art Pod, Victoria, BC Nov 7 - Dec 21, 2025 Group Exhibition
Writ Large:Contemporary Works on Paper, arc.hive artist run centre, Victoria, BC, October 4 - 19, 2025, Group (3) Exhibition
Fleeting, Exalting the Ephemeral, Metchosin Art Pod, Metchosin, B.C. July 24 - Sept. 14, 2025, ***Jurors Choice Award. Group Exhibition
Glimpses and Musings, Tidal Art Centre, Lund, B.C May 23 - 25, 2025, Solo Exhibition
AIR: Exploring our place in the atmosphere, Metchosin Art Pod, Metchosin, B.C., April 4 - May 25, 2025, Group Exhibition
Be Still My Heart, Goldfinch Gallery, Colwood, B.C. 2024, Group Exhibition
Small Gems Show, Victoria Arts Council, Victoria, BC December 2022 - January, 2023, Group Exhibition
Oak Bay Community Artists Studio Exhibition, Victoria, BC, November 5 and 6, 2022. Private exhibition
Small Works Show and Sale, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, BC Nov 2022 - Jan 2023, Group Exhibition
Small Works Show and Sale, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, BC June - August, 2022, Group Exhibition
Oak Bay Community Artists Exhibition, April, 2022, Victoria, BC Group Exhibition.
Sub Text, Metchosin Art Pod, Metchosin, BC April, 2022 ***Juror’s Choice Award. Group Exhibition
Landward, Errant Art Space, Victoria, BC Group Exhibition, November 2021.
Sooke Fine Arts Show Sooke Fine Arts Society, Sooke, BC July 2021. Group Exhibition
Summer Small Works Show and Sale Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, BC June 2021 Acrylic painting. Group Exhibition
Small Works Exhibition, Victoria Print Society, Victoria, BC 2020. Group Exhibition
Beyond the Archive, GroundZero Printmakers, Victoria, BC Feb, 2020. Group Exhibition
Small Gems, Victoria Arts Council, Victoria, BC. Group Exhibition
Forged arc.Hive artist run centre, Victoria, BC. May 2019. Ink paintings with hand made tools. Group (2) Exhibition
Winter Small Works Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, BC Nov. 2019. Group Exhibition
Solar Impressions Southhampton Arts Centre, New York, Nov. 2019. International Group Exhibition
In Light of Winter Zebra Arts Collective, Chapel Gallery, Victoria, BC, Nov. 2019. Acrylic paintings. Group Exhibition
Curriculum Vitae
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EDUCATION
2026 The Language of Making, Art Residency at Pocoapoco, Oaxaca, Mexico, March, 2026
2025 Bold Abstraction Vancouver Island Art Workshops
Vancouver Island School of Art - Painting Series Development
2024 Sally Hirst - Online Abstract Composition
2023 Sally Hirst - Online, Aspects of Abstraction
2021 Lewis Noble - Online Abstraction painting,
2020-2021 Louise Fletcher - Online Abstraction painting
2019 - 2020 Artists’ Mentorship Program, arc.hive Artist-Run Centre, Victoria, B.C
2018 - 2019 Artists’ Mentorship Program, arc.hive Artist-Run Centre, Victoria, B.C
2019 Solar Printmaking Intensive, Metchosin International Summer School of the Arts (MISSA), Metchosin
2020 Painting Intensive, Vancouver Island Art Workshops, Cedar, B.C.
2016 - 2020 Drawing and Painting specialization, Vancouver Island School of Art, Victoria, B.C.
1989 - 2000 Private calligraphy instruction, workshops and conferences, Fairbank Calligraphy Society, Victoria,
1983 Marketing Management, British Columbia Institute of Technology, Burnaby, B.C.
1978 Bachelor of Arts, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C.
PRESENTATIONS
2026 Metchosin Art Pod, About Art Residencies, July 2026
2022 Fairbank Calligraphy Society, The Influence of Calligraphy on Abstract Painting, March, 2022
2021 Sooke Fine Arts Show, Sooke Fine Arts Society, Abstract Painting in Acrylic. July 2021.
MEDIA
September 2025 Attention + Openness = Reward, by Diana Smith Metchosin Muse, regional newspaper. September, 2025
Visit http://www.metchosinmuse.ca/pdf/2025/MM_09-2025_web.pdf
January 2020 The Amazing Journey of a MISSA student, GoWestShore magazine, Victoria, B.C. January, 2020
Visit https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn%3Aaaid%3Ascds%3AUS%3A6ca6be96-8e1d-4be3-ab96-0ebdb7db384d to read the full article.
COMMISSIONS
2020 Canyon of Steel, acrylic on canvas, 18 inches x 24 inches. Victoria, B.C.
2021 Let’s take the long way around, acrylic on canvas, 48 inches x 36 inches. Victoria, B.C.