IF YOU'RE WONDERING...

What is The Keeper?

The Keeper is a series of watercolour paintings I am currently working on that depict a character also by the name of The Keeper. She is a symbol for the inner self; an advocate and quiet protector. Her presence and her role is to take care and nurture our voices when we can’t. She provides a safe place for them to rest.

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This series, for me, is a period of reflection and looking at patterns of behaviour in my own past, as I’ve started to recognize that these behaviours are not necessarily unique, and that the experience of shyness, of keeping thoughts, dreams, fears, and ideas to oneself is really common, so with this series my hope is to illustrate those feelings of protection and quiet reflection so that my viewers learn more about me and more about themselves while observing my work.

 

How did you start your journey as an artist?

My journey as an artist began, like most, in childhood. I was obsessed with making things, with stationary and office supplies, and of course, scissors. I dabbled in a lot of things through childhood, but it wasn’t until high school that I realized I could actually develop my interest into refined skills and make some kind of creative career happen for myself. That is really when it started, but it wasn’t a straight line toward where I am now. For most artists, there are many times along their path that life gets in the way.

 

What is your artistic background and what made you choose watercolour as your medium?

I went to university for my Bachelor of Fine Arts, where I studied art history, painting, printmaking, and sculpture. Watercolour, historically, is viewed as a less-than medium, often associated with feminine hobbies and rarely was it taken seriously. It is one of the more challenging mediums, though. These ties to history have always been interesting to me, but I chose watercolour because the majority of my art background was in detailed pencil and pen drawings, and watercolour was a natural bridge between the unfinished feeling of pencil drawings to the world of painting. Even though a lot of artists I observed used watercolour in light layers and faded washes, I spent a lot of time learning about the physiology of the medium and how I could use it in a way that brought out more texture and details than I could achieve with any other paint type. Watercolour can be a daunting task, but I put my mind to it later in my career (in early 2022), and decided it was worth the effort, failures, and time investment.

 

Did you go to school for art?

Yes, I received my BFA in 2015 at the University of the Fraser Valley, where I studied a variety of mediums. It is also where I fell in love with art history and found inspiration in artists like Alphonse Mucha, Dean Cornwall, Gustav Klimt, and more contemporary artists like Jenny Saville.

 

Where do you find inspiration?

A lot of my inspiration for my more recent paintings come from my imagination along with different things I come across throughout my daily life. I spend a lot of time looking at art, reading about flowers, bugs, fish, and birds, and so a lot of those things end up making their way into my artwork. Most of all, I am inspired by people. I love drawing faces, no matter the age, gender, or ethnicity. I believe that faces tell stories, and we as humans have an innate ability to read people whether we realize it or not. We are heavily influenced by the people around us, knowingly or not. Right now my work often focuses on young women, but this is mostly a reflection of telling stories that come from my own life, so most of my paintings have reflections of self portraiture, even if they are not paintings of me, perse.

 

What inspirations, ideas, and meanings are common in your work?

As I mentioned before, a lot of my work focuses on people and nature, but I think in terms of meaning behind my work, my paintings are almost always representative of a state of mind. Emotions and experiences fuel me as I work, sometimes painting experiences of good memories or nostalgic feelings, while other times my paintings are focused on expressing my emotions during the more difficult times in my life.

 

What do you do to get through creative block?

Creative block is such a common issue for most artists, but personally over the years I’ve realized that it is often one of two things happening. If after a period of intense output, with a lot of projects being completed, ideas recorded, and lots of time in sketchbooks, I start to experience creative block, that usually means my brain is telling me it is time to take a break.

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On the other hand, creative block can hit when you’ve had little to no output at all and feelings of frustration are taking over. Generally I find during times like this, the struggle isn’t a lack of rest but rather fear taking over. Creative block can often be a sign that you’re afraid of failing or making mistakes. When I struggle with those feelings, my strategy is usually to do something that has nothing to do with my regular artwork. Sometimes I will try a new medium or a new style, or I will change to a crafting kind of hobby for a little bit instead. This strategy gets my mind away from worrying about failure while still encouraging me to create and shed the doubt and low confidence that can take over after creative block.

 

How would you describe your style and how did you develop it?

I often describe my style as surreal and dreamy. I use a lot of dreamy and unrealistic or accentuated colours, and I love to add elements of drawing and illustration into my work.

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My style really developed over many years of trying different things, finding artists whose work I fell in love with and tried to emulate, then realized the empty feeling that comes with using ideas that aren’t entirely your own. There are hundreds of videos on youtube and blogs with advice on how to develop your style and they almost always tell you to find a bunch of artists whose work you love, then try recreating it. It can be a fun project but it makes for work you tend not to want to share. I took online courses with a few oil painters, watercolour artists, and other artists just to try different styles and ideas, but it wasn’t until I spent more time playing in my sketchbook alongside my intense skill development in watercolour that I started to find a direction. Even at the start of my watercolour journey I went though a stage where I wanted to focus on mythology and stories of persecuted women in different cultural stories from around the world. I loved doing that research, and I don’t regret it at all, but I realized as solid as it felt at the start, the direction wasn’t enough. I needed to channel myself into my work more, so I kept pushing and trying things and made sure not to let myself feel pressured into “picking a direction” before I was ready.

 

Even though I feel confident in my direction right now, I know down the road my work will change again as I build my skills and follow my personal interests and passions, but what makes an artist’s style unique and inviting is the connection between the work and the artist, which is volatile and constantly in motion.

 

What advice would you give to someone looking to develop their own unique style?

My best advice is to stop looking for your style so soon. Instagram, youtube, and other social platforms have created artist “influencers” with perfect feeds and streamlined stylistic art that rarely veers from the niche, but realistically artists have a lot going on in our heads and even the artists you see online with perfect Instagram portfolios probably have way more they could show you that doesn’t fit the aesthetic. Stop worrying about any of that and be interesting.

 

Share your stories, share your journey, and show people how you work. Trust yourself, and while you develop skills pay attention to the things you like to do and the things you do best. Usually those things are a sign of a direction you should move in. If you’re a detail painter, don’t stress yourself out with trying to “loosen up.” If you’re an abstract painter, don’t spend your time trying to force a visual story into your work. Let it happen and pay attention to what makes you feel fulfilled. That is how you find your style.

 

How do you choose titles for your paintings?

I really struggle with titling my work. I used to title things simply, like “Iris No. 1” and so on. As I’ve felt more in touch with the why behind my work, I’ve been able to pull titles a little bit easier. My strategy is usually to give it a boring name until the right one pops into my head, then I change it. Sometimes I will change the title multiple times before the right one comes along.

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What supplies do you use?

I use Daniel Smith and Winsor & Newton professional watercolour, along with Arches Cold Press paper. I use a few different types of paper depending on the painting. My favourite brushes are the Princton Velvetouch watercolour brushes!

If you’d like a copy of my watercolour supply list, click here!