Thank you Vancouver...A story of when your city gives back.

Vancouver is often described as "The world's most liveable city" or "The world's most beautiful city," the first being highly debatable by Van locals as we are constantly reminded how expensive it is to live here. For the average income, finding even "adequate" apartment rentals can be a stretch. And home ownership is unattainable by most in a market where the average home is just under a million dollars. So you can imagine there are many hard working people that live here who might be frustrated. It could even feel hopeless at times.

During this summer, I found myself one of those people. In a position recently out of school and unexpectedly in a transition of looking for a new job and a new apartment, Vancouver suddenly didn't feel that "liveable" or even that "beautiful." It was a pretty scary time to be in a city that seemed daunting and unattainable.

But instead of speeding up like I would always do, I decided to slow things down. I have learned that when things look daunting, slowing down is the only answer in seeing more clearly what to do next. And as a result I did what a lot of Vancouverites do during the summer....I turned into a beach bum. After sending out 1 resume a day, my reward was the beach.

There, I saw again how incredible Vancouver has been to me all these years. It has given me so many lessons, friends and avenues of exploration...in forests, up mountains and everywhere in between.

By slowing down, the job came and so did the apartment. Although the apartment was far over my budget (in true Vancouver style), I found it. And I landed on the Drive which is one of the most accessible communities in Vancouver for the arts, liberal wildness and amazing organic markets.

The Vancouver beaches were truly a refuge this past summer and gave a great spot to retreat, contemplate, meditate and just relax from a lot of tension, stress and angst that surrounded me after graduation.

Thank you Vancouver for everything you have given and continue to give me. To give back, I have started a series of paintings starting with the summer refuge sites. The series that will continue as I find other special places in this great "mostly liveable" and "absolutely beautiful" city. xo

Spanish Banks

English Bay

the beginning of Free to be Me!

In a hard but equally amazing series of events, I find myself in this moment, unexpectedly. Maybe that is what always happens, especially when you have a pre-conceived notion of what you think is going to happen but then it doesn’t. The only thing that stayed true to the original intent was I followed my heart. And now, I find myself here.

And the work has started to flow and flow and flow. It has become a daily habit and a good one at that. During adverse times in my past, I would turn to the party and other distractions to avoid the harshness of present moment. But this time is different. I now take adversity as a sign that things need to change and that I need to change. I know that I will look back at this moment and remember that it was the beginning of a brand new phase. It was a time that all my experiences came together to create this new and exciting time.

These are pieces I have created during this time of transition. They have replaced the need to party and to avoid the emotions surrounding what has happened. All the emotions are represented in the black ink. The colors represent love and optimism of what is to come. I look at these pieces as a convergence of all my passions, thoughts, frustrations and love of life into one image.

This is the beginning of the next stage I will name…..’Free to be Me.’ xo