Biography of the Artist

I am a painter that is inspired and excited by the Canadian landscape. I have been painting and drawing since childhood. Being an organic gardener and landscaper for more than 25 years, I have felt the changes of the weather and heard the sounds of nature and smelled all of the both good and bad aromas of the earth. This sensual work has given me plenty of time to contemplate many ideas-undisturbed. Painting is is stewardship of the soul and organic gardening is stewardship of the land, and this land is my soul. I paint in oil and acrylic too, but watercolour has been with me since taking a class in Saskatchewan as a young girl where the instructor, a wonderful watercolour painter, Kay Bould, inspired me to paint with this most difficult of mediums. 

Education
 
I studied two out of four years towards a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Regina. I wanted a fresher take, so I started all over again in the Painting Department at the Ontario College of Art in Toronto. There, I studied for four years and achieved an AOCA Diploma.

There my favorite teachers inspired me: I was taught by these conceptual artists: Ian Carr-Harris, Tom Dean and Naboyo Kabota. Somehow, I still wanted to paint, so a kind and patient John Inglis, understood and encouraged me.

On Sunday, September 29th  come out and discover the many talented artists who will be displaying work in cafes, shops and of course galleries along the Main Street corridor. The Drift is a self-directed art walk where many business from 28th Avenue to 2nd Avenue will be featuring the work of local artists.  This wonderful cultural event has artists and shop owners working together, connecting with the community and making art available for everyone to view.  The members of the Arts off Main collective are proud once again to be a part of this incredible event.
  
http://www.thedrift.ca

Look for #3 on the Drift map below.

Camille Sleeman

As a landscape painter with leanings toward abstraction, I strive to build connections between the elements of nature and the primitive sensations that attract us to it. Through my understanding of nature and the pictorial forms found within it, I wish to impart a sense of size, weight, location and presence to the elements within my paintings, in order to evoke a sense of familiarity with, or recognition of the landscape, without revealing an exact location to the viewer.
 
I have worked in the field of landscape architecture for the past 20 years, on large-scale residential and commercial projects, as well as school and urban park projects.  I have always been fascinated to discover how we interact with our environment, 

I became a full time painter in 2007, and my work is shown at the East Side Culture Crawl, Artists in Our Midst, and Arts Off Main.  Upcoming shows include the Jericho Arts Centre and “Exquisite Landscape”, at the Cityscape Gallery in North Vancouver.

Lori Motokato

Lori Motokado is a Japanese Canadian watercolour painter with over 35 years of painting experience.  Formally instructed in oils, she switched mediums to watercolour paints.  She is self taught in watercolour painting, and through exploration has developed her own uniquely detailed and thoughtful approach to the medium. Free of traditional watercolour approaches, and with diligent experimentation, Lori has developed her own uniquely detailed, illustrative style and approach to the medium.  Drawing from her academic background (BA in History, Certificate in Liberal Arts, and a Certificate in Architectural Drafting), she is attracted to subjects with history, and character.  Each painting reflects her appreciation of the colours, textures, shadows, rust, scratches and dents that defines their respective rich narratives.  Her paintings are visual vignettes, revealing the complex and hidden intimate stories of everyday objects that surround her. Her subjects range from antique boats, cars, and toys to florals and animals. 

Lori is an active member of the Canadian Federation of Artists, and has exhibited in various galleries (Place Des Arts Gallery, The Hope Gallery, The Port Moody Blackberry Art Centre, and the Centre A Gallery in Vancouver), local art events (Vancouver Eastside Culture Crawl, 2013 Harmony Festival to name a few) and has been juried into the North Vancouver Community Art Gallery rental program and into several Federation Gallery shows.