September Feature Artists - Camille Sleeman and Lori Motokato

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. 

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