ARTIST’S STATEMENT

My goal is to interpret the mystery of the landscape, translating form, light and emotion into two dimensions using any medium that serves the purpose. Along with the natural environment, my landscapes can include the industrial or man-made, and sometimes incorporate an element of mapping. The attempt to capture the emotional experience of a landscape can stray into the dreamed or remembered. Driven equally by process and product, I paint what speaks to me while trying to leave room for engagement and interpretation of the work by the viewer.
 

                 I paint to remember what I felt.
                 Or sometimes, to forget,
                 I paint because I have to.


BIOGRAPHY

After spending her youth with a drawing pencil in hand and plans for a career in art, Bonnie was “lead astray by opportunity” as an adult and somehow forgot about art for a number of years.  A chance encounter with an art school in Montreal changed all that in the space of 24 hours, and she has now been studying and producing art for over 25 years.  Eclectic studies at various schools of fine art and illustration in Montreal and Toronto and a variety of workshops have helped develop the technical skills she considers essential for the successful creation of art.


Bonnie has actively exhibited her work for over 20 years, including acceptance in juried shows.  Her landscapes in oil and acrylic most often represent her experience of living in several Canadian provinces, with subjects ranging from the giant trees of the west coast forests through the “big sky” of the prairies to local haunts north of the GTA.  At the same time, she has enjoyed countless hours in life drawing studios evolving her interpretation of the human "landscape".  Her paintings, including commissioned works, are in private and corporate collections across Canada and in the US.  Bonnie relocated to Victoria, BC in 2019 where she paints in her home studio and at the Cedar Hill Arts Centre.

SHOWS

Fernwood Art Stroll, 2022 (studio tour in Victoria, BC)
"12 Days on the Road... and more" (solo show, Headwaters Gallery, Caledon, 2017)
"The Unapologetic Landscape" (3 person show, Beaux-Arts Brampton, 2013)
Juried shows in Brampton, Mississauga, Toronto  (2003 to 2012) including:  Headwaters Arts Festival, Visual Arts Mississauga, Color and Form Society,  Beaux-Arts  Brampton
“2 + 2 = 24 Landscapes” (4 person show, Pond Gallery, Alton Mill, 2012)
“Big Sky II” (2 person show, Beaux-Arts Brampton,  2010 and Pond Gallery, Alton Mill  2011)
“Figures and Landscapes” (solo show, Impressions Gallery, Yorkville, 2009)
“Figuratively Speaking” (4 person show,  Beaux-Arts Brampton, 2009)
Beaux-Arts Brampton, Christmas show, 2008:  People’s Choice Award
“Big Sky” (2 person show, Beaux-Arts Brampton, 2007)
“Elements” (2 person show, Beaux-Arts Brampton, 2006)
Mississauga Art Society (Group shows, 2006)
“Journeys” (4 person show, Beaux-Arts Brampton, 2004)
“Natural Mysteries” (3 person show, Beaux-Arts Brampton, 2003)
Brampton City Hall (2002, 2006)
Beaux-Arts Brampton (Various member and group shows, 2003 to  2012)
Visual Arts Brampton (Show of work published in Floral Calendar, 2002)
Galerie Luz, Montreal (3 person show, 1998)
Saidye Bronfman Center for the Arts, Montreal (Group shows, 1997)
Visual Arts Center, Montreal (Group show, 1996)

STUDIES

Visual Arts Center, Montreal
Saidye Bronfman School of Fine Arts, Montreal
Dawson College (Illustration), Montreal
Sheridan College, Oakville
Haliburton School of the Arts (Fleming College)
Emma Lake (University of Saskatchewan)
Workshops in Montreal and the Toronto area, Costa Rica and Mexico