- Words by Laura Langston Photographs by Don Denton

When she first started to paint, Sheila Warren received an important piece of advice. B次元官网网址淧ick something you really care about because if you donB次元官网网址檛 love your subject, it will show.B次元官网网址�

The Nanoose Bay artist took the suggestion to heart, letting passion be her guide and embracing what she calls an empathetic relationship with her art.

B次元官网网址淚 try to pull out the soul and energy of what I see,B次元官网网址� she adds. B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 the reason I do art; I need to have that emotional connection.B次元官网网址�

SheilaB次元官网网址檚 oil paintings feature bold, deeply saturated colours and a strong sense of light and movement. Nature is her muse and the deep affinity she feels for the natural world is apparent in everything she paints, especially trees.

B次元官网网址淚t physically hurts when I see trees cut,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淭hey are often my inspiration.B次元官网网址�

Nature greets you when you step into SheilaB次元官网网址檚 Nanoose Bay home. The hilltop house, where she has lived since 2012, offers sweeping views of gardens, trees and the natural world from almost every room. Sheila says the light-filled space gives her the solitude she craves to pursue her art, while the nearby hiking trails and kayaking options provide her with endless changing scenery.

Nanoose is a far cry from the Montreal area where Sheila was born and raised. While her family wasnB次元官网网址檛 artistic, her father always encouraged her artistic pursuits. SheilaB次元官网网址檚 first hero was Monet, though she didnB次元官网网址檛 realize who he was when she insisted on hanging a Monet poster in her room.

B次元官网网址淚 loved his interpretation of the natural world, his colour choices and compositions, but I certainly had no language to explain that when I insisted my parents buy the poster,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淎nd while I knew I wanted to do something artistic with my life, I never thought IB次元官网网址檇 be a painter like that one day.B次元官网网址�

Instead, while still in elementary school, Sheila spent so many hours drawing and designing clothes she was sure a career in fashion design was in the future.

However, pragmatism intervened. B次元官网网址淚 wasnB次元官网网址檛 brave enough to just paint,B次元官网网址� she admits. B次元官网网址淚 needed and wanted security.B次元官网网址�

So, Sheila embraced commercial art as a way to marry the creative with the practical. She attended Dawson College in Montreal for two years, majoring in commercial art, before moving with her family to Alberta where she finished a degree in visual communications from the Alberta College of Art and Design (now called the Alberta University of the Arts).

For decades, Sheila excelled as a graphic designer and illustrator, working as in-house talent for large organizations and design firms, as well as taking on freelance work. She found pockets of time for personal art but the day job demanded most of her focus. However, as the graphic design field evolved and became less hands-on and more digital, SheilaB次元官网网址檚 desire for a more personal artistic outlet began to grow. And then 9/11 happened. It was the catalyst that would change her life.

B次元官网网址淚 realized things could end in an instant, that nothing is guaranteed, and that I couldnB次元官网网址檛 waste any more time,B次元官网网址� Sheila says. B次元官网网址淚 wanted to give something back; leave something of me after I was gone. And with the global energy feeling so dark and out of whack, I wanted to add a little beauty to the ugly world too.B次元官网网址�

So in 2001, Sheila began to paint in earnest. B次元官网网址淚 started off in a more realistic vein, but as I progressed, I naturally became more impressionistic,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淚 want my art to be more evocative and leave room for people to interpret it for themselves.B次元官网网址�

Along with an impressionistic feel, her art also evokes a Group of Seven influence, which is fitting since Sheila has been deeply inspired by Tom Thomson.

SheilaB次元官网网址檚 studio is tucked in beside her living room and sheB次元官网网址檚 there just about every night after finishing her day job in the strategic marketing department at Vancouver Island University. B次元官网网址淧ainting is my reward at the end of the day,B次元官网网址� she says.

Sheila begins each image by underpainting or mapping it out with acrylics. She overlays with oils, sometimes allowing the colour underneath to poke through. She loves depth, saying, B次元官网网址淚t breathes life into the work,B次元官网网址� so layering has become a large part of her process too.

She knows the rules well enough to understand how and when to break them. She always mixes paints because she finds the colours in the tube B次元官网网址渢oo raw,B次元官网网址� adding that she likes B次元官网网址渢o contaminate but at the same time refine.B次元官网网址� And she uses brushes typically for acrylics to paint with oils because she likes the effect they give. Listening to her instincts is a large part of her process. B次元官网网址淎rt is my safe place to do what I want and I am always guided by my intuition.B次元官网网址�

Some paintings come together easily, but Sheila labours with others for a long time. Once she thinks a piece is done, sheB次元官网网址檒l take it off the easel, and put it in a different area of the house to see how the light affects it. Sometimes, even as long as six months later, sheB次元官网网址檒l see it needs tweaking and sheB次元官网网址檒l take it back to the studio for a little adjusting. ThatB次元官网网址檚 all part of her process, she says.

As for the future, Sheila doesnB次元官网网址檛 like to plan too far down the road, preferring to go with the flow. Her goal is to keep growing, interpreting, sharing and exploring art.

Her biggest wish is that her art helps people look at things a little differently, B次元官网网址渂ecause sometimes you need to look at the world through a different lens to appreciate its value.B次元官网网址�

Sheila says that unfortunately some of the galleries where she has previously displayed her paintings have closed, but her work is still periodically available at the Village Gallery in Sidney or through her website at .

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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