Each individual artwork from the collection of three commissioned pieces resonated with a different aspect of my client’s persona.

Artistry: valuing visual art as shown by the close-up cactus coloured pencil painting and the painting of their previous home (Turquoise Skies"). Taste and Tradition: The choice of one of their favourite classic cocktails depicts a taste for timeless and well-crafted things, reflecting a sense of sophistication ("A Classic"). 

Nostalgia and Personal Connection: The painting of their old home in the Bahamas hints at a strong attachment to personal memories and a love for the tropical environment, indicating a well-traveled background and a emotional connection to that place ("The Calm Before The Storm"). 

Transitioning from turquoise, muted sage greens, to the light pink hues of the beaches in the Bahamas, and coming to completion at the warm ambers and zesty orange peels. Observing the artwork harmonizing flawlessly with the exquisite interior design was definitely a highlight.

26 x 26 inches 

Each individual artwork from the collection of three commissioned pieces resonated with a different aspect of my client’s persona.

Artistry: valuing visual art as shown by the close-up cactus coloured pencil painting and the painting of their previous home (Turquoise Skies"). Taste and Tradition: The choice of one of their favourite classic cocktails depicts a taste for timeless and well-crafted things, reflecting a sense of sophistication ("A Classic"). 

Nostalgia and Personal Connection: The painting of their old home in the Bahamas hints at a strong attachment to personal memories and a love for the tropical environment, indicating a well-traveled background and a emotional connection to that place ("The Calm Before The Storm"). 

Transitioning from turquoise, muted sage greens, to the light pink hues of the beaches in the Bahamas, and coming to completion at the warm ambers and zesty orange peels. Observing the artwork harmonizing flawlessly with the exquisite interior design was definitely a highlight.

26 x 26 inches 

To bloom in the desert is perhaps the most noble and defiant artistic expression. To take a foothold and survive in such a harsh and desolate landscape is courage enough in my estimation - but to be so bold as to bloom and dance and smile with such color in a land so barren! That’s the audacity of a firework in the midnight sky. 

How does one reflect, condense and summarize a lifetime? My family packed up and moved clear across Canada four times by the time I was sixteen, to live close to both my Dad and my Mom's parents. The trip was made once by train and three times by van. I have seen and loved the fall colors of the East coast, the vast prairies during harvest time and the snow capped mountains of the West coast.

It was an adventurous era of warm fuzzy memories. A great childhood spent roaming the deserts of Emirates on camels and sand buggies on weekends followed by sunset dinners in tents with belly dancers entertaining us. Family, laughter, hookahs and a great sense of adventure. The humid air smell of Dubai is so distinct, that distinct smell brought back so many memories and some tears to my eyes as I exited the plane to visit my childhood city 25 years later. Over the last three decades, the country has magnificently transformed from a desert to one of the most luxurious and impressively developed

Recollecting a funny story is never really that funny. Because, what really is funny? Is it a group of kids making a ramp in an inclined alley to practice jumps on bicycles that are too small for them? And one shows off, who loves extreme sensations (me), and rides the hardest resulting in a broken forearm. Then, gets a hot pink cast and decides to play volleyball, which includes bumping the ball off that pink cast, while being the tallest person on the court. Or is it being in Greece and deciding it’s a good idea to learn to drive manual for the first time there.

You take me on adventures and unlock parts of my soul that I wanted to keep secret. You reach inside and make it safe for me to share the hidden depths of me. It’s scary. So scary that I feel empowered because you take me out of my comfort zone and challenge me on levels I never knew existed. And I support you with all that I am. Unconditionally, hold you in my heart and help you heal in ways you hadn’t realized you needed. Dimensions are unlocked as we fight for this love, because life is messy, yet together we are safe.

My father was relentlessly passionate about life, knowledge, language, people and experience. I remember the first time I went to Greece, his homeland, and felt that contagious appetite for life in everyone I met. The people in the streets seemed wild with life, full of expression and passion for the moment. It is a lifestyle and culture that totally excited every aspect of me. There is a certain zest for life and community that is just so vibrant - I mean, people gather at the Platea (municipal squares) simply to be together and enjoy each other, creating a culture of closeness and enthusiasm.

Water | In seeing the water dripping down the tall walls onto the dusted grains of sand from my shoes, I felt a deep unfamiliar sense of solace. For today, even the Grand Mercure was not beyond the sun-drenched summers of Bali. As the sun beat like a hammer on the sands of Kuta beach, the whole building was sweating from every surface and gland. The air was so thick that I could practically taste it on my tongue. Yet this union of water, sun, and sand was what drew me here – These are the littoral states of my life. Sun | Bali was truly like no other place in the orient.

I’ve called Thailand home for roughly five years now. My love for this country runs deep. Few places on this earth have given me such a sense of freedom and gratitude. As an outdoor adventurer it’s provided the perfect playground over the years and has also taught me many life lessons. One of those lessons occurred not long after I first arrived in Thailand. As I was leaving a nightclub I was robbed for my phone in the early hours of the morning and at the time decided it was a good idea to defend myself and keep my iPhone

They say flight can only be experienced in the air, but they would be wrong. The root of the word comes from “pleu” - which is “to flow” - referencing the original way humankind conquered the vast bodies of water that entomb our continents. Using the same principles that allow us to gaze down upon our cities, the wing first took form as a fabric-like material upon a tall pole coupled to a boat. This was the origin of flight. Though we no longer use sailing ships to carry exotic spices across the Indian Ocean, the allure of

We met during my second year in college. Just a girl from the North and an island boy from the South with nothing in common but their love for languages and their desire to get the hell out of the place we called home. We lived in the same building and studied the same thing, and somehow managed to never run into each other until a year in. When we met, we just clicked. What started as a one night stand turned into countless nights talking about life, smoking weed and analyzing the rhyme in our favourite rapper’s songs.

Sometime a while back, I had just landed at the Montreal airport for a layover, as I was on my way from Europe to Vancouver. There was some miscommunication at the border control check, which caused me to spend 50 minutes out of the 1 hour and  20 minutes allotted time I had to catch my next flight. For some reason on this particular flight I had to also pick up my luggage and drop it at the other check in (having flown this route many times before, I had never had to do this extra step).

When covid first reared its ugly head, my wife and I decided to invest in some home exercise equipment and general wellness apparatus. With the option of an outside/physical gym space firmly out of the question, I had to navigate my workouts around our Vancouver-sized living space and newly walking toddler, who learned to walk on a Monday, run by Wednesday and was determined to climb everything in the house by Friday.

Isolation. Sinai, Egypt is the place to be alone with yourself, to connect with the body and soul.  It’s a place where all magic connects together. I cross the border every year to Sinai for a time of solitude, it is like a city of refuge for me. A village of peace by the Red Sea. There is no reception or technology there. So it forces you to connect to the silence in the desert, the water and the sand. In Sinai, time is just a concept - which does not limit those who travel there. There is no need to rush, no need to search. Everything is within the heart in silence. If you listen hard enough, you will find and hear the discernment of your soul.

Really…I can’t believe it! I just entered a new season of my life, and now I have breast cancer? I’m now one of those stats who receive that awful diagnosis just months after retirement? Shock, disbelief, uncertainty…so many emotions…such a crazy learning curve. So many questions, so much to try to understand, decisions to make, much needed patience waiting for that next phone call and that next appointment. Do I really need to be a rarity in this journey that has tumors in both breasts?

The card still hangs on my coffee bar bulletin board.  It is the most precious gift I ever received from a student.  Her name is Hannah.   She has brown hair streaked with black, has sensitive eyes, and said very little in class. The card features a little hungry fox on the front.   In her card, she explained that her mom was a photographer and the fox used to visit their home outside of town looking for food in the snow.  This photo had been taken on Christmas Eve, and the little fox, with its stripes of orange, black and brown, was friendly but malnourished, so they fed it. 

Loyalty, integrity and kindness have been the greatest gifts in my life. My wife and best friend of more than 30 years lives these values in a way that has touched my soul and the hearts of many others, including her high school students. Her smile brightens any room while her ability to extend these values to others is both inspirational and the reason why I constantly meet new friends and students who love her. 

I am eighty-six years old. At the age of three, we were invaded by the Germans in my hometown of Kollumerzwaag, Netherlands. As a little girl, I could see the soldiers everyday from my living room window. They occupied the school right across the street from our home. I was one of twelve children, and food was very scarce. The Germans would give us coupons for food, and that is what we had to live on. My Dad had a clothing store and he would trade clothes for meat and milk from the farmers.

Reminiscing on my last relationship ending. At the time I was so in shock, but I knew that this time it was for real when you uttered those words. I remember I went into the living room and fell to the ground, letting out a painful cry. I didn’t recognize the sounds that came from me, only now I can define them as a broken heart. The minutes that led into the following day were all I needed. I collected myself, organized my brain for what needed to come next, and pushed my heart down to the pits of my soul.