Q. It’s always interesting to get a little background and how people begin in their field. For those that may be just starting out, where did you both train or study or how did your career as an artist begin? And did you always know you wanted to paint?

A. I am often asked about if I always wanted to paint, and it seems so odd looking back, but I don’t ever remember a divide between creating as a child to an adult- it is just what I always did, all those small steps along the way equal one big step. One thing I do know, is that I have a deep need to create, it is not a feeling of obligation that I should get back in the studio, it is almost like a hunger that has to be fed. My mother always would tease me when we traveled as a bigger family to France, and I wouldn’t be able to relax or be at ease until I went out and had a few hours of painting or sketching—its very much like an internal gnawing. I have to release that energy or that demon. I created throughout my childhood, no television or anything electronic except story records leads to a lot of free time to let your mind wander, which is still my favourite feeling. Of letting your mind drift into different unintentional dimensions, almost like meditation, it’s very relaxing as little glimpses of images start to morph, come into focus and disappear in your mind’s eye. All this daydreaming combined with being very shy during high school led me to spending a lot of time in the art rooms, and to taking courses at Emily Carr University and Arts Umbrella. Still, all these years later, I remember those lessons and projects I created more vividly than anything from my adult years. I went on to University to study visual arts, and after my first year moved over to study art history- which mostly taught me how to create long rambling free association style sentences—this being case in point. I continued to paint in all my spare time in whatever environment I was in. I rowed with the Canadian National Rowing team, and remember running around taking photos before a race was to begin on distance lake shores throughout Canada and the US, or coming home exhausted after the third workout of the day but feeling totally alive and energetic if I could find some time in my tiny bedroom boarding house filled with other young women, to paint and dissolve into that meditative escapism that I mentioned before. This all led me to eventually having my first exhibit in my home town of West Vancouver, and with that success at the municipal gallery, I could tumble earnings into more supplies. At 23 when I graduated, I collaborated with a friend and held my own first exhibit in his framing shop, and I was feeling cheeky, so sent invitations to Vancouver’s top galleries. Barry Mowatt Gallery and Diane Ferris Gallery both called me expressing interest, and within weeks, I had my first exhibit with Diane Ferris. It was so loose and fluid and instinctual in a way back then.