How it all began

Twenty-two years ago to the day, a 21-year-old (that’s me) was having brunch and mimosas with my boyfriend (sorry husband) on a random Sunday on Granville island. During this fateful brunch, my boyfriend admired a painting on the restaurant wall. With a spark of inspiration (and possibly a bit of mimosa-fueled bravado), I  thought to myself, "I could paint that!"

The next day, I embarked on a covert mission. I returned to the restaurant, feigned an urgent bathroom visit, and sneakily snapped a photo of the painting with my trusty point-and-shoot camera (yes, this was pre-iPhone). Armed with this clandestine photo, I dashed to the craft store, loaded up on paints and canvas, and then  got the film developed at London Drugs.

And then I set to work, attempting to recreate that painting for my boyfriend as a Christmas gift. When I presented it to him, he was convinced I had bought it from the restaurant. Little did he know, it was my first-ever masterpiece! (See the photo in the video above)

Fast forward to today: I am a professional textural abstract painter, creating artworks from my studio in North Vancouver. That brunch set off a chain reaction of creativity and passion that has now spanned over two decades.