Colourful houses

Custom illustrated house portraits

I have been spending time in the studio coming up with a new style of hand-drawn illustrated house portraits. Working from a photo or photos, I draw (or paint) the house directly face-on, flattening the space and playing up its unique architectural details.

More than just the keys

Truly unique closing gifts

A custom watercolour house portrait makes a wonderful closing gift for a real estate agent searching for that unique one-of-a-kind gift. It virtually guarantees that you will always be remembered fondly and visitors will inevitably ask where the painting came from for years to come!

My creative room

Illustrated portraits of creative spaces

I just love seeing how artists and crafters set up their spaces. There are so many types of studio spaces and I love them all! For me, they are inspiring, happy places.

Play me that album

Commemorating a loss from the past

I recently watched a documentary about legendary singer Mavis Staples. She toured with her father as part of The Staple Singers for nearly 50 years and they were very close. Before he died, they had been working on an album featuring Roebuck ‘Pops’ Staples singing lead (instead of Mavis). Sadly, he died before it was completed and the recordings were tucked away for nearly 15 years.

Corner table with a view

Personal spaces

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of settling into a favourite seat in a favourite place for a little carved out bit of time to think. You hear the familiar background sounds – mixed with ones that are unique to this moment – and feel a shift in your mood.

The storm clouds are rolling in

Painting the weather

Seeing the heavy fog and clouds coming in makes me think of trips to the coast with their salty air, wind gusts, and stormy clouds.

A shortcut through the park

Daily Rituals

I used to walk through Trinity Bellwoods Park often on my way to and from work, when I lived in Toronto. I remember fondly that time at the start and end of my day, to clear my head, feel the air, see people going to and fro. So often these small daily rituals are what stick with us over the years.

A puzzle without the box

Preserving family heritage and childhood memories

Some things no longer exist in visual form within the family, such as a town your family immigrated from, a family farm or home that no longer exists. You have some pieces – memories, photos, stories – but not the full picture. The beauty of drawings is that the spirit of these places can be recreated. This, to me, is magical and full of opportunity.

A guestbook you can hang on the wall

Unique wedding guestbook ideas

I recently attended the wedding of good friends of mine. They took enormous care to make sure every aspect of their wedding genuinely reflected their personalities and love for each other. It was absolutely beautiful and I am so grateful to them for the honesty, tears and laughter of that day.

Lively drawings

Expressing the personality of a place through line

Gesture drawings are lively and usually done with an immediate drawing tool such as marker, pen or ink. My gesture drawings are usually either black and white or a single colour. I study the subject for a few minutes and then create a quick drawing done with lots of arm movement. The idea is to capture the gesture or movement of objects and spaces, including something of the feeling or essence of the subject, without getting into much detail.