artist directory

Anne Havard was born and raised in the Bulkley Valley, and struggled until she was 30, to discover what she wanted to do with her life. When she was finally caught by the painting bug, she took to it with a vengeance and has worked, at least part-time, as an artist ever since. Her inspiration comes mostly from the natural environment. When she first started painting, her work was fairly realistic, but as time passes, her work has become more and more removed from realism as she plays with color, composition and design, always trying to get movement, mood, and emotion into her works, and tries to let her intuition be her guide. Most recently, Anne has decided to take a break from watercolor, and is exploring 'painting' with fabric, taking advantage of the pre-made design and texture.

CURTIS CUNNINGHAM is a Smithers-based photographer who enjoys using his camera to create the extraordinary. A portfolio of fine art images from in and around Smithers can be viewed online at his website.

EDWARD EPP, has painted for over 30 years. For the last decade he has captured the spirit of BC’s Northwest. His lyrical paintings reflect the landscape, the people and the icons of Prince Rupert, Haida Gwaii, and the Inside Passage. His art has been widely acclaimed and shown throughout BC and Canada.

Erin Candela is an emerging artist currently based in Toronto. Raised in Northern BC, her work contains frequent references to the social and natural world of the North. Dealing with ideas of myth and history, particularly within the issue of national identity, she uses a wide range of materials and media to create illustrative narratives of the northern experience. Erin has shown in various sites and galleries in Montreal and Toronto. She graduated in 2005 from the Studio Arts program at Concordia University

Laura McGregor is recognized for her unique style of painting with gouache on linen. She is an avid artist who has shown her paintings and artist-books throughout Canada and abroad. Laura has her Masters Degree in Drawing & Painting from the Edinburgh College of Art. She obtained her Fine Arts Bachelors Degree from the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design in 2004 after completing a three-year interdisciplinary Fine Arts Diploma course at Fanshawe College in 2002. Laura lives with her husband and son in Burns Lake, B.C. and enjoys her free-time painting in her studio, planning for exhibitions, and giving workshops.

Smithers Artist Linda Stringfellow has exhibited for the past 12 years primarily in northern communities though her work has travelled south and has be a part of the BC Festival of the Arts. Her newest mixed medium images are created with a combination of acrylic paint, handmade and metallic papers, wire and just about anything she can get her hands on. Linda’s mostly likely to create art that falls into the theme of “Women’s Issues” or “Social Justice.” In 2006 Linda created, was the curator and travelled the regional exhibition “Missing Women on Highway 16”. Linda teaches small group lessons in her “Le Salon” studio and is a registered Artist with the provincial program Art Starts. Linda lives in Smithers with her husband and her youngest daughter. You can find her original work at Nelson’s Gallery on Broadway Ave. in Smithers or by “Le Salon” Studio appointment. Contact stringfellow@hotmail.com

Born in Northern Ireland, Mairead loved drawing from her earliest years and was always encouraged by her parents. They provided oil painting lessons from a local artist when she was fourteen and when she decided on teacher training as a career she specialized in art education. She taught art/crafts at an inner city school in Belfast for a while before emigrating to Canada in 1971. Teaching and then raising a young family with husband Nick meant that painting was put on the back burner for a while. Having attended a watercolour course in the late 1980’s, her creative spark was ignited again and she explored the qualities of this challenging medium culminating in several group shows and in giving workshops in Smithers. Most lately, Mairead has been experimenting with acrylics. Her subject matter is mostly landscape with some florals and seacapes. Mairead exhibits most of her work at the Ice House Gallery on the Atlin Terminal in Prince Rupert.

Mark Tworow graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Alberta College of Art in the 1990s. Mark paints landscapes, abstracts, and still lifes and his paintings are known for their strong formal structure and lush painterly colors. He has held several major solo exhibition showcasing over twenty works which are now held in private collections both here in Canada, the U.S., and in New Zealand. After living in Smithers for 19 years Mark is living in New Zealand for one year but will be returning to Smithers in August of 2010.
His New Zealand paintings can be seen online at http://www.tairawhitiarts.net/?p=2120

Originally from Ottawa, Micheala had lived, painted and studied in Montreal since 2000 before relocating to Northern British Columbia in 2006. She completed three years of study in Visual Arts at the University of Ottawa while obtaining a B.A. in Psychology. Micheala went on to complete a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Masters in Creative Arts Therapies from Concordia University in Montreal. She divides her professional time between clinical practice as a therapist and creative practice as a visual artist. Her explorations in mixed media, oil painting and abstract video works constellate an interest in the human body as it relates to internal and external landscapes. Work can be viewed at www.slipp.ca

Nigel is an artist living in Northern BC. Trained as a computer scientist, he enjoys experimenting and observing. Nigel loves to observe. Nigel often paints what he observes. He paints family, friends, indoors and out, high and low. He paints hues, tones, lights and darks. He paints on subjects that fascinate, using colors that captivate. Of course, there is more to Nigel than a simple paragraph can hold, and for all who are interested, please see www.nigelfoxart.com.