In recent years, plein air painting has become an important part of my artistic practice. My interest really took off after joining artist Mel Williamson for a weeklong plein air painting retreat in the hill towns of the Cortona region of Italy. It was a wonderful experience – painting, exploring and enjoying the beauty of the Italian countryside – but it also made me realize just how different painting directly from life is from working from photographs.

When I returned to Vancouver, I wanted to keep practicing. In April 2024, I started the Vancouver En Plein Air Painters meet up, both to encourage myself to paint outdoors regularly and to create a community where artists could paint together and support one another in their artistic journeys.

The paintings here are some of the works I’ve created since then, mostly in Vancouver and the lower mainland. I’ve experimented with different sizes, materials and techniques – including palette knife – and have worked in oil, acrylic and watercolor, although I find myself increasingly drawn to oils and acrylics. Some paintings take more than one session to complete, and some are works in progress.

What began as a way to strengthen my plein air painting skills has become something I genuinely love: spending time outdoors, discovering beautiful places, and painting alongside other artists I’ve met along the way.