Beautiful textural paintings rendered in oils and cold wax. Sofie uses nature as her inspiration. Her studio, in its lush garden setting, is open year round by appointment.
I worked in Acrylics most of my life, switching to oils in 2010. My latest paintings are richly textural, painted in techniques I have developed using oil and cold wax medium with a palette knife or brush. My biggest inspiration comes from trees and sky. The sky holds me in enchantment; the trees lead me up to it. I can only imagine the conversations they have as I gaze up at branches catching that ephemeral light. The silhouetted trees reaching up, the clouds scudding across that great expanse, the colours that suffuse and drain at dawn and dusk: all these speak to me and find expression in my paintings. I also do figurative, floral, seascape and landscape work.
Creating art has always been an integral part of my life. After high school I studied art at Capilano College earning a diploma, went on to do 10 months of studio work in Malaysia, then attended the Instituto de Belles Artes in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. I followed this up with drawing courses at Douglas College, BC, in 1976 and weaving courses at Kwantlen College, BC, in 1979. I moved to the Comox Valley in 2004 and have been painting full time since 2006. I currently paint from my home studio in Courtenay, BC.
My work can be found locally at Paradise Plants Garden Centre on Hardy Road, 5th Street Florist in downtown Courtenay, the gift shop at the Comox Valley Art Gallery, and at Salish Sea Market in Bowser. It is also available year round at my home studio by appointment, through my website, and on Instagram.
