When I first came up with the idea to write about light, Meghan Trainor’s 2014 song, “All About That Bass” (with the word light substituted) played on “repeat” in my head. In the same way that Trainor’s analogy of the lowest sound in the audio range to her own posterior became an anthem about positive body image, I hope that keeping the importance of light in mind when you are composing a painting will have a positive effect on your art.
While 2015 was a successful year in my art career, it was 2014 that was most memorable for me. In the first week of January, a Vancouver gallery invited me to participate in a May exhibit; Arabella Magazine asked to feature my work in their special Love of Flowers edition; and Canada Post contacted me to submit two paintings for their 2015 Flower Series stamps. Then in May, the Royal Canadian Mint commissioned me to design a $20 collector’s coin. In June, I was informed I had received both National commissions.
When people ask me the secret to my success, I often find myself giving them the “cocktail party” answer: I worked hard; I got lucky. It seems this is what most people want to hear – that I worked hard, so therefore I deserve the success. But while working hard is part of it, it’s not the whole story.
