Art by Shannon Purse

Contemporary art in oil, acrylic and dry medias

Creating art is my passion. I mostly paint in acrylic, oils and some water colour. Not only do I like to create my own body of work, I like being involved in the art community in which I live. I have lived in Ontario, Qatar (which is in the Middle East), and now I live in British Columbia. Currently, I am working at an art gallery on Vancouver Island, and I greatly enjoy working with all the local artists. There are over 100 members that belong to the gallery. My undergrad degree is in Visual Arts and Physical Education. I picked these two areas to be my focus because they are my passions and they are the things that I excel in.

Many people ask me, “What is the connection of Visual Arts and Physical Education?” My answer, “The connection of these two faculties is that they are both about expressing ones individuality. The way one plays a sport is reflective of their personality/flare, and the way one renders a piece of art work is a form of expression”. When I am expressing myself through my art I like to do semi abstract work. Some pieces have no meaning and are just demonstrating my ability of design. Other works of mine do have a message and a purpose. These days I think it is important to look at all art as it comes your way. Whether you like a piece of art or not, I believe it is still important to continue to look at different styles because you never know when an artist or a different style is going to come along and impact you. There are two things in life you should never set limits for, and that is food and art, you just never know how you are going to feel on one particular day… so enjoy.