About

My name is Shoshana and I am a Canadian oil painter from Toronto. Most of my paintings do not begin in the studio, but in the wilderness. I love to be out in nature, where there is freedom and fresh air, away from the noisy streets of the city, where the sounds of traffic, construction and leaf blowing, are seemingly constant and only cause a little more stress each day. The peace and quiet is what I love most, and being surrounded by the beauty of the natural world. It is this that inspires most of my art, drawing me towards painting landscapes, and in my art I try to capture that quiet peacefulness inside of a scene.

I like to use very thick paint with defined brushstrokes that make for an interesting texture, adding more depth to the picture. Rather than a messy feel, I prefer a clean and polished look to my art, with carefully done details and smooth blending. I like to use vibrant and cheerful colours to make my art look happy and inviting, but oftentimes I enjoy using more pastel colours and softer contrasts in my art to give the painting a more relaxed feel. Every painting is of course different, and there is always something new to explore, new colour schemes, textures, and composition ideas. Even my style may continue to evolve as I experiment with the endless possibilities in the realm of creativity, to keep my art interesting.

For me, creating a painting is like a way to relive a “wow” moment, each painting as if it was a page in a journal of an experience, a mood, a dream, described without words. It is like a way to connect with a place in a different way, a more personal one where I can add to it a touch of creativity and imagination. Sometimes I like to reimagine the true colours entirely to make a scene look more like a fantasy world, but at the same time still recognizable for what it is. I want to capture the beauty and the serenity of nature in my art, while also depicting the world of my fancy and taking the viewer on a journey through my dreams. I create paintings that are perhaps just a little taste of the real thing, but for me are a way to remember the story that inspired it.