Local Art

PENTICTON / KALEDEN

Karla Avendaño is an emerging artist who works with acrylic and mixed media. She creates contemporary surrealist images of the beauty she observes in the world. Her recent work combines painting with her passion for body positivity.

Born in Chile, Karla is the granddaughter, daughter, and niece of artists. She was encouraged to explore her creativity from a young age. Since early 2020, Karla has been an Artist in Residence at the Leir House Cultural Centre. She works out of her studio space in Penticton and lives in Kaleden, British Columbia.

Karla’s paintings have been featured in an installation at the City of Penticton council chambers. Her work was part of the Penticton and District Community Arts Council’s Fresh A.i.R. exhibition in 2020. Her art has been included in the Penticton Art Gallery’s Under 500 Exhibition + Sale. Karla also teaches classes on different visual art techniques.

KELOWNA

Jolene Mackie is an artist living and working in Kelowna BC. Since graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Emily Carr University in 2009, Jolene has pursued art making professionally with a focus on the medium of oil painting. Jolene has exhibited her work widely throughout the Okanagan Valley and British Columbia, and has work in private collections around the world. Jolene finds inspiration in simple, fleeting moments: a unique quality of light, the shape of shadows, and the living palettes that colour our daily existence. Her work blends fascination with the world around us and the whimsy of human imagination into wholly unique visual experiences.

From custom pieces to curated series, her paintings are about the process of creating as much as the creation itself. For this reason she favours of oil paints, as their slower working time is both meditative and contemplative. Jolene is the 2017 recipient of the Arts Council of the Central Okanagan Visual Arts award, her work has been recognized for its visceral impact.

SUNSHINE COAST

Hello! I'm Amber, a visual artist and extreme lover of all animals, especially my fat little bunny Teacup and my orange tabby cat Nacho.

I decided to start my business, Willabird Designs, out of a desire to create happy art. Much of my art is inspired by my Danish roots and a desire for others to experience the creative creature comforts of the Danish lifestyle hygge. Denmark has been ranked among the top three happiest countries surveyed around the world over the past 9 consecutive years and with this in mind I set out to find and create mindful home décor products inspired by the Scandinavian tradition of building a sanctuary of warmth, coziness, and gratitude.

VERNON

A graduate of Emily Carr University, Gabrielle’s practice is split between painting, ceramics and public art. Originally from Vancouver, she draws inspiration from those moody grey skies and through her paintings, seeks to capture the quiet sense of calm those overcast days evoke. Her work is often described as quintessentially West Coast.

In 2017 she was awarded a major public art commission by the City of Vernon and the Downtown Vernon Association to create a participatory public work of art commemorating Canada’s 150th birthday. At over 150 feet long, Mosaic River was successfully installed in Cenotaph Park the following year. More recently, Gabrielle’s solo show Spring Showers, exhibited at the Peachland Art Gallery this past spring.

Her paintings are represented by Gallery Merrick in Victoria and through the American online gallery, PXP Contemporary.

PENTICTON

Jessie Brennan is a multidisciplinary artist and entrepreneur based in Penticton, BC at Speckled Row pottery studio at the Cannery Trade Centre. Her work deals directly with death, rebirth, and the cycles of nature, while taking inspiration from anatomical and botanical illustrations.

Occupied primarily in painting, printmaking, and collage, her practice flows formally from the organic natural line of Art Nouveau and from the hand-made traditions of Arts & Crafts. Victorian influences like Aubrey Beardsley and Harry Clarke collide with contemporary artists such as Lili Arnold and Kathleen Neeley, blending at times bold and surrealistic colour with a delicate attention to the power of negative space.

Brennan studied art briefly at University of the Fraser Valley and graduated with honours from Vancouver Film School’s Makeup for Film and Television program where she won the Class Achievement Award and third place at the 2019 International Makeup Artist Trade Show London Battle of the Brushes.

PENTICTON / KALEDEN

My name is Bethany and I am an Okanagan artist and teacher who primarily works with a variety of mixed media and encaustic. I love painting with wax. It is the perfect medium for artists who love experimentation.

I am passionate about creating art dolls and assemblage sculptures. There is such a thrill to bringing a creation to "life" and sharing them with the world.

I am a founding member of CanwaxWest and also belong to the Assembly of Doll Makers.

I view painting as a form of meditation, a place to commune with spirit, and a gift that should be shared with and available to all. My work includes themes on self care, the sweet mysteries of life, and whimsical fantasy.

PENTICTON

Ariane` Kamps is a painter and illustrator who works in traditional mediums to create figurative works. Her work reflects a deep interest in memory, dream worlds, and the value of the individual's story. Her work ranges from portraiture to surreal dreamlike landscapes that she creates out of her home studio in Penticton, British Columbia.

Ariane` started creating work amidst motherhood, needing to have a creative outlet; she painted shoes, purses, and miniature paintings. Not long after, she was using oils, watercolours, inks, and pixels for children’s books and private commissions. Portraits have always stood out for her as she continued to paint people’s stories and memories in re-imagined ways.

Her paintings can be found in homes and private collections from North America to Australia to the moon. When she isn’t painting she can be found teaching her five bright children and hiking the hills around Okanagan lake while trying to spot the elusive Ogopogo.

PENTICTON

My work is often joyful with lively colours and movement. Women and children take center stage. They are often either holding hands or dancing. Red and its many varieties are special to me, and I am almost always compelled to use them in my art.

I like to keep a sketchbook handy for snippets of time, waiting in restaurants, travelling on the bus, or even standing in line at a cafe. Drawing was always my first love, long before I painted in watercolour or acrylic. I am drawn to creating and sketching images.

My inspiration comes from my memories. Maybe this is why my work is so layered and intertwined. I am always reviewing, and renewing my ideas and artworks. I am prompted to re-work, paint over and collage back into my work , until I am happy with the piece that emerges.