The kids are officially back to school, I've finally taken my Christmas tree down, and I'm ready to get this renewed creative energy back to work. But first, let's look back on how 2023 went.

You might remember the beginning of the year when I declared 2023 to be the year of creative freedom. I was ditching all of my own made up rules surrounding my creative work and how I share it with the world. I was reintroducing collections and planned to share my work with more people in-person.

I started the year off with a visit to the coast of Southern California, including a short stay in Joshua Tree National Park. I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was, and actually cold, it was winter after all. (Don’t worry, you will be seeing a whole collection from Joshua Tree in the near future.)

I returned home completely in awe of the beauty I experienced, inspired, refreshed, and ready to create. I created the first collection of 2023 - “COASTAL” - paintings inspired by Northern and Southern California seascapes. In total I released 8 new paintings and the accompanying fine art prints inspired by the West Coast.

In April, I began creating a collection of work inspired by Alberta’s vast landscape. “The Alberta Road Trip” Collection included 3 original oil paintings, and 5 original watercolour paintings.

I wanted to create a collection inspired not only by the beauty found in Alberta’s iconic mountains, but the complete freedom and joy felt road-tripping with the people you love. Finding unexpected places and creating beautiful, lasting memories. I shared most of them first in-person and later released the collection along with 4 fine art prints in the Fall.

Summertime brought a particularly adventurous experience to my studio. I purchased my second large format printer from another artist in Victoria, BC. My children and I made a vacation out of it and spent a few days in Tofino. Our time on Vancouver Island was so good to us. I left with so many reference photos to create a new collection of paintings.

The logistics of renting a Uhaul, loading up a printer the size of a piano, perfectly timing a ride on the ferry, and driving across the country were not for the faint of heart, and I’m still proud of myself for bringing it all home in working order. It was a little scary.

This new printer has allowed me to create all of my prints in-house including sizes up to 40x60”. It has already been put to good use and I’ve been able to send so many huge, beautiful prints to collectors everywhere.

I participated in more markets this year than I ever have in year’s past. I had a goal to be more involved in the local community this year; and was grateful for your support. I shared my work with more people in-person, in new places that aligned with my creative vision. I had so much fun at the Banff Farmer’s Market last summer with my two oldest boys. They helped me set up and take down my booth, ate every possible food in sight, and even managed to find part-time jobs.

It was hard work, but very rewarding to meet new people and see you connect with my work in person. I also met so many wonderful people in the creative community and felt an instant bond of connection.

For this year’s holiday gift shop I created a small collection of hand painted landscape ceramic ornaments painted in gouche available in new shapes. I also released a new collection of cards inspired by the 4 seasons in the Canadian Rocky Mountains - something I had been asked to offer for years!

I also participated in two local Christmas markets, making my fourth year as part of the Kananaskis Christmas Market in Redwood Meadows.

All of your support over the holiday season is so heartwarming to me and my family.

Although I would agree that 2023 was the year of creative freedom, I will say that I might have provided myself with a little too much freedom. I wasn't as productive in the studio as I would have liked, but as I reflect back, I did manage to share my work in different ways, as part of different venues and with different people. This required much more physical effort than releasing work online.

Going forward in 2024, I would like to add a little more predictable productivity into my studio practice by offering collections in seasons. I'll talk more about this in another blog post soon.

None of this would be possible without you and your support! 

Thank you for being here in 2023. Thank you for loving the work I create. Thank you for every single purchase. It honestly makes such a difference to me and my family!

xo, Rebecca