By Chester Ni
A B.F.A. from Emily Carr University, a fine arts diploma from Grant MacEwan University, and various exhibits in Canada, Australia, and the United States are some things Laurie Geddes is proud of; however, she is more than her accomplishments. She is an art instructor at Collingwood School in West Vancouver and a mother of two girls. Ms. Geddes was raised in Edmonton and moved to Vancouver in the 1990's to pursue an education in arts. She specializes in oil painting and collages, and for the past eight years, she has been working on a form of mixed media she calls “painted collages”, which combines acrylic and gouache painting with images from vintage magazines and birding journals; she says, “I love the immediacy of collage and love the connections that can be made by juxtaposing images together… I have always had a penchant for the subversive, the humorous, and the absurd, which is an element in many of my works”. Her work is inspired by the bold, flat colors in contemporary commercials and pop art, which she describes as unique and inspiring.
Recently, Laurie Geddes has been featured in an issue of “FreshPaint” magazine curated by the Jealous Curator. Currently, she is selling and displaying some of her work in an exhibition in Pennsylvania, and she is looking forwards to being featured in upcoming galleries both locally and internationally. Meanwhile, she is also working on a personal website to showcase her artwork, which can be found at LaurieGeddes.com. As an artist, Laurie Geddes thinks that the most important thing about art is to have fun and enjoy creating it. To budding young artists, she passes on something that she once heard: “if you do something you love, eventually someone will pay you for it”. She does not believe in waiting for inspiration. Instead, she puts her faith in perseverance, patience, and constant practice.
A B.F.A. from Emily Carr University, a fine arts diploma from Grant MacEwan University, and various exhibits in Canada, Australia, and the United States are some things Laurie Geddes is proud of; however, she is more than her accomplishments. She is an art instructor at Collingwood School in West Vancouver and a mother of two girls. Ms. Geddes was raised in Edmonton and moved to Vancouver in the 1990's to pursue an education in arts. She specializes in oil painting and collages, and for the past eight years, she has been working on a form of mixed media she calls “painted collages”, which combines acrylic and gouache painting with images from vintage magazines and birding journals; she says, “I love the immediacy of collage and love the connections that can be made by juxtaposing images together… I have always had a penchant for the subversive, the humorous, and the absurd, which is an element in many of my works”. Her work is inspired by the bold, flat colors in contemporary commercials and pop art, which she describes as unique and inspiring.
Recently, Laurie Geddes has been featured in an issue of “FreshPaint” magazine curated by the Jealous Curator. Currently, she is selling and displaying some of her work in an exhibition in Pennsylvania, and she is looking forwards to being featured in upcoming galleries both locally and internationally. Meanwhile, she is also working on a personal website to showcase her artwork, which can be found at LaurieGeddes.com. As an artist, Laurie Geddes thinks that the most important thing about art is to have fun and enjoy creating it. To budding young artists, she passes on something that she once heard: “if you do something you love, eventually someone will pay you for it”. She does not believe in waiting for inspiration. Instead, she puts her faith in perseverance, patience, and constant practice.