Welcome to ‘Art Studio Happy Cat’!

June 22, 2025

Today is a big day – I have finally chosen a name for my studio. Here it is:
Art Studio Happy Cat!

Happy Cat is how I truly feel when I am working on my paintings. If I was of the feline persuasion, I would purr up some serious symphonies while handling my brushes! I feel so grateful for having the opportunity to dedicate all hours of my days to creative learning and painting. I a going to be 65 in August and this means I will be officially retired. But I am busier than ever! In fact, even now that the summer weather has finally started here in Ontario, I find that it is not easy to leave the house for a beach visit or a bike ride when I am in the middle of painting something.

I am also getting to know the St Thomas art-scene a bit better and I have to say: it is a delight to find so many kindred creative souls in and around this city. In the meantime I am also still connecting to fellow artists around the globe during several virtual studios I can attend at all hours of the day. This is a truly inspiring experience, chatting about art in both a theoretical way, and specifically about particular paintings and dilemmas we run into as artists. I no longer think I am the only one who is sometimes struggling with colour and composition choices. It seems to be par for the course for most artists, even the once that are far more advanced than myself.

I think it is one of the many benefits of a borderless worlds thanks to technology. Before Covid hit, I had the odd virtual work meeting and I kept in touch with family members through Skype once a week. Email was the other way to reach out to friends, family and fellow artists. But now that most of us are totally familiar and at ease with tools like Zoom and Teams, there is really no end to the gatherings we can attend creatively. I just love it! There is always something new to learn through these platforms and we are never really alone anymore!