One of the more brilliant aspects of drawing inspiration from nature lies in the window it provides to reveal individual perspective.
Mady Thiel-Kopstein is passionate about her world, and it shows through in her art.
“What inspires me is nature, plain and simple,” explained Mady.
“It is who I am.”
In viewing her paintings, it is easy to see her love of the outdoors is a keen contributor to what influences the interactions she has with the canvas.
Her desire to conserve and protect the wild places she holds so close to her heart provide additional soul to her pieces.
“I visit nature often, I am out there often and I appreciate it, I think it should be protected, I think that we need to as a globe, pay attention to what is going on more carefully.
“We have all heard it but many of us aren't really responding in a way that can be effective to protecting what is here and what makes the world go round.
“A lot of people don't realize the small things - a creature in a pond - is directly related to us - and if it is gone then a piece of us is gone.”
Painting is something that Mady says has always been with her. She can’t not paint, and as a result she feels that the process of being an artist is never truly over.
Mady constantly strives to attain new levels of knowledge and skill, and the craft compels her to constantly grow.
“Sometimes I hate it because it is something that I need to do!
“It is not because of that I hate it, it is just because there is always something else to try and achieve - it is never over - maybe hate is a strong word.”
Many of her pieces represent her spirit animal, the raven. This majestic bird has been capturing her attention for most of her life.
“I lived up North for many years when I was young and I really fell in love with ravens there because I worked up on the Dempster Highway when they were building it.
“I saw ravens do crazy things. I thought they were the most amazing creatures.
“I saw them torment many dogs and carry turkey carcasses they could barely lift and smash into snow banks and I saw them warm themselves in broken street lights.
“They are just amazing creatures and so I just started painting them.
“I found out later while I had been painting them for a long time that they are actually my spirit animal. It was an Inuit lady that told me that.
“So I just kept painting them - people seem to enjoy them and Ill keep painting them until I am not anymore.
When Mady speaks about painting ravens, she talks about how they create her rather than the other way around.
“Everyone is so different, just like people. I think they reflect people's characters and are great mimics but they also make us see ourselves in a weird kind of way.”
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