Kimberley McNeil

Kim’s been drawing since she could hold a pencil. No, since she could spread paint around with her hands.

As life often does, Kim’s took her away from the arts. For almost twenty years, Kim didn’t so much as look at a sheet of drawing paper. Then after searching for an outlet to manage the trauma caused by several painful life events, Kim went back to what comforted her the most: art.

Under the tutelage and encouragement of her art teacher and mentor, Michelle Austen, Kim picked up a paintbrush in 2015 and hasn’t looked back.

On her darkest mornings, when grief, loss, and loneliness were her company, Kim would get up early and walk down to the end of her street to watch the sunrise. The sight of the changing light served as her early morning meditations. Those big skies gave Kim hope on days when her mind tried to tell her there was none. Kim then did what any sensible artist would do: she painted those skies.

In another life, Kim would have been a wildlife biologist. She eventually decided painting wildlife was more her style (fewer mosquitoes). From sunrises to wildlife to mountain ranges, Kim’s art celebrates nature.

The artist who first inspired her was Robert Bateman. In 2017, after a chance visit to a Granville Island art gallery, she discovered the work of Catherine Gerus. She was immediately taken by the luxurious, buttery look of Ms. Gerus’ process of mixing cold wax and oil. Kim vowed right then to learn how to use the medium. 

From the gestural style of Amy Dryer, to the anime-inspired art of Takashi Murakami, to the whimsical style of Kandice Keith, to the representational work of Rebecca Kinkhead, Kim takes inspiration from a variety of artists. 

Kim invites you to celebrate the natural world with her, one painting at a time.