About the Artist

Beatrice is a Canadian American who grew up in Eastern Canada, spent her adult years in San Francisco and Marin County, and presently lives in Mill Valley. Her career in information technology culminated in the role of Sr. Project Manager in an international law firm. Throughout her life, travel has always been her passionate pursuit. To fulfill dreams of a lifetime, she took a year to travel solo around the world and then lived in Paris for two years. Her 2008 return to the Bay Area enables her to paint regularly and continue to indulge her travel lust.

Beatrice has been painting for over ten years. Essentially self-taught, she also attends workshops and classes in various art styles (e.g., landscapes, figure drawing, portraiture). She has tried many media during this time and until recently preferred painting in oils. Now Beatrice has discovered joy in the colors and immediacy of pastel chalks and continues to refine her skill with them.

The painting process is a source of great pleasure for me. I love to lose myself in the endeavor to bring the beginning muddled blurs to a warm, lively, and detailed finish. There is joy of making one of those magical strokes that is just right and mustn’t be changed. The challenge to improve is always there, and each new work builds on some expertise learned in the last.

Color and hints of humanity are important elements of my paintings, and my goal is to bring pleasure to the viewer. With my pet portraits done in pastels, I’ve found a subject and medium where I take pride in the finished result and am delighted with the pleased reaction of the owner. A piece turns out well when it shows personality and spirit, like the wisdom in the eye of a cat or mischief in the turn of a dog’s mouth.