ARTIST STATEMENT – JOEL MARA

Joel Mara was born In Kelowna, BC. His youth was spent on Vancouver Island on the rocky beaches along the coastline. There he developed an appreciation for nature that would later develop into an artistic pursuit.

In 1998, he attended the Capillano College Illustration and Design Program. He graduated with a degree in Graphic Design and Illustration, but the skills he valued and continues to use are those of the brush and of oil paints.

In 2003 he became interested in the landscapes of the West Coast. They appealed to his sense of design. The flat horizon, the calm field of the sea, the chaotic shapes of weathered rock, ancient moss covering a tree or a rugged coast thickly covered in pines. He decided to make these his main theme for painting. Some of the first places he chose for painting were Broken Island Group and Whitecliff Park. Joel looks for natural scenes of moving beauty, striving to capture this feeling on the canvas itself.

Color is a key to Joel’s style. Mixing colours takes him a long time as he searches for new yellows, warm Greys, electric blues and dark greens.

Joel currently paints plein air around the Lower Mainland and paints in his studio in Vancouver, BC.

He is currently representing by Gallery 8 on Salt Spring Island.