Artist in Residence Series
Creativity needs space. Throughout the season, we’ll host a rotating lineup of Canadian resident artists bringing fresh perspectives to the Great Bear Rainforest.
Sue Contini
Sue is an award-winning contemporary landscape painter based in Calgary, Alberta, working primarily in acrylic. A graduate of York University’s Fine Arts program and a former military child, she draws inspiration from the shifting landscapes of her upbringing.
She instills a passion for the arts through teaching, workshops, and jurying, having served on panels for the Calgary Stampede and the Society of Canadian Artists. A designated member of both the SCA and AFCA, her work is sparked by glimpses of atmosphere, color, and light, balancing intuitive painting with controlled development.
Tahirih Goffic
Tahirih Goffic, the former owner of the Dragonfly Studio Gallery and Café, in Bella Coola, and long-time resident, is now a full-time artist based in Telkwa, in the beautiful Bulkley Valley in Northern B.C. She has had a passion for painting wildlife since she was a child and knew from the time of six that “she would be an artist when she grew up” and indeed started selling her work at the age of twelve. Her paintings can be seen in the homes of many Bella Coola residents (with the local grizzlies often the subject), but have also sold well internationally. She works mainly in oils, but loves to dabble in acrylics, watercolor, and graphite if it’s better suited for the piece. She is a member of the Federation of Canadian Artists as well as the Smithers Art Gallery and hopes to soon open her studio to the public.
She mainly focuses on wildlife but strives to portray how our connection with the land and the animals of the land can lead us to understand how our connection can be nurtured. Through storytelling and symbolism, she strives to portray how animals and their interactions with humanity can teach us something about humility and realize our interdependence with this incredible planet and all of the creatures on it.
Gaye Adams
Gaye Adams describes her work as a simple exploration of beauty—both everyday and extraordinary—driven by a lifelong fascination with light. From studio pieces to plein air studies gathered across Canada and abroad, her paintings reflect a deep love for backlight, cast shadows, and the subtle interplay of illumination.
In winter, she turns to still life and figure studies and finds balance through teaching, sharing the skills passed down by her mentors with students around the world.
Suzanne Northcott
Based in Langley, Canada, Suzanne Northcott is an interdisciplinary artist. Always a painter, she has moved through video, installation, and photography. She has collaborated with poets, biologists, and artists in other disciplines. Recently, environmental and feminist concerns drew her to textile and hand stitching. Themes of migration and our place in the collective compel her. Influences include Gerhard Richter and Barnett Newman. Her work is held in private and public collections in Canada and worldwide. Northcott is currently working on a book about the creative process.
Karen Love
Growing up in Kleinburg, Ontario—home of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection— Karen spent significant time at the gallery and in the surrounding woods, where the works of the Group of Seven, Tom Thompson, and Lauren Harris became major influences. She even participated in school sketching outings led by A.Y. Jackson in his twilight years. These early memories profoundly influenced her decision to pursue a path in the arts.
Karen studied Fine Art at the Art Sake Institute for Visual Art, an artist-run, experimental post-secondary art school in Toronto during the 1980s. She furthered her education at Sheridan College School of Craft & Design, focusing on Glassblowing and Jewellery design, then continued fine art studies at the Emily Carr Design Institute and Capilano University in Vancouver in the 1990s.
Her artwork consistently focuses on the richness and patterns found in nature at every scale. Her inspiration comes directly from wandering and riding in the valley and mountain trails, discovering beauty in the forests, mountains, and lakes. While she is interested in abstract painting, her greatest enjoyment comes from expressing nature’s beauty from right outside her front door in the mountains and her garden. These paintings are cherished by clients globally as treasures that evoke the memory of the mountain range in Pemberton.
Karen has been immersed in the world of visual arts for over 40 years! She’s done everything from painting and graphic design to illustration, photography, set decorating, murals, and silversmithing. She even owned and operated a marketing communication firm with clients all over the world.
Living in Pemberton for many years, she’s had the chance to share her love of art with others. She’s been a resident artist at the Four Seasons Whistler for four years, teaching art classes to both guests and visitors. She’s also taught art classes at the community centre and in many school classrooms in the area.
In 2005, she founded the Pemberton Arts Council, and it’s still going strong today as a hub for culture in our rural town.
Janice Robertson
Janice Robertson, born on Vancouver Island in 1952, began her professional art career in 1989 and is now based in Fort Langley, B.C. A signature member of several leading art organizations and former President of the Federation of Canadian Artists, she has received numerous accolades, including international awards and multiple bronze medals from the FCA.
Working in acrylic, watercolor, and oil, her paintings are inspired by West Coast forests, beaches, and the beauty of home. Also a respected instructor and author, Janice’s work is held in collections worldwide and represented by galleries across British Columbia.
Susie Cipolla
Susie Cipolla, a Vancouver native, discovered her talent at seven after winning a coloring contest, but pursued a career in physiotherapy before returning to art in 2009 after a workshop with Brian Atyeo. Now based in Pemberton Valley, B.C., she works full-time from her rural studio, creating vivid acrylics—from abstracts to Pacific Northwest landscapes—and mentoring fellow artists.
A Senior Signature Member (SFCA) of the Federation of Canadian Artists and founding member of The Whistler Out Of Bounds Artist Group, her work is shown in galleries across Canada.
Doria Moodie
Doria is a full-time artist based in Whistler, B.C., and a passionate advocate for grizzly bears since her first visit to the Great Bear Rainforest 12 years ago. The official artist and board member of the Grizzly Bear Foundation, she donates one percent of her sales to their conservation work. A former teacher turned acrylic painter, she captures bears, landscapes, and portraits from her Whistler studio.
Doria is an Associate Member of the Federation of Canadian Artists, a founding member of the Whistler Out of Bounds Artists, and has been represented by Mountain Galleries for over a decade.
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