Federation of Canadian Artists - Studio Community

An immigrant from a picturesque seaside village in Greece to Canada’s majestic west coast, Golfo has evolved over the years and her different artistic projects reflect her rebirth at various stages of her life. Golfo experiments with a variety of mediums including acrylic, watercolor, and oil. A proud member of the Federation since 2010, Golfo continues to expand her craft.

There is a sophisticated feel to all of her paintings through a balance of color, composition and texture. In abstract painting Golfo’s most authentic self emerges. She loves the courage and

freedom that abstract painting gives her, as the artist, and the viewer as well. Golfo has been proud member and featured artist of the Roam Gallery since 2013. Her work has been exhibited at the Vancouver International Art Show, and in 2021 she held her first solo show at the Art Couture gallery in White Rock, BC. She has received international recognition with awards of excellence for the Circle Arts Foundation. 

Golfo currently lives with her husband, and creates her art out of her private residence, in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Her work is featured in public and private collections.

Natalia, a talented Moldavian painter, is making her mark early in her creative career. With an impressive background studying at the Chisinau Art College, the Ukrainian Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture in Kiev, and the Chisinau State University of Fine Arts, Natalia has honed her skills as a professional artist. 

Her work reflects an investigative spirit and a unique balance of realistic traditions and progressive trends in modern art, making her a standout in the contemporary art scene.  

Janna was born in Komsomolsk-on Amur, a small town in the Russian Far East and now lives and works in Vancouver, Canada. Educated as a psychologist, when she moved to Vancouver in 2004 she decided to become an artist.

The beauty of the Pacific West coast inspired Janna so tremendously that, never having been involved in art, she began to express her vision of the world through painting. She studied fine art in Capilano University North Vancouver and in the London Fine Art Studios and City Lit institute in London, UK.

Her paintings reflect her belief that every subject – be it a landscape, a figure or just a simple flower – has its own inner essence that evokes profound emotional impressions in people. She likes capturing this sense of the inner ‘spirit’ and sharing her delight in experiencing it with the viewer. She paints mainly with oil but also enjoys working with watercolor, acrylic and pastels. Janna works in the Impressionist style with its freedom of colour, light and loose brush strokes. She likes challenges and experiments and now she’s been working on a series of abstract paintings.

Chris is passionate about the environment and believes deeply in nature’s ability to bring peace to the soul. An avid hiker, he can be found along the local mountains of Cypress, Seymour, Burke and Squamish with his gear on his back, or set up and painting in unexpected areas.

With his watercolours, Chris works mostly en plein air and seeks to capture the environment in its purest, creating fresh images brimming with immediacy. As the summer fades, he returns to his studios at home in New Westminster and on Granville Island to portray his treks in the wilderness in loose acrylic depictions.

While representational in nature, Chris’s work purposefully strays from reality and embraces a vague and ambiguous approach on the subject matter before him, preferring to capture the essence of a mood. He is intrigued with the physicality of painting - scrubbing, scraping and at times lifting out as much paint as he applies, creating paintings that speak as much about texture as the image itself. Chris is a Signature Member with the Federation of Canadian Artists and shows regularly at their Granville Island gallery.

From observing light, composition, colour and design for 45 years as a photographer, Dianne began watercolour painting in 2014. After six years, her attraction to more saturated colours drew her to acrylics.

“I find painting provides an even deeper connection to nature where I can explore beneath the surface to appreciate shapes, lines, colours, patterns, and express my imagination.”

Dianne is inspired to transform the complex patterns and abstract designs into crystalline forms and sequences.

From artistic pursuits at an early age, Dianne pursued photography in the 1970s and after completing an English Literature degree at UBC, she used her writing and photography skills to earn a living in journalism and public relations. (A collection of her photographs resides in UBC’s Archives.)

In January 2022, Dianne acquired Active Status with the Federation of Canadian Artists. Besides nature, she also paints Vancouver cityscapes among other subjects. Dianne will consider commissions.

Caroline was born in Vancouver and had the good fortune of growing up surrounded by the stunning scenery of the West Coast.

Mostly self-taught, she has completed courses in Visual Art Media at Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design and taken various drawing courses at Langara College and the Vancouver Academy of Art. Caroline loves experimenting with different media and techniques, which has led to a variety of artwork, always centred around nature and animals.

Her favourite mediums are mixed media and digital painting, which she uses to create her original illustrations. She also enjoys painting with paper, combining handmade papers and Japanese Mulberry paper with acrylic and inks to create unique textures and colours.

These days, Caroline works full-time as a painter and illustrator. Her whimsical and fun images are designed to bring a smile to your face. You can find her work reproduced as Fine Art Prints, cards, and stationery.

Born and raised in Vancouver, BC, Sharon spent time in Montreal and London, England, before choosing to live on the wild west coast of BC. The beauty of this landscape captivates her.

Sharon holds a diploma in Fashion Arts, graphic design, and a certificate in Interior Design. Over the years, she has taken workshops in both painting and photography.

Her work has been displayed at Basic Inquiry, various gift shops, craft shows, and conferences around the lower mainland. Currently, it can be seen at the Federation of Arts Studios on Granville Island, as well as on Instagram: @smkhome.

Louise grew up in Montreal and Toronto, earning a Master’s degree in Medieval Art & Literature from the University of Toronto. She started painting in London, England, where she held two exhibitions before moving to Chicago, where her painting practice slowed to focus on family. 

In 1994, Louise relocated with her family to the small mountain town of Rossland, BC, where she returned to her art and became an active member of the community arts scene. She founded The Firehall Gallery, which later became the Rouge Gallery—both co-operative spaces that showcased the works of over 20 local artists.

After 30 years in the rugged, sporting town, it was time to take care of their knees, so they moved to False Creek South in January 2024. Louise is very happy to join the group of studio artists and to be a part of the Federation of Canadian Artists.

Nataliia Karavan is an experienced Ukrainian artist whose harmonious visuals explore sensuality, sensibility, self-love, and the female figure. Her contemporary paintings offer colourful representations of the beauty we can find in the natural world.

Nataliia began her art career in London, studying colour theory at Camberwell College of Arts. She later pursued a BA in Fashion in Paris at Istituto Marangoni before completing an MA in Art and Design at Cambridge School of Visual & Performing Arts, England. The artist briefly taught in China before returning to Ukraine. Here, she continues to create artwork from her studio.

Nataliia seeks to express emotion through her abstract compositions. From serenity to high intensity, the artist uses a colourful nature-inspired palette to translate her mood and feelings at the time of creation. Blending impressionistic tones with vibrant abstract mark-marking, Nataliia produces floral scenes,

landscapes and portraits, all of which she imbues with light and a sense of freedom and harmony. The artist layers spray paint and oils with bold brushstrokes, often coating her canvas with pastel shades and hazy dream-like hues. The resulting works are laced with a sense of nostalgia for place and time.