Patricia Kirby

About Me

I create with water media on paper, canvas or wood, always striving for fresh colours and spontaneous expression. My work is emotional and textured, what I envision and feel, rather than what I actually see. Sometimes those feelings lead to completing a work with acrylic or collage. Sometimes the works start with mixed media.

I studied Chinese and Western watercolour techniques for eight years with noted artist and teacher Ming Ma. Other inspirations have been Emily Carr and Tom Thomson.

In 2005 I was juried in as a member of the Foyer Gallery and have since participated in over forty themed shows. In 2006 my works in watercolour, acrylic and mixed media were shown at Ame-Art Gallery in Montreal and in 2007 and 2008, at Santé Restaurant/Gallery and Parkdale Gallery in Ottawa.

In my Tropic of Canada series (2004-2006) I explored texture and the inclusion of haiku poetry in mixed media, acrylic and watercolour. Currently I’m working on a series called Spirit Trees which was inspired by the disastrous winter of 2006-2007 that destroyed so many trees in Stanley Park.

In addition, I started curating for Pelvic Support Physiotherapy Clinic in 2007. My work now hangs there as well as in the Statistics Canada internet division and other collections in Canada, the U.S., Australia, Norway, and France. Also in 2007, my full-page profile was published in Ottawa Life Magazine and the mixed-media work, Redwood Forest 2, was chosen as the cover art for Oblique Strokes. In 2008 Spirit Tree 6 (triptych) was juried into Ottawa Art Gallery (Rental and Sales).