Award-winning visual artist Laura Levitsky is recognized for her artwork inspired by British Columbia’s landscapes, wildlife and landmarks. Here, Laura shares her favourite ways to spend time outdoors, places to go for adventures in BC and process behind her detailed wildlife paintings.
“Tiny Treasures” by Laura Levitsky
I am an artist, a mom, and a grandma. I have loved the outdoors for as long as I can remember, staring out across the prairie fields where I grew up, and loving every inch of every landscape when we travelled through the United States where I was born.
I always sketched and painted throughout my childhood and dreamed of becoming a well-known artist when I grew up. I remember going on a school field trip to Henry Ripplinger’s art studio. He was the father of one of my classmates. I was in awe of everything that room stood for. Robert Bateman was another one of my early inspirations.
I always got up close and personal when looking at artwork, trying to make the brush strokes to answer the question, “how’d they do that”? After my children were born and old enough that I could get some odd hours to myself, I went out and bought few tubes of paint, just the basics, a couple of brushes, and a small canvas. I painted at my kitchen table, canvas laying flat on the table instead of up on an easel since I didn’t have one yet. I would sit up on my knees to look down. Lots has changed since then. My art supplies and equipment for shows take up most of my house and my husband likes to joke about him only having a closet to himself.
I haven’t stopped painting since picking up those basic supplies, and since have been awarded with provincial awards with BC Wildlife Federation, national awards with Ducks Unlimited, and international awards with Artists for Conservation. Inclusive to all of my awards, I find it most rewarding when my customers and collectors fall in love with a piece and see something in it that touches their soul like it did mine as I composed and painted it.
On spending time outdoors
My favorite ways to spend time outdoors are anything from working in my garden, visiting an animal/bird sanctuary, hiking wetlands or through mountain trails, or kayaking in the ocean and in BC’s beautiful lakes.
I always feel healthier with outdoor activities, taking me away from all the hustle and bustle of the concrete jungle. I like to focus on one spot for a while, taking in all the little things that has emerged or landed there. I love how new trees emerge from old fallen trees, how an old stump can look like a miniature forest with all it’s different kind of mosses all competing for space. I love finding delicate skeletons of fallen leaves where all of the flesh has disappeared back into the earth leaving behind a faint structure of a leaf's veins that look like lace.
There is so much to see past the obvious trees and plants. It brings me a sense of peace and happiness and inspires my work. I try to include some of these little things in my work, creating the same idea of looking past the obvious. In my loon painting, “Lonesome Loon”, there are damselflies in the reeds, there is an indication of spider webbing that hummingbirds use to build a nest in my piece “Tiny Treasures”, there are small pixie cup lichen growing on the spruce tree in my piece “Saw-whet Owl”, and so on.
”Lonesome Loon” by Laura Levistky
My favorite places to go for outdoor adventures are anywhere I will find nature undisturbed. I love to take old roads and wonder, “where does that go”, as in my kayak getting into areas where most boats can’t travel. It takes me into the far ends of a marsh and through wetlands, into back ponds that have been flooded by beavers.
But to find nature undisturbed doesn’t mean you have to travel to the middle of nowhere. Since nature always adapts, if you look hard enough you can find it in your backyard. As mentioned earlier, I love to visit animal and bird sanctuaries. These are great places to get up close and personal with animals that have a safe place to go about their business without the threat of humans interfering. It’s a wildlife window.
BC has an abundance of beautiful places to visit for outdoor adventure. Wells Gray Park, full of history of the earth’s formation, waterfalls, glacier mountains and lakes. I love everything about what is referred to as the Hot Springs Circle Route. It includes Idaho Peaks in the Kootenays and Meadows in the Sky near Revelstoke.
They are places where you can feel like you are on top of the world where you are so high up in the alpine you can watch a hawk floating on the wind right at eye level. You can bask in the thick alpine flowers, some of which you have never seen before. Take in caving at Cody caves in the Kootenays, or Horn Lake caves on the Island. Paddling Ghost Lake in the Cariboo region, the glacier mountains tower over you at every turn on the lake and in the fall, you can have your fill of wild blueberries, huckleberries and salmonberries. I have so many favorite places and so many more on my to-do list.
A favourite painting and the inspiration behind it
A favorite piece of artwork is of a Barred Owl titled “Keeping Watch”. I always do research on my subjects which include field sketches, gathering photos, making note of the habitat, reading up on behaviors and collecting moss, twigs, plants, whatever I want to study and can bring back to my studio. In this case I knew of a falconer who graced me with the opportunity to spend an afternoon with this beautiful owl.
”Keeping watch” by Laura Levitsky
I refer to all of my own reference materials to compose a painting, so being able to study him in person for more than what would normally be a fleeting moment in the wild was spectacular. I love my job! This painting won a Medal of Excellence Award, an international award through Artists for Conservation.
Laura’s advice for getting outside and unplugged
Any tip I have for anyone on how to connect with nature would be firstly, to get out there, start with somewhere close, maybe a short hike for starters or visit a nearby sanctuary. Then I would have to say spend some time in just one spot and really look and listen to what is there, take in the surroundings. Connecting with nature is opening your eyes to what I said before, seeing past the obvious. You know the old saying, “stop and smell the roses”.
Thank you so much, Laura!
