Shea Kotilla
"I have come to understand that the process, not the outcome, is the juice of an evolving art practice."
Shea Kotilla is on a journey of exploration regarding the use of art materials to evoke a human, sensory experience. Living in the Comox Valley for the past 50 years has brought Shea Kotilla all kinds of joy. She has lived much of her life outdoors, skiing, biking, hiking, kayaking, and gardening. She has raised three wonderous children on the island, and to Shea, they are her everything.
Attending to the craft of art has come and gone over the years, but it has always been a passion that draws her in. Shea excelled in art classes in her junior and senior high schools, then years later, she attended leisure art classes while her kids were growing, and she would join friends in their studios during her free time. Finally, Shea rented her own space in a shared studio and in the last five years, she has been able to devote more time to her art. She retired in late 2022 from her full-time job and has since become a full-time practicing artist.
The heart of her practice
With this outlook, there is elegance, freshness, and a place for curiosity and to imagine new things. She is forever seeking and discovering ways to express on canvas the ‘essence of a thing’, to cause a sense of motion, or a spark of wonder.
Shea is passionate to continue her learning around art by watching videos, reading books about artists’ lives, and looking at artists’ work online. It’s a world she loves to explore and it is an influence on the changing nature of her practice. Art is deeply a part of Shea, and she can hardly help but dive in… for the love of art!
Follow Shea or find her art online at her website:
kotilladesigns.com
