Artist Statement
My work bridges the world of my childhood with the life I inhabit now, carrying both the playful wonder of youth and the steady maturity that comes with growing older.
The landscapes that shaped me continue to guide my hand. Quiet walks through the forest, the marshlands, and the farmland near my home offer moments of stillness that become the heart of my paintings. I am drawn to the shifting tides, the changing seasons, and the way the light settles over the fields. These scenes may appear untouched, yet they are deeply cared for by the generations of farmers who have shaped this place. They are familiar to those of us who call this land home and are quietly admired by those who pass through our rural communities with curiosity and appreciation.
My practice is rooted in solitude but never loneliness. It is the comfort of stepping outdoors and feeling held by the land and the warmth of returning indoors to create. Each painting reaches toward a specific mood, whether bright and airy or deep and settled.
My home holds a small studio where most of my work takes form in acrylics, while my workshop allows me to build handcrafted frames that feel as connected to the land as the paintings themselves. As a self-taught artist, I experiment freely with new materials such as pastels and oils, allowing each piece to guide me toward discoveries of style.
Marketing and storytelling weave naturally into my practice. I love finding the place where the artwork will eventually live and connecting each piece with the people who will carry it forward. There is a joy in watching the work step into a new life beyond its creation.
At its core, my work is imaginative, unrefined and honest. Like the land that inspires it, each painting comes from a place of love, simplicity and practicality. I create with the hope that these quiet rural moments will be felt by others not only as scenes of a landscape but as reflections of the care, memory, and belonging that shape a life lived close to the earth.
About the Artist
Chantel Van de Vrie is a self-taught visual artist based in Shubenacadie East, Nova Scotia.
Raised on her family’s dairy farm in Stewiacke, Chantel developed a lifelong appreciation for the natural world and a strong creative instinct. She went on to study Business Administration and Marketing at the Nova Scotia Community College, completing a formative work term at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. This experience sparked a deep interest in communications and ultimately led her to return to NSCC to study Public Relations.
In 2019, Chantel returned to her rural roots, renovating her grandparents’ former home overlooking the tidal marshlands of the Shubenacadie River—part of the Bay of Fundy ecosystem. Immersed in the rhythms of nature and the process of restoring a family homestead, she reconnected with her artistic practice, turning to painting as a way to explore themes of memory, belonging, and place.
Chantel’s work is inspired by the landscapes that shaped her childhood: tidal estuaries, quiet forests, and the farmland cultivated by generations of her family. Her paintings evoke a sense of light, nostalgia, and the enduring beauty of simple living. Lighthearted and playful, her work often captures dreamlike scenes bathed in soft pinks and warm tones—like a glimpse into a nostalgic dreamscape, where the duality of past memory and deep reverence for the land converge.
