”We are the Environment, the Environment is Us.
What we do to the Environment, we do to Ourselves.”
“What I love most about art is when I have created results that strikes the inner ‘chord’. To wake up the inner child, to see the look of joy, curiosity, light, mystery or wonder in a persons eyes is very rewarding to me as an artist. To inspire someone else, is one of the greatest gifts that I can receive & give in my life.”
”I make silent music with colour & form.”
– April-Anna
Article published on me and my work by popular Montreal blogger, Par Josianne, Josianne Isabel. To see the full article and photos, click here (some of the photos from my art history series were released for the first time to the public in this article).
April-Anna’s Body Art, Photography & Stop-Motion Animation Series ”Please Don’t Spoil” was Shortlisted & Published in the United Nations Academic Magazine – The Art of Climate Action Summer 2021
As of 2022, April-Anna is now writing blog articles for Palette Skills, her first article has been published & is available to read here.
April-Anna is a multi-disciplinary fine artist from the Fraser Valley, Nicola Valley & Okanagan Valley of BC, Canada. She was born in Mission, BC, & moved around the coast through out early childhood. She spent her teens in the ranching town Merritt, BC where she started her art business as a Youth Entrepreneur in 1996. In her early twenties she was based 1st in the Okanagan Valley & later in the Fraser Valley, BC. She is a dual citizen of England. She spent 7 years in her twenties hitch-hiking regularly 1st in BC before later hitchhiking across Canada (2005 & ’06). Since 2006, she has resided in Montreal, QC, Canada. She now only travels by electric bike, train, plane or automobile.
April-Anna is Neurodivergent: ADHD etc. Her studio is currently on waterfront property along Rivière des Prairies facing Montreal Island, where she watches wildlife such as coyote, beaver, otter, turtles, heron, eagles and of course way too many geese.
April-Anna has been defying the rules of the art world which state she must choose to either be a commercial artist or a fine artist; instead, she does both.
Since 1996, April-Anna’s past clients have included: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel – Montreal Airport (2018), NYX Cosmetics (L’Oréal Paris) (2018), Honda/Osheaga (2018), Fondition Guido Molinari (2018), Club Moomba (yearly 2008-2016), Rise Kombucha, CIBC (2017), SAJO (yearly), Festi’Art École secondaire Le Tremplin, Cirque Eloize (2009), Cirque Du Soleil (4 sub-contracts in 2006 & 2007), Sainte-Justine Hospital Foundation (2008), Gogo Lounge, Upper Loung, Harmony Elementary School, Campbell’s Soup, Yellow Pages, BBCM Foundation: Black & Blue, Milton Park Centre Children’s Day Camp, Molson Canadian Concerts, Trojan Condoms, Club Soda, Casino de Montreal, CLSC, Western Star Trucks, The Okanagan Adventure Company, Parent Teacher Association of West Bank, Merritt Chamber of Commerce, & More.
“Je fais de la musique avec les couleurs et la forme.” — April-Anna
April-Anna est une artiste multi-disciplinaire, originaire de la Vallée Fraser, de la Vallée Nicola et de la Vallée Okanagan en Colombie-Britannique, au Canada. Elle vit présentement à Montréal, au Québec. Depuis 1996, April-Anna fait fi des règles du monde artistique qui veulent qu’elle fasse un choix entre l’art commercial et les beaux-arts ; elle fait les deux.
Témoignage de l’artiste : “Ce que j’aime le plus de l’art est ce moment quand j’arrive à créer un résultat qui touche une corde musicale intérieure et qui réveille la “chanson du coeur” dans l’âme de quelqu’un. Réveiller l’enfant intérieur, voir la joie, la curiosité, la lumière, le mystère ou l’émerveillement dans les yeux de quelqu’un est très valorisant pour moi en tant qu’artiste. Inspirer quelqu’un d’autre est l’un des plus beaux cadeaux que je peux recevoir et donner dans la vie.”
Testimonials / Témoignages
“I wanted to thank you again for all that you did. I actually won the costume contest at work and that was only because of your art. (That is pretty significant) I mean to say, that not one single person who saw me was not in awe of your talent. And that speaks volumes, truly.I’m still in awe of not only the exquisite piece.. literally, it was a beautiful painting you did by hand, just through inspiration.. but how you were willing to take me at such a crazy hour. I can really tell you I had so much fun with it. Children stopped dead in their tracks with their mouth open when they saw me.” – Chrissy, Wolf Red Riding Hood themed Halloween Make-up Client 2017
“April-Anna did a fantastic job at my daughters 4th birthday party, All the children were very happy and everyone was very impressed with her designs and natural way with children. Definitely hiring again!” – Ashley Scourse, 2016
“I was Married in 2001. My wedding was an Irish Indian wedding many of our friends had not experienced mehendi art. It was a joy to have April-Anna come and do mehendi for about 40 to 50 of us. April is very talented, her designs were beautiful and much appreciated by every one. She did my feet which looked fantastic. Being the bride it was important that my hands and feet look pretty. April-Anna was polite and willing to accomodate the wishes of everyone. I wish her great success in her future endeavours.” – Mohini Singh, Kelowna News Reporter at CHBC-TV
“April Anna provided upper body and face painting for my partner and I for our ceremony of commitment; she also stayed later to offer face painting to guests, both children and adults, during the reception. Because our event was immensely personal, we wanted the look to be both festive and tasteful, taking into account our theme of spring, rebirth and flowers. April-Anna worked with us as a collaborative artist and was astute at both listening and generating ideas throughout the process. The end results on both of us were stunning-colorful, theatrical, wild yet unquestionably appropriate. We received countless compliments on our appearance and our interesting choice of body paint for our outfits. Many of our guests chose to have their faces painted afterwards and were enchanted with the fairy-like masks they emerged with. April-Anna’s warm and bubbly personality was an added bonus and we both enjoyed our time with her as well as appreciating the wonderful artistic work she contributed to our most important day.” – Gail Schwartz
“Je me suis mariée en 2001. Mon mariage était un mélange d’irlandais et d’indien, et plusieurs de nos amis ne connaissaient pas l’art mehendi. Ce fût une joie d’accueillir April-Anna, qui a fait du mehendi pour 40 à 50 personnes. April est très talentueuse et ses motifs étaient très appréciés par tous les invités. Elle a maquillé mes pieds et ils avaient l’air super! Comme c’était moi la mariée, il était important que mes mains et mes pieds soient jolis. April-Anna était polie et flexible. Je lui souhaite un énorme succès dans le futur.” – Mohini Singh, journaliste pour Kelowna News à CHBC-TV
“April Anna a fait des maquillages de torse et de visage pour mon partenaire et moi-même lors de notre cérémonie d’engagement ; elle est restée plus tard pour maquiller nos invités — enfants et adultes — pendant la réception. Pour cette cérémonie très personnelle, nous voulions un look festif mais de bon goût, qui refléterait notre thématique du printemps, de la renaissance et des fleurs. April-Anna a travaillé avec nous en tant qu’artiste collaborative et s’est avérée d’une bonne écoute tout en générant des idées tout au long du processus. Les résultats étaient à en perdre le souffle — colorés, théâtraux, sauvages…tout en demeurant tout à fait appropriés. Nous avons reçu d’innombrables compliments sur notre apparence et notre choix intéressant de maquillage corporel pour nos “habits”. Plusieurs invités ont choisi de se faire maquiller le visage après la cérémonie et ils ont été enchantés par leurs masques féériques. La personnalité accueillante et pétillante d’April-Anna était un plus et nous avons bien apprécié notre temps passé avec elle ainsi que les oeuvres artistiques qu’elle a contribué à notre journée spéciale.” – Gail Schwartz