Danuta Rogula About the Artist Gifted with exceptional skills using a spatula, Danuta Rogula is widely acclaimed and her work is highly sought after. An active member of the Federation of Canadian Artists, Danuta is extremely versatile and can work in an extensive variety of styles, which makes her an exceptional custom painter. Specializing in landscape and still life, Danuta has developed an extraordinary sensitivity to the minute nuances in the play of light. The tactile drama of her technique combined with her intuitive sense of light, colour and mood imbue her work with rare immediacy and presence. Her artwork glows with a compelling vibrancy that reflects the very essence of her own indomitable spirit.

Autobiography I was born in Poland in 1958, and since the very beginning I was trouble for my parents. I didn’t like kindergarten and begged my mom to let me stay home where I could find more interesting things to do on my own. I am remembered for running away from kindergarten even though was it was far from our house. I learned later from Robert Genn that it was a good indication for becoming an artist. My mother, who was a practical person, sent me to the Technical High School of Architecture. She always told me, "Do not try to be an artist if you don't want to starve.” I almost listened to her and went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Interior Design from the Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw in 1983. Then when my two daughters were born in 1983 and 1988, I stayed home to care for them and rediscovered painting. My art was soon selling in galleries in Wroclaw, Gliwice, and Rybnik in Poland. I immigrated to Canada in 1991 and continued painting. I worked as a background painter for animated films for Studio B Productions, then for International Rocketship. Among the films were Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders, and Gary Larson's "Tales from the Far Side 2.” I also worked as a scenic painter for the movie industry. In 2000 I graduated with a diploma from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) in Computer Aided Programs including AutoCAD, Photoshop, Illustrator and 3D. A year later, I moved to Port Moody, where in 2002 and 2007 I had individual exhibitions. The exhibition in 2002 was inspired by September 11th 2001 and in 2007 I showed my first series of encaustic paintings, reviving the ancient technique of painting with molten bees wax. The results of lending the tint of oil paints with molten wax result in spectacular paintings. In 2008, I established the Old Customs House Gallery in Britannia Beach, where I stay the most of the time. I love to travel and am fortunate to have the opportunity to paint some of the exotic places I have visited, but Britannia Beach gives me ample access to the most inspirational landscape settings. From the beaches and the bays of Howe Sound, through meadows carpeted with flowers in the dramatic Pacific Coast mountains, I have endless vistas to stimulate my soul and imagination. Artist’s Statement I am inspired by the world around me and have always had an eye for beauty. I am seldom without a camera close at hand to capture the vitality of an instant suspended in time. I experience a scene in Nature that has really touched me – the atmosphere, the beauty of light or the tranquility – I want to share with others what I experience through my painting. I enjoy exploring different mediums and styles and find it stimulating to switch back and forth among a variety of tools, sizes and motifs. One day I might paint an impressionistic image of the forest with a palette knife. Another day I may choose a small brush to detail a realistic portrait of a pet, or a large roller to create an otherworldly metaphysical vision.