Surprise Painting

Canadian-Serbian artist Ivana Sepa studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade, Serbia. After receiving her BFA, she spent more than a decade focusing on a successful career in graphic design. Relocating to Canada’s west coast introduced Sepa to natural beauty on a scale she had never experienced before. Living alongside ocean, mountains, and forest nourished her perspective on the relationship between the individual and the natural world. Reflecting on the unique solitude she could feel surrounded by nature, Sepa’s explorations refined her understanding of a part of herself that had lain dormant—a sense of alignment and awareness that the landscape brought to life. Filled with mystery, the Pacific Northwest offered a space for personal meditation and silence. The bold colors, sharp contrasts, and strong lines in Sepa’s paintings suggest the range of feelings that surface in nature—from the dreamlike sensuality of complete immersion to the contemplative appreciation that comes with regarding the world from a distance. Ivana is currently sharing her time living between Spain and Canada.