Lin Louise Hammill

Lin currently works full-time as a professional artist in her studio in Nanaimo. Her art is in several private collections locally and throughout Canada. She has participated in the Nanaimo Artwalk and is a member of the Federation of Canadian Artists.

From an early age art has held a special place in Lin’s heart. This passion has been expressed in various ways: including weaving and clothing design along with designing and building a home on Gabriola Island. Lin went to trade school and later to university where she earned a doctorate in Mathematics from Simon Fraser University. She taught mathematics at Kwantlen Polytechnic University before moving to Nanaimo in 2016. She explains that there is a close association between mathematics and various forms of art: mathematics is really all about patterns and patterns are central to her art.

Throughout most of her life, Lin has combined her love of learning and teaching with her passion for art, constantly sketching and drawing in pen and ink. When she turned to full time artwork it seemed natural to draw with pen. She discovered fine art markers soon after, and they allowed her to extend the pen and ink drawings to become paintings.

Sometimes the beauty of the world just grabs me and lifts me up and I need to share this feeling. And sometimes the horrors of the world capture me and I need come to terms with them as well. These feelings can be overwhelming; I express them in my artwork. In the process of making art, I explore both the celebration and the sorrow in the world and so come to be able to hold them. I want the viewer to be drawn into the patterns in my work, inspired by nature and humanity, to find a source of celebration or of sorrow.

I work with ink and fine art markers because they are permanent; I cannot erase nor cover up the marks I make on the paper, only sometimes modify them. This forces me to be mindful of every mark, of every choice, I make. I feel I actually have more creative freedom working within these constraints. I often build intricate forms from small components, working through a magnifier to create complex images around a variety of themes. Recently, I have been exploring the very small – lichen, and the very large - mountain landscapes.