Laila Jensen

Born and raised in Alberta, I have always been a passionate creator and art lover. I started painting professionally while living in interior BC and was fortunate to be part of a lively arts scene in the Columbia Valley for many years. I moved to Vancouver Island in 2020 and settled in the beautiful little seaside town of Crofton.

Trees have always been a huge source of inspiration. You can see the influence of the beautiful barks and delicate leaves of Alberta aspens, the spruce and fir forests of BC and the majestic trees of Vancouver Island. Living by the sea is slowly working its way into my paintings.

Over time my work has become increasingly abstract and conceptual, with a noticeable attention to line, shape and edges. As a mixed media artist, I work in layers using plaster, pastes and papers, inks and ink pencils, chalk pastels and metallic leaf. I achieved Signature Status with the Federation of Canadian Artists in 2021 and won first place in the Federation’s Abstracted Exhibition in 2020.

I am a mixed media abstract artist. I usually create in layers, starting with washes and plasters and pastes. I work with all kinds of paper – origami, textured fibre, tissue, etc. I also use metallic leaf, ink, ink pencils, pastes, gels, chalk pastels and charcoal.

Each painting has its own story and back story. And through the layers emerge strange and charming little surprises as the subject matter becomes increasingly abstracted and playful. I hope to entertain my viewers and collectors as much as I was entertained by the creation of the piece.