About Me

I am a free-spirited British-born Jamaican Canadian abstract and mixed media artist in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  I am a trained Sociocultural Anthropologist, who believes as humans, art is a manifestation of our curiosity about the material world and, as such, an essential part of what it means to be human. When I explore this relationship between art and the human experience, I borrow from Intuitive and Tactile Art forms. My work is characterized by a dense network of crisscrossing (and squiggly) lines separating rectangles of multiple shapes, made of different materials, earthy and celestial colours and textures from my use of sand, stone and other textured materials. Viewers of my work are stimulated by alternating physical and visual surfaces.

Biography

I am self-taught. Destiny has everything to do with how I became an artist. A friend suggested I take the Intuitive Art workshop to help with my writer’s block and social anxiety. When I had to write, perform or present or even learn in public, I would swing back and forward between panic and procrastination. 

I always feared being exposed as an imposter. It sounds crazy, as I managed a professional career, two honours degrees and a Master’s. However, my Boogeyman was growing up an undiagnosed dyslexic with the attention span of a gnat. I spent my primary and secondary school years in special reading classes. Though, it wasn’t until I was an adult I was officially diagnosed with dyslexia and adult Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)).

The painting helped by turning my disadvantages into advantages. I relaxed, so it was easy for me to focus. I also created without that dreaded fear of being judged. It didn’t matter if I did not perform the same as everyone else. I created incredible pieces of art that reflected who I was and not who somebody else thought I should be. The workshop was back in the Spring of 2019. I enjoyed painting that way so much that I began private lessons that Fall. Three years on, and I am still happily painting.

To inquire about commissions or purchase an original painting or a print, please use the contact form below or visit my page at Saatchi Art, https://www.saatchiart.com/audratownsend. I also really appreciate it if you follow me on Instagram art.by.audrat. 

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