Inspiring West Coast Artists You Need To Know About

What we love about covering the West Coast art scene is that there’s no end to the ways you can be inspired. From the stunning nature that surrounds us to the culture and community that connect us, you’ll find a new muse for creativity everywhere you look.

There’s a constant cycle of imaginative ideas being created, and because of it, there are always new local artists to discover. One artist inspires another, we write about it, and ideally, you leave with a new perspective or a creative spark for your next project. With that in mind, here’s a curated list of artists we’ve featured on our social channels in the last few months. Take a look, see who resonates with you, and who knows—you might find yourself inspired to join in the creative cycle, too!

Bronwyn McIvor

Driven by a fascination with what she calls “the other,” Bronwyn McIvor follows her artistic inspiration off the beaten path, crafting surprising and surrealist scenes. Each of her strikingly original pieces carries a palpable tension, between beauty and grotesque, the everyday and the otherworldly. Through this creative juxtaposition, Bronwyn invites audiences to reflect on the connections between seemingly opposing forces and to consider that they may not be so different after all.

Instagram: @bronwynmcivor
Website: bronwynmcivor.ca

 

 

Flavia Chan

Drawing cute creatures that look like they could cast a spell on you if you got on their bad side, Flavia Chan creates a fantastical atmosphere that is at once cuddly and creepy. Each of her unique characters adorably embraces a dark edge, showing the importance of finding a balance between the many facets of our personalities. Specializing in pen and ink, watercolour, digital painting, and toy customization, Flavia also takes commissions, in case you were looking for a melancholic bunny to add a bit of mystique to your home.

Instagram: @catscanpuke
Website: catscanpuke.com

 

 

Joy Munt

Having grown up on the prairies and lived in both Vancouver and Toronto, Joy Munt brings a broad and uniquely Canadian perspective to her abstract landscape paintings. Her work blends the gritty, industrial look of shipping containers with the soft, flowing beauty of nature, capturing moments that feel like memories: green fields passing by a train window, or the distant echo of rail cars rumbling through the night. It’s a creative push and pull between industry and environment; a tension that many Northern Canadians know well. Whether it feels like a peaceful conversation or a heated debate is up to you.

Instagram: @enjoymunt
Website: joymunt.com

 

 

Kim Kennedy Austin

Kim Kennedy Austin is a Vancouver-based illustrator with a playful and distinctive style, often inspired by 20th-century print media and pop culture. She uses everyday materials from hobby and dollar stores to explore how craft, applied arts, and women’s work have changed over time. Her art has a wonderfully tactile feel that sparks nostalgia, reminding us of our shared experiences as consumers of both stuff and stories, and how these points of modern culture shape the way we see the world.

Instagram: @kim_kennedy_austin
Website: kimkennedyaustin.weebly.com

 

 

Laura Clark

Laura Clark works with photography, film, mixed-media sculpture, and ceramics to explore the vulnerability and fragility of the human experience. As an active and supportive member of Vancouver’s arts community, she’s passionate about the growth and shared learning that happen when artists come together. You might have spotted people wearing shirts that say, “Female Artists Put the Gal in Gallery”; that’s one of Laura’s creative projects! She designed the merch to celebrate and champion women’s artistic achievements. You can find the inspiring and stylish gear at the Vancouver Art Gallery gift shop.

Upcoming Projects

October 4 – 18, 2025
Maker + Mother, Parker Street Gallery, Vancouver BC

October 2025
Returning Artist donating to Arts Umbrella, Splash Art Gala & Auction.
“Grateful to have the opportunity to donate my artwork for meaningful and valuable causes. This will be my third year donating to Arts Umbrella.”

Collaborations in the works for 2025:
New short film with Isaac Forsland
Two person art exhibit with Richelle Greabeiel

Instagram: @laura_marie_clark
Website: lauraclark.ca
Email: studio@lauraclark.ca

 

 

Leonid Rozenberg

With over 30 years of experience in art and design, Leonid Rozenberg has developed a truly one-of-a-kind style. Originally from Ukraine and now based on Vancouver’s North Shore, Leonid works across a mix of mediums, including drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, and digital art, and has shown his work in exhibitions throughout North America. At the moment, he’s sharing his skills by teaching painting and printmaking classes through North Van Rec. He’s also cooking up something exciting: a deck of graffiti-inspired tarot cards, set to launch later this year!

Instagram: @leonidr65
Facebook: facebook.com/leonid.rozenberg.7
Work available: fineartamerica.com/profiles/leonid-rozenberg
Email: Irozenberg@yahoo.ca

 

 

Polly Almond

Polly Almond is a self-taught artist based in North Vancouver who wears many hats; she paints, writes, and even practices law! Combining ink, acrylic, poetry, and symbolism. Her work explores what it means to be a woman today and how we connect with one another. “My creative process often begins with words—a poem, a sentence, or a question that won’t leave my mind. From there, I envision an illustration, sketch it in pencil and ink, and then develop it into a full painting.” Her work doesn’t shy away from brash tones and imagery that challenge the viewer to perhaps reconsider their perspective on feminine energy.

Instagram: @pollyalmond
Website: pollyalmond.ca

 

 

Sande Waters

Sande Waters finds beauty in life’s unpredictability and happily dives into the creative chaos that inspires her. Using vibrant abstract shapes and colours, she captures the spontaneous, flowing nature of expression. Each piece playfully balances themes of control and letting go, drawing you in with the natural energy created. Though her process is about bringing order to a flurry of incoming ideas, her work still retains a soothing, free-flowing vibe that defies what you might expect from organized or structured expression.

Upcoming Projects
October 9 – November 9, 2025
EDGES | NV Arts

Instagram: @sandewaters
Website: sandewaters.com
Email: info@sandewaters.com

 

Surnoor Singh

Surnoor Singh is a Surrey-based illustrator and painter known for his evocative watercolour works. With just a few carefully placed brushstrokes, he captures deep emotion—often evoking themes of reflection and identity. Each piece carries a sense of classical expression, yet is grounded in a distinctly modern sensibility. Guided by instinct and intuition, Surnoor treats the blank canvas as both inspiration and collaborator, allowing his work to unfold in what he calls a state of “poetic surrender.”

Instagram: @surnoorsembhi
Youtube: youtube.com/@surnoorsembhi

 

Tarcila Neves

A Brazilian-Canadian visual artist, art director, and educator based in Burnaby, Tarcila Neves creates multi-sensory, community-driven experiences. Informed by her Afro-Indigenous-European roots, she blends traditional art-making with digital innovation, using projections, augmented reality, and audio sensors. The result is akin to a waking dreamscape where influences like nature, fantasy and anime meet at an unlikely—and beautiful—intersection.

Instagram: @tarcilaneves
Website: artsnest.net/tarcilaneves
TikTok: @tarcila.neves.art

Upcoming events:
Solo Exhibition at VIFF Centre – Vancouver Taiwanese Film Festival – September 5–6, 2025, at 1181 Seymour Street, Vancouver, BC.