• ROWAN BAILLIE HILL

Rowan is an artist and educator living in Canmore, Alberta, Canada.

Rowan’s earliest memories are of exploring nature and drawing with everything from pencil stubs to colourful crayons. After being raised in exciting locations in both Europe and North America, Rowan’s love of nature and interest in art led her to Prescott College in Arizona where she studied geography and photography. Long hours spent in the dark room taught her the importance of strong design. After pursuing a degree in Education at the University of Calgary, Rowan settled with her husband in Canmore and took up a paintbrush. Attending a variety of workshops from acclaimed artists fueled her passion for oil painting while she navigated the challenges and joy of raising a family.

As a figurative artist, Rowan is interested in the emotions, events and concepts of everyday life. She is motivated by form and value, and is excited to explore non-representational and expressionist design elements. Rowan finds it fascinating how the figure can convey strong emotion through a simple posture or gesture and prefers when a face is turned away or obscured, as it’s never about the actual person, but rather about the story they tell and ideas they represent. Working in oils, Rowan builds up layers on a toned ground, alternating between using bold lines and establishing blocks of colour. She enjoys obscuring elements and edges with rollers and scrapers, then finding and defining details with brushes and palette knives.

“At the end of the day, I hope to share a personal sentiment that the viewer can relate to, and see suggestions of their own story within.”

 As an educator, Rowan seeks to balance her students’ skill building and knowledge acquisition with their development of creative problem-solving skills and finding their personal artistic voice. She finds her students’ enthusiasm contagious and feels privileged to be part of their journey.

As a signature member of the Federation of Canadian Artists, Rowan has participated in numerous group and juried shows and her work is held in private collections across Canada and the US.