You may ask yourself the question why is a French Canadian girl painting Mexican Luchadors? In Calgary we used to have a television show called Stampede Wrestling and as a kid I always remember watching it every Saturday morning. It was a wrestling institution, Stu Hart and the minions of wrestlers would battle it out and Ed Whalen, one of the announcers provided a unique commentary. This I think was the first impression of wrestling that lasted. Stamped Wrestling was bought out by Vince McMahon and later bought back by the Hart Family which is why Calgary, my home town is considered the birth place of WWE with such stars a Brett the Hitman Hart and Owen Hart originating here. It was our northern version of Lucha.
In 2016 I donated a large painting to the Owen Hart Foundation which raises money for underprivileged families in our city. Owen Hart was a WWE wrestler who died tragically in the ring – his widow Dr. Martha Hart is the head of this worthy organization. Elvis Costello played for the evening and the oil painting I painted of Elvis Costello was signed by him and auctioned off. I have lived in Houston, Texas and Majorca, Spain. I am a graduate of The University of Calgary, in Fine Arts. I have also worked as a scenic painter in the film industry working on such films as Shanghai Noon staring Jackie Chan and most recently Fargo the TV Series. In 2016 I was involved in a large city project – painting graphics in the new National Music Centre in the East Village (Studio Bell) Nashville North.
I have always been interested in masks and the rich and colorful art of Mexico.
Attending a travelling Luchadore Revue called Lucha VaVoom in Canada, sparked a real interest in painting Lucha Legends. It all came into fruition when I attended a Guillermo del Toro exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The old black and white movies of El Santo and Blue Demon were being played. I was hooked! I added the elements of glitter and color as I remember seeing many paintings in Mexico with hand sewn sequins and embellishments.
