SHEA KOTILLA
Shea Kotilla is an artist who practices with oil paints on canvas and wood. Her subjects are varied including landscapes, people, and still life.
Shea grew up in small communities loving the closeness of nature where she would wander through the woods, picking berries, and listening to the forest sounds. Spending time outdoors riding bike, swimming, walking on beaches and kayaking is an experience she yearns for daily. Time to breath deeply, feel the sun and wind and rain. And what about bringing the easel and paints! Plein air painting is an ambition she wishes to fulfill! Everywhere in life are images that beg her to create with paint.
Shea shares her time between family, friends, working and painting.
A Journey Through Red Rocks: Reflections from the Road
In early September, I left behind the world of art for a much-anticipated adventure. My husband and I had been planning a car camping trip for weeks, and the time had come to hit the road. We’d transformed our Toyota Rav4 into a mobile home—building a bed platform in the back, organizing bins for our kitchen essentials, and adding a car top carrier to hold everything else we’d need for six weeks on the road.
On September 14th, we set off, heading southeast from our home in Courtenay BC, through Montana, Wyoming, and eventually into Utah, our destination. The goal was to experience the red rock formations of the American Southwest, and I wasn’t disappointed. Utah and Arizona are treasures of natural beauty. There are rock formations that seem impossible —towering spires, jagged mesas, and natural arches that defy all expectations. There are canyons upon canyons formed by spectacular drops in altitude showcasing smooth cliff faces hundreds of feet in height.
The landscape is truly eye candy, with deep oranges and reds, soft pinks, yellows, and tans all captured in amazing formations throughout the region. I was immersed in the colors and textures of the land. The striking desert scenery swept upward into mountain forests of sparsely clustered conifers and yellowed grasslands. It all felt worlds apart from the lush, densely packed forests and the grey granite of the coastal rocks back home in BC. It was a place that challenged my imagination, leaving me in awe of what the earth could create over millions of years.
We camped mostly off the beaten path, venturing up rough dirt roads into remote areas where we were the only ones around. These quiet, peaceful spots were a welcome change from the small highways we’d traveled on. There was something magical about the solitude, the stillness, and the vastness of the landscape.
As I reflect now, I realize that the journey was not just a break from routine—it was also a deeply inspirational experience. The colors and forms of the land continue to resonate with me, and I find myself drawn to the idea of working with more limited palettes in my art. The colors of Zorn palette, in particular, echo the hues of the desert landscapes I encountered.
This trip wasn’t just a vacation—it was a chance to find new sources of inspiration for my creative work. I return home with a sense of wonder and a wealth of new ideas waiting to be explored on canvas.
