Sandra Mac Donald lives in Rines Creek, Nova Scotia, Canada. She has created a cozy atmosphere in a fully equipped artist’s studio far removed from noisy city life. Nestled in the evergreen forests of central Nova Scotia, her studio is well lit with natural light and provides a peaceful environment to foster creativity.

Sandra’s fine art background began with college courses, but her style developed through years of personal study, research and teaching. The response to her work has encouraged Sandra to paint and teach full time. Sandra teaches at her home studio and also travel teaches. She has taught and exhibited at major art conventions in the U.S. and Canada.

Sandra has worked for the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in their Arts Smarts Program, which brings art and music into schools across the province.

Sandra is currently a director of Art 1274 Hollis Gallery, past chair of the Hants County Arts Council, and East Hants Fine Art, and past manager of Winding River Art Gallery.

Sandra’s work has won numerous awards at juried and non-juried art shows and is held in both private, public and corporate collections in Canada, United States, Europe, and around the world, including the Office of Tourism in Kumamoto, Japan .

Sandra Mac Donald
Some of the “finer things” in our life are not acquired with money. If we slow down and take the time to observe and absorb the beauty of the world around us we will be surprised by the “finer things” we will find.

Painting gives me an opportunity to escape into the world I create on canvas (a balance between imagination and reality, both on the same page)

I try to make each painting a unique statement, and I hope that viewers feel a little of what I felt when I created each painting. My goal is to work towards an ever-increasing celebration of life in my paintings by focusing on all that is beautiful. It is my hope that my paintings will have a nourishing and healing effect; that my viewers will feel as though they are within the painting and experience the emotions of renewal and meditation I felt when I created these paintings; and that they absorb the positive energy of the images I have been moved to paint.

As an Artist I love to paint what surrounds me. What I see and portray in my creative manner may elicit a spark of emotion or memory. I would like you to wonder what’s around the bend in a path or over the next hill. I hope that you feel you could be walking that trail, or sitting on that bank, or gazing into that sky. If this should happen then I truly believe that artist and beholder have shared a wonderful experience together.

There is never a shortage of scenery to paint which is captured with my camera on long hikes, in a kayak or walking a little dog named Lucy. I enjoy photography and often use my images as references for my paintings, therefore I am always ready to capture those moments when the light reveals the extraordinary in the ordinary.

The four seasons, combined with quiet lakes, creeks, or wildlife and the landscapes that surround them: the enthusiasm to put it all together as a creative work never ceases.  I enjoy painting with oil, acrylic, and even some watercolour . Living near the water provides endless opportunities to paint that interaction between light and water, that ever-moving line between things and their shadows. I feel a deep-rooted connection to rugged landscapes and waterscapes. That connection often presents itself in my work.

There is no hidden meaning in my art, I am just trying to capture a moment or something of beauty in my own way and try to put something into my work that a photo wouldn’t capture. When someone looks at my work I hope they enjoy the view.