About the Artist
Hi, I'm Bonnie
I am a mixed media artist born and raised in Toronto, Canada now based in Brooklyn, New York. I create bold and whimsical paintings exploring freedom, sensuality, and release.
In my art I hold space for the chaotic, the provocative, the imperfect, the radical, the carefree; all things I was told not to be as a woman and child of immigrants. Portraying the beauty in diverse bodies of all shapes, sizes and colours is extremely important to me, especially in an art world that repeatedly centers the white and thin.
My art represents the kind of world I want to live in, where traditional rules are broken and creativity is untethered — I hope you'll join me.
My story
Since childhood I've been expected to follow a set path in life, with my achievements measured against someone else's idea of perfection. My creativity was stifled in favour of a "stable" corporate career. I was a wild child who was constantly told to shut up and sit down, feeling as if somehow I was always simulatenously too much and not enough.
I spent the first 6 years after university as a software engineer in big tech before burning out due to years of masking and conforming to a rigid, male-dominated environment. Drawing and painting became a way to beautify my world and fill it with raw, thoughtful, provocative images that didn't fit into my corporate-focused life. My art reflects my dream for a more embodied, intuitive, expressive world, and I hope it will empower others walking their own path to inner freedom.
Behind the art
Music and dance have always been my escape from the pressures of the world. I'd belt my lungs out to Beyoncé or Britney, releasing raw emotion through voice. In my teenage years, dance gave me a way to get in touch with my body and work through my darkest emotions of self-loathing and loneliness.
Naturally, the human figure is my favourite subject. I adore the subtle emotions communicated in its form, lines, stance, and movement. My art is an interpretation of beats and melodies moving through the body. The colours, composition, and brush strokes emerge as a dance with the canvas.
Fun facts
✨ I'm a Scorpio sun/Leo moon/Pisces rising, and Enneagram Type 4 (the Individualist)
✨ I was diagnosed with ADHD at age 28 and it's completely changed the way I view myself
✨ My other hobbies include pole dancing and lingerie collecting
✨ I'm Chinese-Canadian and I speak Cantonese
✨ I love fruits!! My favourites are durian, banana, mango, and date
✨ Fuck, marry, kill: rice, bread, noodles. My answer is DEFINITELY: fuck bread, marry rice, kill noodles