Oh, I love that painting so much. Sigh. Anywho, the episode today is titled “Chance favors those in motion”. It’s a favorite quote, by James H. Austin, of Canadian painter Zoë Pawlak. Not only is it a great quote, it’s a perfect description of how Zoë lives her life. She is a talented artist, a brilliant entrepreneur, a fantastic mother, a lover of tacos, and a great summer brunch date. I’ve known Zoë for a few years now, but I’ve never really dug in and asked where it all started and how she does the things she does… usually we just eat brunch. You can listen right up there under one of my fave “Zoë Pawlaks”, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

First up, her new studio in Montreal {she was based in Vancouver for years, but recently moved}:

Ok, how great is that little message on her big brush? And I had to include those photos of Zoë, because that’s generally what she looks like most of the time… giant smile ‘n fab style! ps. I grabbed all of these images from her gorgeous Instagram feed.

And now, her work! Here are a few of her absolutely dreamy and poetic figurative paintings:

Gah! Beautiful. Those colors, those curves. Stunning. Speaking of which, her ethereal landscapes:

Annnnd, exhale. Maybe just one more deep breath. Yes.

Next… the underpainting “pink girl” that I said I saw/loved on her Instagram feed the other day:

And that’s just the underpainting!? I’d take it just like that, thank you very much.

Up next… her paintings turned into gorgeous rugs. Yes. Paintings as huge, beautifully made rugs. This is such an ingenious collaboration between Zoë and the Burritt Brothers:

Wow, right? {speaking of wow, all of these photos were taken by the very talented, Vancouver based Janis Nicolay}.

Moving on to another beautiful collaboration, this time between Zoë and Vancouver based furniture designer Jeff Martin:

Right?! Ah, so beautiful and so smart. See, she is such a talented artist / brilliant entrepreneur.

And finally, I had to include this shot given one of her speed round answers:

Avocado, Corona … yep, I’m pretty sure she’s going to use that credit card to buy tacos! HA! Had to. Thanks so much to Zoë for doing this with me, thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting the episode, and BIG thanks to you for listening {and rating the podcast on iTunes? please? xo}. There will be more art for your ear next weekend!

Other links:

1. Concordia University
2. NSCAD
3. Ben Skinner
4. TED Talk by Elizabeth Gilbert
5. IDS West
6. Nowness