About the Artist
Who am I? Laura Kaardal
What am I? I am a Canadian artist working primarily in acrylic paint on canvas. I also do realistic pencil portraits.
Where am I? Vancouver, BC. I am originally from Vancouver Island.
Where have I been? For the past 5 years, I lived in China. First in Beijing, then in Chongqing. Before that, I lived in Ottawa, Canada and sold paintings and drawings full time. While in China, I took a break from creating and selling art as I studied for a bachelor's degree and travelled around China.
Artist Biography
Laura Kaardal is a Canadian artist from Vancouver Island, Canada. She works primarily in acrylic paint on canvas in a simplified realistic style. She uses bright colours and crisp, clean lines to create vibrant street scenes. Her body of work consists of scenes set in New York City, Paris, and Ottawa. She is primarily self-taught in drawing and painting techniques and holds a Visual Arts diploma from Camosun College in Victoria, B.C.
Since pursuing a full time career as an artist, she has exhibited at numerous art festivals and shows, most notably, five years at The New Art Festival in the Glebe (previously "Art in the Park"), and four years at the Ottawa Art Expo. Solo exhibitions include "Ottawa Street Scenes" at The Shenkman Art Centre's Trinity Art Gallery in July 2015, and "Across the Intersection" at the Ottawa City Hall OAG Annex put on by The Ottawa Art Gallery Rentals and Sales from April to June 2016.
In addition, she worked with UGallery, an online gallery of curated original artwork based in San Francisco, for over two years (2014-2016). She also did custom commissions in the form of personalized paintings and hand-drawn portraits for over 10 years. Her professional art activities were put on hold while living in China from 2016-2021. She moved to Vancouver in summer 2021.
Her work resides in numerous private collections across Canada and the United States.