About the Artist Kendra Smith

Kendra Smith grew up in a log house in the woods, near Williams Lake, BC. She studied French and Spanish in Quebec and Victoria and graduated in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts. Rather than take the traditional approach to a career, Kendra’s perspective is that she is “qualified to travel” and for the next five years enjoyed traveling overseas as well as in Canada, spending summers in five different provinces. Her parents continue to give her the love and support she needs to pursue her dreams, and have taught her to value the small things in life.

Kendra lived in Sun Peaks, BC for two winters before moving to Clear Lake, Manitoba where she took her first watercolour workshops in the summer of 1999. She has always been creative and watercolours instantly became a passion. Kendra then moved to Fernie, BC. Her art career began when she held her first solo art show at the Fernie ski hill in 2001. In the beginning she sold hand painted cards but quickly graduated to reproducing them when she could no longer keep up with the demand. In the last seven years she has sold over 20000 printed art cards and amazingly over 600 original paintings!

Kendra now exhibits her original work in several galleries and gift stores across Canada. Many of her watercolour paintings have made their way into private collections around the world. In 2002, Kendra painted the picture for the official Sun Peaks poster, and in October 2004 she released her first limited edition giclee on canvas, called “Sun Peaks Ski Resort”. In 2006 she painted the cover for the Okanagan Spring Wine Festival brochure and the next year one of her paintings graced the cover of the 2007 Icewine Brochure.

In 2004 KendraArt added high quality fine art reproductions to her collection. Combined with archival papers, the specialty inks give exceptional lightfastness and quality. By printing her own images, Kendra is able to provide a wide selection of sizes and designs.

Now a full time artist and workshop instructor, Kendra continues to enjoy and to be thankful for this creative side of life. Currently she is teaching graphic and digital media design at the Center for Arts and Technology in Kelowna, BC. She also shares a studio space in downtown Kelowna with fellow Kelowna artist Carrie Harper.

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Thank you!