Artists profile

Maggie Snee was born and raised in Tanzania, East Africa. She has been interested and focused on fine art for most of her life but did not get the chance to pursue the interest seriously until later in her life.

In 2008 she entered the certification program for botanical illustration offered by the Academy of Botanical Art, Sarasota,Florida, and in affiliation with the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, also in Sarasota. This she completed in 2010, graduating summa cum laude and with special distinction after traveling to the alpine reaches of Tibet to source her final graduation portfolio of subjects.

Since then, with a desire to expand her artistic abilities and expertise, she has explored the mediums of encaustic and Traditional Tibetan Thangka painting.

Maggie lives in Cedar by the Sea on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, with her furry friend Luna, and close to her two children. There she finds an environment of peace and creativity in the woods and close to the ocean, the second fascination of her life.

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Artists statement

Art has been a wonderful therapy for me to escape the stresses and strains thrown my way by daily living. I enjoy being transported into the creative world of my studio, which enables me to capture the images of nature in scientific detail required for botanical illustration. I also enjoy the field work experience of recording details which I later use in recreating the images in my studio with the aim of highest precision and scientific accuracy.

The introduction of Thangka and encaustic painting to my repertoire in the last five years has opened a vast field of possibilities for creativity. I am happy to further the dying art of Thangka painting and to loosen my grip on detailed fine work of illustration with the encaustic medium.

In the experience of artistic creativity I have found a spiritual world that I can only describe as removing me from my being for hours at a time and then transporting me back to discover the new image I have created. I am left wondering where it came from!