Emily Bickell grew up in Whitby, on the shore of Lake Ontario, Canada. She received an Honours Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, with a studio specialization in painting and printmaking, from the University of Waterloo. A lifelong fascination with nature informs Bickell's work. Her water paintings float somewhere between realism and abstraction.
Bickell exhibits her paintings in Toronto and Whistler, Canada, and also in Switzerland. Her artwork has been featured in design magazines Canadian House & Home, Style at Home, and Raum und Wohnen; in the art magazine International Artist, and recently in advertising campaigns for Reese Canada, and Tim Hortons.
"I enjoy being outside, more than anything else. With my paintings, I pause moments of reflection in nature so that I can explore them further. I’m fascinated by colours shifting across moving water, the way shapes echo and saturation changes, contrasts of symmetry/asymmetry, opacity/transparency – all these combine to create visual experiences so strong that I need to dive deeper. Life moves so fast - painting allows me to slow down and contemplate." - E.B.