Fine Art Digital Painting and Photography

Thank you for your interest! Studio visits are available by appointment. Please feel free to Contact me.  

Artist Statement

Rosanne Morris, a member of the Guelph Arts Council community, is inspired to create while “forest bathing” in nature or while appreciating the elements of design in urban settings. Her work resonates with “Miksang”, a Tibetan word which means “good eye”. Photographs are adjusted digitally, reshaped and reimagined, and are sometimes painted to create something new. Serendipity is never far away, which keeps her work vibrant and fresh. Rosanne’s recent work is inspired by the magical colours and landscape of Oaxaca state in Mexico.

A bit about me…

Experimenting with a Lumix FZ1000 digital camera, iPhone camera, Apple Pencil, iPad, and digital applications to create the unexpected is my current interest. I am intrigued how the play between digital applications and a carefully chosen photograph can delight and surprise.

I work in a variety of media: photography, digital paint, photos adjusted and painted using digital applications, and paint on canvas or wood panel. Some pieces are non-objective, while others are abstract; many are realistic. Whatever the process and whatever the outcome, the elements of design remain central to the success of each piece. 

As a child, I was encouraged to explore art galleries and museums across Canada and the United States with my parents. My father, a successful commercial artist, longed for a solitary life, but with five children he chose to remain in the business arena of graphic design as there was assurance that his family would be supported well. A family story commonly shared was that Dad would have been content living in a cabin in the woods much like Tom Thomson, painting freely without constraint. He was very talented. It was this awareness that drew me at a young age to an appreciation of art.

After traveling solo for a year in my twenties—Eurail Pass in hand—through Great Britain, Ireland, Europe, Scandinavia and the Middle East, my art education began as I visited some of the finest art galleries. Summers spent visiting France sparked a lifelong visceral connection to the impact of colour, texture, and light in lived experience. Returning to Canada, and after two years working as a production secretary in documentary radio production for CBC Radio’s Sunday Morning, I completed a Master of Education.

While teaching for over thirty years and working as a school principal in Toronto, I joined a number of week-long summer art classes at Haliburton School of the Arts and at Neilson Park Creative Art Centre in Etobicoke. Painting with dedicated artists piqued my desire to explore painting myself. Instruction included: Non-Objective Painting, Painting from a Model, Contemporary Landscape Painting, and Open Studio.

I share a light-filled art studio on Wyndham Street in Guelph with an accomplished artist, Mary Karavos. Working beside her and connecting with other artists through the Guelph Arts Council community is a dream come true. My studio is a treasured retreat space, a place to reflect and read, experiment, put paint on canvas, and “tumble” photographs through various apps using an iPad and Apple pencil, painting and exploring creatively.

Much of my work is inspired by travel with friends and family. My husband and I have our hearts set on returning to the Gulf Islands of British Columbia as well as Cornwall and Devon in England. Camera in hand, photos taken on these journeys inspire future projects.

I recently completed my term as Past President of the Board of Focus on Nature, a non-profit charity whose mission is “to inspire kids to connect with nature through photography” by offering in-school and online workshops. Visit our website Focus on Nature for more information. We are always looking for volunteers as well as corporate and individual donations to help us thrive and expand across Ontario and across the country. We believe that by helping kids connect with nature we are helping to foster well-being in children and stewardship of the planet. 

Your interest in my work is appreciated.

Commissions, especially for portraits, are invited. 

I would enjoy hearing from you if you have any comments or questions, or if you would like to purchase a piece of art.

Just go to the Contact tab and send me a quick note, if you feel so inclined!