About Mara Szyp — Vancouver Island Artist
Mara Szyp is a Vancouver Island artist creating original West Coast oil paintings and resin-finished driftwood artworks. Based in Victoria, British Columbia, her work reflects the light, texture, and quiet presence of the coastal environment.
Her paintings range from atmospheric seascapes and landscapes to intimate small-format canvases. In her wood work, Mara works with locally and ethically sourced driftwood and live edge wood — often reclaimed or sustainably redirected — preserving the natural character of each piece. Every wood artwork is sealed in clear resin to enhance depth and durability while maintaining the integrity of the material.
A Life Shaped by Landscape
Born in Argentina and later living in Los Angeles and Spain, Mara eventually made Vancouver Island her home in 2005. The rugged coastline and ever-changing skies of the Pacific Northwest became central to her artistic language.
After surviving cancer twice, and fully dedicating herself to art following her third battle in 2016, her practice deepened into something both grounding and expansive. Painting became not only a creative pursuit, but a way to honour resilience, presence, and gratitude.
Sustainability & Process
Sustainability is integral to her work. Driftwood is responsibly gathered from local shorelines and professionally treated, meeting international travel requirements. Live edge wood preserves the natural growth rings and bark of the tree, celebrating the material’s original form.
Each piece — whether canvas or wood — is created on Vancouver Island and finished with intention, allowing natural texture and light to remain central to the composition.
Exhibitions & Representation
Mara’s work is exhibited and represented at select galleries and retail locations across Vancouver Island, including Victoria, Sooke, Duncan, Langford, and Brentwood Bay.
Her work bridges fine art and natural material, offering collectors original West Coast landscape paintings and sculptural driftwood artworks rooted in place and experience.
Mara Szyp - Biography
Curriculum:
2026 - THE LOCAL ARTISAN GALLERY BUTCHART GARDENS
2025 - PRESENT ~ ARTIST at SOUTH SHORE GALLERY
2025 - PRESENT ~ ARTIST at STATION STREET GALLERY and FRAME SHOP
2021 - PRESENT ~ EXHIBITING STATUS Artist Federation of Canadian Artist
2021 - PRESENT ~ EXHIBITING STATUS Federation of Canadian Artist - Victoria Chapter
2024 - March 2025 ~ ARTIST MEMBER AT METCHOSIN ARTPOD ART GALLERY
2019 - PRESENT ~ ARTS AND CULTURE COLWOOD ~ GOLDFINCH GALLERY
2020 - PRESENT ~ ARTIST AT SOOKE ARTS COUNCIL
2021 - PRESENT ~ ARTIST MEMBER AT ARTSEA ART GALLERY
2022 - PRESENT ~ ARTIST MEMBER AT S.P.A.C.S
Events: To see all click here
2025 FCA VICTORIA ~ ARTS & CULTURE COLWOOD ~ GOLDFINCH GALLERY FALL SHOW
2025 FCA VICTORIA ~ ARTSEA ART GALLERY SPRING SHOW
2025 Salon des Refusés 2025 – South Shore Gallery ~
2023/2024 AGGV ART GALLERY GREATER VICTORIA WINTER SMALL WORKS + SALE
2023 FCA VICTORIA FORTUNE GALLERY FALL
2023 FCA VICTORIA FORTUNE GALLERY EXPRESSIONS
2023 SPAC FINE ARTS SHOW
2023 TD PAINT-IN MOSS ST.
2022 TD PAINT-IN MOSS ST.
2021 TD PAINT-IN ARTISTS GUIDE COVID
2022 SOOKE FINE ARTS SHOW
2022 FCA VANCOUVER, BC SPOTLIGHT 2022
AWARDS
2025 PEOPLE CHOICE AWARD “BE STILL MY HEART” ART SHOW ARTS & CULTURE COLWOOD ART GALLERY FOR THE PIECE “WHAT’S LEFT BEHIND” - (SOLD AT THE SHOW)
2024 JUROR’S CHOICE AWARD “WATER” BY SAMANTHA DICKEY - ARTPOD ART GALLERY FOR THE PIECE “LOST”(SOLD)
2022 NOV. HONOURABLE MENTION BY GALLERY RING FOR “CHESTNUT” ARTWORK
2021 BRONZE AWARD CAMELBACK GALLERY FOR “KANANASKIS”
2021 HONOURABLE METION AWARD GALLERY RING FOR “JADE & GOLD” ABSTRACT SHOW
2021 HONOURABLE MENTION AWARD GALLERY RING FOR “BROKEN” ABSTRACT SHOW
2020 THE PREQUEL ISSUE #7 PUBLISHED “THE OBELISK”
2020 UNTIL - THE PREQUEL PUBLISHED “REFLECTION”
2019 INTERVIEWED BY HERE! MAGAZINE
OCTOBER HILL MAGAZINE New York PUBLISHED 5 TIMES (2019 TO 2023)
OVER 100 ART SHOWS SINCE 2018
9 MAGAZINE PUBLICATIONS
4 BOOKS ILLUSTRATED PUBLISHED
Quick Facts:
Based in: Victoria, BC
Mediums: Oil paint on canvas, driftwood & live edge wood artworks
Inspired by: West Coast landscapes, ocean light, shoreline textures
Materials: Professional Gallery Wrapped Canvas . Locally & Ethically sourced, reclaimed wood sealed with resin
International travel ready: Yes (wood art treated for global shipping)
Artist Statement ~
Mara Szyp
In my life, I had to pack up and move and reinvent myself but there was always a voice in the back of my head that would whisper “keep seeking”. Then life changed right in front of my eyes, and that voice sang “You are home”.
I paint to free myself of the chains around me, my body, and my mind.
When I am birthing a new art piece, it expresses who I was while morphing into who I will become.
I create art because it gives me a purpose.
In my portraits I see through their eyes, in my nudes I feel through their skins, in my abstracts I scream and dance and grow as their limitless shapes move and unfold, just as my life as an artist, bright and constantly evolving.