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Sophie Barbara Phillips

Education and career

I was born in Poland and came to Canada with my parents and two siblings when I was six months old. My family settled on a farm in Terra Cotta, Ontario, and I spent the first five years of my life there. The family, including three more siblings, then moved to Toronto.

Upon graduating from high school I attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and studied Fashion and Costume Design. After receiving my degree, I returned to Toronto and took up a career in that field, first in the garment industry and later designing personal appearance wardrobes for various show business and television personalities.

My interest in art took me to New York. There I attended the Art Students’ League, at the same time acting as consultant for various Toronto-based fashion organizations. I returned to Toronto and eventually retired from the wonderful world of fashion to at last fulfill my first love: drawing and painting flowers.

I came late to the discipline of Botanical Art.

My Mother was a great gardener. On the farm, growing vegetables was a necessity, growing flowers a luxury and a pleasure. As a child, I would draw my Mother’s beautiful flowers using crayons. When I grew up, earning a living took precedence over art, but I never forgot my Mother’s beautiful flowers. I now have my own garden and these are the flowers I paint.

To date, I have participated in two group exhibitions with Botanical Artists of Canada:

bullet Niagara Horticultural Showcase. Niagara Falls, Ontario

bullet John B. Aird Gallery. Toronto, Ontario

I have studied with four well-known and respected botanical and scientific artists:

bullet Prof. Celia Godkin, University of Toronto. Botanical Drawing and Painting

bullet Pamela Stagg, Avenue Road Art School. Botanical Painting

bullet Margit Koritar, Toronto Botanical Garden. Botanical Drawing and Painting

bullet Prof. David Mazierski, University of Toronto. Carbon Dust Technique

The work displayed here is also available in numbered, museum-quality fine art prints.

(416) 742-1911

Sophie Barbara Phillips – sbphillips[at]rogers.com

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