About me
Stacey Zens was born and currently lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. She was inspired to be an artist when she saw her great aunt’s artwork as a little girl. She was artistically talented throughout school and signed up for every art class, workshop and opportunity offered. She was recognized by her art teachers for having a gift and a talent for art. She loved the feeling when other students were amazed by her drawings. She participated in student art shows and won ribbons, plaques, awards and bursaries with her student artwork. Looking for a stable career, Stacey pursued a graphic design diploma in 2005 and worked for over 20 years as a graphic designer. Unfortunately, during that time her art making diminished.
It wasn’t until the pandemic in 2020 that she re-evaluated her creative pursuits. Her inner calling of being an artist was still there, so she worked hard to rekindle her love of making art again. In 2022, she signed up for formal art classes. She continued to listen to that inner voice again and nutured it. Breakthroughs happened, the floodgates opened, and the artwork started to pour out of her. Now she’s a graduate of the Milan Art Institute in 2026 and can’t imagine a life without making art.
Stacey is inspired by light and how it shines on the subject she is painting. She feels the light illuminates the inner beauty of the world around us and also shines on the beautiful soul within. She hopes to paint art that’s full of purity, goodness and beauty. She hopes her art inspires hope for the future and offers something deep, profound, beautiful and uplifting. She says, “I make art to shine my own inner light that has been hidden away for decades.”
She currently works at her home-based studio year-round, painting prolifically in a bright white room adorned with houseplants. She travels Canada with her husband to get inspired by the beautiful landscape and other Canadian art. She loves cats, reading, going on daily walks, and growing vegetables in her garden. In the future, Stacey Zens plans to have her work in displayed in homes and galleries across Canada.
My Process
Ideas come to me during walks, yoga, and my travels. I look for imagery that inspires me, then I alter it to make it fit my vision.
I paint in multiple layers over the course of several days. I start with a sketch of coloured pencils on canvas. Then I add a layer of acrylic washes to set the colour story. Then I add speckles and splatter with acrylic spray paint to add looseness, randomness, unpredictability, and visual texture. The speckles uplifts my spirit when I spray that layer on, and I try to keep as much as I can in the final painting. Then I scumble in with oil paint and refine the painting to add depth, detail, richness and dimension.
My colour palettes lean towards the cooler colours - blues, greens, purples, pinks and white. I love using white a lot in my paintings, especially for backlit scenes and details. White backlighting ties my subjects together. I find light shining behind the subject to be so beautiful and it connects with something deep inside me.
When the painting is finished, I reflect on the feelings, emotions, meaning and symbology of the piece. Only then do I name and title it; when it’s all finished.
