Carolyn Mallory lived, worked, and raised her family in Iqaluit, Nunavut for 12 years from 1999-2011. It was love at first sight and her heart has never been the same; the Arctic has touched her deeply.
While in Iqaluit, she wrote two books, Common Plants of Nunavut, co-authored with Susan Aiken, and Common Insects of Nunavut. She has also written Painted Skies, a picture book for children. She did an artist residency on Brier Island in the summer of 2024, and her love of seaweed has never been greater.
Carolyn returns to the Arctic in her capacity as a resource staff person onboard the Ocean Endeavour with Adventure Canada most years. Along with her naturalist duties, she gives watercolour painting workshops.
Carolyn’s detailed work often offers a perspective on a small part of Nature, a flower, a lichen, a bird. But she also showcases larger expanses of Nature because she truly feels it is in both the largesse and the minutiae that we are all connected.
Artist Statement
Colours of Nature: Orange makes my soul sing. I look for it everywhere. Orange on my brush fills me with energy and hope. It stays with me, nurtures me, creates space for me to breathe.
To my great delight, I work for a company that takes me to the Arctic every summer. I get to re-experience places I’ve been and discover new places. The grandeur, the colours, the people, the tundra fill me with sights, sounds, and smells to last until the next visit.
And so I paint in my studio, trying to impress onto the canvas or paper all that captivates me.While I paint, the anxieties that plague me are at bay, and I feel, for a moment in time, at peace. Even joyful.
The Arctic gives back to me over and over and I want to share those feelings of joy, awe, peace, and beauty. And I want to urge the world to take heed and take care; we need the Arctic and it needs us.
As I explore Nova Scotia, seaweed is a balm for my soul: orange, purple, and green prevail. I am swaying, moving, and breathing in the salt air. I am alive.
