Aili Kurtis

Phone: (613) 267-3281
E-mail: ailikurtis@hotmail.com

Aili (pronounced 'eye-lee') has spent the last thirty years studying, teaching, and working as an artist-in the realms of both fine art and graphic design. Raised in Yellowknife, N.W.T., Aili left the North to study painting at the Ontario College of Art (Toronto) and Ecole des Beaux Arts (Montreal) where she completed a four-year Fine Arts Diploma. She then went on to receive a B.A. in art education from the University of Quebec.

When Aili moved to Ottawa, she worked in the arts as the Art Director for CJOH-TV, the director of 'Aili Studios' (which specialized in graphic design, illustration, and courtroom sketches) and as an instuctor at the Ottawa School of Art. Her last position before dedicating her life full-time to painting, was as the Creative Director of Corel Corporation.

For the last seven years Aili has been a member of MainWorks Studios where she creates figurative and landscape paintings in oils, acrylics, and pastels. She also has a studio at her cottage overlooking a beautiful lake in the Ottawa Valley. This view-as well as visits to Georgian Bay and Baffin Island-have inspired Aili to explore the rhythms and patterns of the Canadian landscape.

Aili's art extends to other worlds. Her interest in philosophy and religion has led to travels throughout India, Nepal, and Tibet and she has just returned from a six-month exploration of South East Asia and Australia.

Currently, Aili is working on a series of oil paintings named 'Shadows and Reflections' which portrays the transitory nature of nature by focusing on shifting perceptions of reality.