Debi Scott-Fidler
All Genres and Mediums
Artist Story
In 2020, I was thrilled to return to Yellowknife and grateful for the opportunity and support to explore myself as an northern artist . Currently working with both acrylic and water mixable oils, I love to paint with a lively colour palette on small canvases and wooden panels.
My art is not meant to be solitary. It is meant to have some company and to be displayed in a group. It’s together that my small paintings connect to each other and command a larger presence.
I am so genuinely happy to live in Yellowknife and I hope that my art reflects that.
Artist Bio
After graduating from the Theatre Department at Sheridan College of Applied Arts & Design in Oakville, Ontario, Debi got her creative start working a variety of backstage positions that included set design, prop creation, and program design for many theatrical productions throughout southern Ontario. This experience soon branched out beyond theatre work to enjoyable seasonal employment with a major department store creating window and floor displays.
Following adventure in early 1979, Debi headed north to Yellowknife, NT where she began a long newspaper career as a graphic designer and production manager. It was here in the land of the midnight sun where she was initially inspired to paint. “ I just started painting anything that I could lay my hands on,” she recalls. “ I painted on metal tins, glassware, wooden chairs, and inspired by earlier travels, I painted a New York cityscape on a pair of brand new white high top running shoes purchased at Weaver and Devore.”
After a decade in the north, Debi moved to southern Alberta to further her skills in digital marketing as a graphic designer at the Calgary Herald and later moved to Campbell River on north Vancouver Island. Despite a long absence from the north, Debi was very fortunate to still have long term friends and family living in Yellowknife. It was following many northern visits, that in 2013, Debi first picked up a paint brush hoping to recapture her favourite places in the city. “ I had no formal painting experience, but I found so much joy in painting recognizable buildings and familiar Yellowknife scenes. I also discovered that my art provided a very unexpected zen space for me as well as an even stronger connection to Yellowknife.”