Jean Bradbury (Canadian, b. Britain 1963)
Freedom, 2008
Jean Bradbury
Canadian artist Jean Bradbury’s paintings celebrate nature amid the wonder and diversity of life itself. “I paint gardens inhabited by whimsical and often vulnerable creatures,” with animals representing herself or the viewer. “Both joyful and sinister, these places celebrate our own gentle natures in a world where anxiety and heartache lurk.” Around 2010, Bradbury (Canadian, b. Scotland 1963) found herself leaning more toward realism than surrealism in her work, though she doesn’t consider herself a wildlife artist or botanical artist, and she reserves the right to “indulge in a few flying weasels when the need arises.” Raised on an organic farm in Canada, Bradbury traveled Europe and the Middle East before settling in Washington State. Her artwork can be found in the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia, China, and Kuwait, and in Jordan, where she teaches art to rural women in a farming community near the Dead Sea.