May 2-17, 2026
Letters to Myself: Rowan Doucette
Gallery opening hours: Saturdays and Sundays from 12-4pm
Reception: May 1 7-9pm
Artist Statement – Letters to Myself
Art journaling is not merely a form of self-care; it is a powerful tool for personal development, emotional resilience, and self-discovery.*
Words of Affirmation in my Studio:
- I do what I love (including other peoples art: learn from them in colour combinations, themes and compositions) And try to remember their names!
- I follow my heart and persevere in telling my inner/outer world
- My word is worth listening to and seeing
- I am present and I am doing my best
- I understand it is a process and I give myself grace
Over the years I have collected stacks and stacks of journals, chronicling my emotional states and experiences in life. When I look back in and read these journals, I am transported to that state as an observer. What would you do if you could go back in time and visit yourself? Reading my old journals, I get a little taste of this time travel. I see a past version of myself and the tactile pen to paper record is a direct archive to the past.
Keeping this in mind, my artist residency in Vernon BC was a process-focused endeavour. I explored plein air painting for the first time, and accompanied journaling alongside it. I discovered that writing gave me permission to make mistakes and just be myself while painting offered the visual reward. I hope Letters to Myself inspires you to express your own voice, visual or otherwise.
Rowan Doucette (she/her) is a painter, illustrator, printmaker, and writer, working and learning on the unceded traditional territories of the Lekwungen-speaking peoples known as the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations. This specific artist residency took place on the unceded territory of the Syilx and Okanagan People. Her practice explores how art embodies us—and how we embody art. Using introspection as a central tool, Doucette investigates herself and the world around her, translating these reflections into paintings, prints, and writings. She holds a BFA in painting from Emily Carr University of Art + Design and continues her practice through apprenticeships, residencies, and experimentation.