About
“I want to create work that feels alive & true.”
She studied graphic design at the Ontario College of Art & Design and holds a Master’s in English Literature from the University of Toronto. After pursuing a career as a creative director, she decided to prioritize her artistic work and has developed a rigorous studio practice.
Mostly self-taught, Smail challenges and re-invigorates her work by studying with more established artists such as Iris Häussler and Robert Szot.
Her art can be found in private collections in Canada and the US. She currently lives and works in the woods outside Washago, Ontario.
Artist Statement
As I swim, hike, or paddle through local forests and waterways, I often feel a quiet merging with the world around me—a sense of oneness. I notice the chaotic yet deeply organized beauty of nature—its principles of interdependence and constant change. I also notice the fragility of these systems and our failures to acknowledge our place within them.
These experiences and observations are the foundation of my work. They are the heart of what I wish to express visually.
Rather than recreate what I see, I translate nature’s movement, balance, and growth into abstract form.
I work with acrylic, oil, graphite, crayon, and raw pigment, choosing the material that best carries the feeling, colour or form I’m reaching for. Currently I’m working with pigments suspended in water on raw canvas, embracing the unique edges and translucency of this technique.
Artist CV
Recent / Upcoming Exhibitions
[upcoming] 2026 Toronto Outdoor Art Fair, Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto
[upcoming] 2026 Seen | Unseen, Quest Gallery, Midland
2026 Artist Project, Enercare Centre, Toronto
2025 Traditional Transformed Annual Landscape Exhibition, OMAH, Orillia
2025 Making Our Mark with Janet Taylor and Miriam Traher, MA&C, Bracebridge, and Leslie Grove Gallery, Toronto
2025 Spring Members’ Show, Muskoka Arts & Crafts, Bracebridge
2025 Orillia Landscapes, Orillia Opera House, Orillia
2025 Winter’s Embrace, Muskoka Discovery Centre Gallery, Gravenhurst
2024 Square Foot Show, MA&C on Main, Bracebridge
2024 Images Thanksgiving Studio Tour, Oro-Medonte
2024 Headwaters Fall Festival Juried Art Show, Alton Mills Art Centre, Alton Mills
2024 ArtWalk in the Square, Toronto
2024 Muskoka in the County, Picton
2024 Rosedale Art Fair, Toronto
2024 Riverdale ArtWalk, Toronto
2024 The Joy Show, The Jackalope Gallery, Toronto
2024 Spring Members’ Show, Muskoka Arts & Crafts, Bracebridge
2024 Art Intelligence, Partial Gallery at Gallery 1313, Toronto
Galleries
Pivot Gallery, Rosseau, Ontario
Mountainside Gallery, Collingwood, Ontario
Awards & Grants
2025 Kevin J. Batchelor Emerging Artist Award at Tradition Transformed, OMAH, Orillia
2025 Exhibition Assistance Grant, Ontario Arts Council
2025 Best Use of Colour, Spring Members’ Show, Muskoka Arts & Crafts
Press
2026 Six Artists I’m Excited to Meet at Artist Project, Opaloma newsletter by Odessa Paloma
2026 Washago painter featured at Artist Project 2026, in both Barrie Today and Orilllia Matters
2024 Becoming an Artist: Passion & Persistence, Behind the Village podcast
2024 Artist Spotlight and cover image, Orillia Villager magazine
2023 Interview with Discover Abstract Artists
Education
OCADU, courses in Graphic Design
University of Toronto, Master of Arts, English
University of Waterloo, BA Honours, English
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