I’m an Okanagan-based artist with a background in journalism who makes illustrations, zines, and sequential art.

Growing up on a farm in the heart of Wild Rose Country, I always had a restless thirst for adventure that eventually propelled me across the country in pursuit of the unknown. I completed my BA (Hons) in Media Production at Toronto Metropolitan University and spent over a decade deep in the underground art scenes of Toronto and Montréal, filling my sketchbooks with field notes as I met fascinating characters and explored increasingly obscure corners of reality.

Immersed in the heady intrigue of surrealist cabarets, offbeat circus troupes, bohemian salons, moonlit fire jams, mysterious covens, and radical DIY collectives, I was inspired to document and express the allure of these unique and often ephemeral experiences in psychedelic “alt comix” form. As my style evolves, this continues to be the central obsession that drives and shapes my work.

When I’m not chasing leads, I can be found haunting coffee shops and galleries, reading 70s postmodern lit, and daydreaming about train trips. I love wearing costumes, can’t stop talking to strangers, and live in a perpetual state of giddy excitement for Halloween!

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Connect

I don’t maintain any public social media accounts, but I’m always happy to connect by email. Drop me a line at arcana@vanessa-arcana.com if you’d like to get in touch! ❤︎