From Netflix to Fine Art: How Newfoundland Found Its Way Into My Paintings

Newfoundland has a way of capturing the imagination. From the hit musical Come From Away, which tells the story of the planes diverted to Gander following September 11, 2001, to the recent Netflix series Below, this distinctive corner of Atlantic Canada continues to inspire stories that travel far beyond its shores.

As an artist born and raised on Vancouver Island, I have spent much of my career exploring Canada through painting. Travelling across the country has become an important part of my artistic practice, allowing me to discover the landscapes, communities and cultural stories that shape our national identity. My time in Newfoundland was especially memorable, resulting in more than twenty finished paintings inspired by two extended stays on the island.

Over the course of two years, I spent a month in Newfoundland on two separate occasions. These visits gave me the opportunity to look beyond the familiar images of colourful fishing villages and rugged coastlines and experience the place more intimately. I got to know the people, the humour, the food, the accents and the rhythms of daily life. I was welcomed into communities that gradually began to feel familiar, and the landscape offered a wealth of inspiration for my work.

Recently, while binge-watching the Netflix series Below, I found myself transported back to those months spent getting my Newfoundland on. The Jiggs dinners, the bologna, the unmistakable accents and the familiar expressions of the b'ys brought a flood of memories rushing back. I could almost feel those warm Newfoundland hugs and the bite of the brisk Atlantic winds.

Even the giant squid featured in the series reminded me of the giant squid sculpture in Dildo, a playful connection to the region's history and its relationship with these remarkable creatures. It was a reminder of how the smallest details of a place can stay with you long after you have returned home.

For artists, these memories become part of the creative process. A particular colour, a texture in the rocks, a conversation or a moment in the landscape can remain in the imagination, sometimes for years, before finding its way onto a canvas.

One area that made a lasting impression on me was Brigus South. I was captivated by the purple-toned rock formations, scattered with bright yellow lichen. As a painter, I am drawn to unexpected colour relationships, and this landscape offered a striking combination of hues and textures. I often simplify and intensify colour in my paintings to express the feeling of a place rather than reproduce it literally. The geology of Newfoundland provided an extraordinary palette to explore.

Pouch Cove also became an important part of my experience. I spent time there during an artist residency, giving me the opportunity to explore the area and connect with its community. Having returned to Newfoundland more than once, I began to feel a different relationship with the place. It was no longer simply somewhere I had travelled to paint. It had become part of my own story.

There is something special about how travel changes our understanding of home. Living and working on Vancouver Island, surrounded by the Salish Sea, forests and coastal wildlife, I know how deeply a landscape can shape an artist's perspective. Returning to familiar places here in Oceanside often reveals something new, even after a lifetime of living on the island. Newfoundland offered me that same sense of discovery, along with the pleasure of becoming familiar with a place far from home.

I may have arrived in Newfoundland as a come from away, but after two extended stays, I find myself thinking of another visit as something closer to a come home year. That feeling of belonging is one of the unexpected gifts of travelling through Canada as an artist.

Newfoundland Paintings

My Newfoundland paintings form part of a larger body of work exploring Canadian culture, landscape and identity. I am interested in the stories that places hold, the symbols we share and the ways our experiences influence how we see ourselves as Canadians. For me, painting is not simply about documenting a destination. It is about interpreting an encounter and finding a visual language to communicate what it meant.

Watching Below brought those Newfoundland experiences back into focus. It reminded me that inspiration can arrive in unexpected ways. Sometimes it comes from standing in front of a remarkable landscape. Sometimes it comes from the people who welcome us into their communities. And sometimes it comes from watching a story unfold on a screen and suddenly finding yourself transported somewhere you once called home.

More than twenty paintings emerged from my time in Newfoundland, each offering a different interpretation of this remarkable part of Canada. A selection of these original works is available through the James Baird Gallery in Pouch Cove, Newfoundland.

As artists, we carry our experiences with us. Whether we are working on the East Coast or here on Vancouver Island, the places we encounter become part of the stories we tell through our art. For me, Newfoundland remains a place of vivid colour, generous hospitality and lasting inspiration, a reminder that sometimes the journey to understanding a place begins with the simple act of looking more closely.

Brandy Saturley is a Vancouver Island artist whose paintings explore Canadian culture, landscape and identity. In this reflection, she revisits two extended stays in Newfoundland, where distinctive geology, welcoming communities and unexpected cultural connections inspired more than twenty paintings. Her Newfoundland Paintings are available through the James Baird Gallery in Newfoundland.