Robynn Olson's Painting Process

Robynn Olson is an Acrylic Landscape Painter from Saskatoon. She creates amazing prairie and mountain scenes, working off pictures she uses with permission from photographers she follows. She paints from the large sunlit living room in her Riversdale home.

While Robynn has a teaching degree from the University of Saskatchewan, studio art has always been her passion. She was once told that she couldn’t make a living from art without an art degree, so naturally she set out to prove that logic wrong.

Her sales have taken off over the last year, with the majority of her requests coming from Instagram. Robynn shares her completed work to her account and her followers will direct message her to purchase a piece. She also takes commissions with clients either providing an image to work from or referencing a specific location and season.

In the midst of all this, Robynn works hard to care for her home and two young boys. While sometimes she’ll get a moment to paint by herself while both kids are asleep, she usually lets them join in on the process, with her baby on her lap and her toddler at her feet. Her oldest will take breaks to play with toys or make his own art, but he’s often right by her side watching his mom’s brush strokes. She’ll teach him about colours as she paints, telling him the different names and asking him to find them in the painting.

While painting is her career, Robynn’s list of hobbies is unending. Gardening, sourdough bread making, running, hen-raising (this one got put on hold by the city), wine making, camping, and likely a lot more that I don’t know about. Whether it’s a new painting or a new project around the house, she’s always got something - multiple things - on the go.

It was a joy and a blessing to document Robynn in her environment and witness the love she puts into both her craft and raising her sons. Follow her on instagram to see her latest work.