Svala Arnason dunn paints the land, people and wildlife of north central Alberta's parkland,and boreal forests.

She was born and raised in Riverton, Manitoba and has enjoyed making art since a small child, at first drawing and later in life painting in all media.Now living in cold Lake Alberta, it is there she has worked, studied and taught the visual arts to children and adults and is always available to mentor future artists.She is very active in promoting and encouraging the arts, by representing the arts on various recreation boards and recently founding the Cold Lake Visual Arts Society.

Svala, also known as Val to residents of Cold Lake and area, has received numerous awards for her work from various agencys and in many juried shows throughout western Canada and internationally, having had one of her works chosen to represent Canada in the Windsor Newton Millenium Art Competition which toured London, England, Stockholm Sweden, and at the United nations building in New York. Her work is included in public and private collections throughout Europe, the United States and Canada.

" I love the challenge and the joy of taking a scene and translating it into paint. I love the stimulation that comes from beginning and then completing a work."

"My subject matter comes from my surroundings, wild and tame flowers, farmer's fields in all their seasons, the tremendous luminous skies of the northern prairies, and probably most often a wildly beautiful creek that flows by our country home. I like to paint scenes that we think of as commonplace, such as roadsides, a patch of swamp, or trees, even the fallen and falling trees about to rejoin the earth.By painting them, I am in a small way able to pay homage to the landscape around us that we so seldom get a chance to pause and admire."

"What I would hope for most from the viewers of my work, is that it might move them to also feel wonder at the natural landscapes in their lives. I paint as i see, in a natural manner, working to portray the earth and pay it its due of love and respect."