Sheena Wilkie – Artist and Storyteller
The greatest storyteller I ever knew was my father. He grew up during the Second World War in a village by the sea in the highlands of Scotland. His childhood was anything but ordinary. His days were filled with adventures in places like the Fairy Glen and the mystical Clootie Well, with a pet monkey named Jinny and his loyal dog, Beauty.
My father’s tales paved the way for my own storytelling ways. And so, with every story I tell, I honor my father, and the magical highland adventures that shaped both his childhood and my own.
I’ve dedicated my life to the art of narrative, using words and images to bring stories to life—with my heart and soul fully in the work.
For more than 35 years, my professional path in Communications—across both traditional and New Media—has been devoted to shaping stories visually and in print. Along the way, I have been honoured to create narratives for organizations such as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Air Canada, Canadian Blood Services, the Canadian Football League, the Olympic Integrated Security Unit, the Canadian Association for Photographic Art, and the Canadian Red Cross.
Photography has been my most enduring artistic companion. It has given me a way to translate light into memory, to hold onto fleeting moments, and to connect with a community I deeply cherish. Over the years, I have been fortunate to receive recognition for my work, to be named a Fellow and Honorary Member of the Canadian Association for Photographic Art, to serve as a CAPA Certified Judge, and to take on the role of longtime Editor-in-Chief of Canadian Photography magazine. Yet beyond the honours, it is the act of seeing—and inviting others to see—that matters most to me.
Alongside photography, painting has become a place of return. I have painted quietly here and there for much of my life—brush in hand at the corner of my work desk, marks spilling onto paper like a secret conversation. Now, I am welcoming it fully into my practice. In art, I find a fluid, intuitive language that mirrors memory, feeling, and the fleeting nature of story itself.
I am an artist, writer, teacher, learner, and a devoted friend to the arts community. I have owned and operated Sheena Studios for more than 25 years.
Through my words and art, I strive to spark the same sense of wonder and possibility that my father’s stories once sparked in me.
Sheena Wilkie -Sheena Studios