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You voted for the 2023 #ArtBikes and we delivered!

Now it’s time to get to know the brilliant minds behind this year’s #ArtBikes as we met with 5 of the incredibly talented artists from the Eastside Culture Crawl. We asked questions about their artwork and what inspires them to design and create the work that they do. Here’s what we learned and we’re excited to share everything you want to know about them.

Cara Bain



Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your art?
Cara Bain is a visual artist and art educator born and raised in Vancouver, BC. She creates oil paintings that combine traditional techniques with a flair for contemporary creativity. She’s known for both her figurative and landscape paintings, combining natural expressiveness with unique textures of copper leaf patina. Cara has been an art instructor since 2016, teaching adults, teens and children to build a solid foundation of skill and to express their creative ideas. Cara holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Visual Communication and has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions over her 20 years of experience as an artist. 

Have you participated in the Eastside Culture Crawl before?
Yes, for many years!

Where do you draw your inspiration from when creating art?
There’s no shortage of inspiration in and around Vancouver. Every time I experience the feeling of being in nature I see something worth painting. I think this is a shared experience many of us have living here – being in these places gives us a feeling we want to hold on to. That’s what I try to capture in my landscape paintings.



Tell us more about the design you submitted.
The design I submitted is part of my painting “Sunset on Jericho.” The neon sunset colours of the clouds drew me in when I painted this scene. I knew they would look great on a bike, catching people’s eyes as the bike passed them. I also thought the streaky pink clouds looked like blurred ‘speed lines’, fitting for Mobi bikes speeding through the city!

What is the main message of your work?
The main message of my landscape paintings is to encourage people to get out and experience nature. Not only to look around but also to internalize the beauty around them and feel the positive effects of being in those places. Being in these places – so accessible to us in Vancouver – can have tangibly positive effects on us. We should make the most of this!

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given as an artist?
Don’t try to force your artistic ‘style’ or artificially create one. Your practice will naturally create a style, the more work you create!

Where can members find your art online/offline?
www.carabain.ca
instagram.com/art.by.cara.bain