Muskoka Escape 12x12

Acrylic on Canvas 12"x12"

Maria Isabel Fleury is a Canadian-Venezuelan landscape painter whose work is shaped by the contrast between the tropical environment of her childhood and the dramatic seasonal rhythms of Canada. After relocating to Canada, she became increasingly drawn to the transformation of the landscape through changing light, colour, and weather—an experience that now lies at the heart of her artistic practice.

Working primarily in acrylic on canvas, Fleury creates luminous, colour-rich paintings of forests, birch groves, lakes, and seasonal landscapes. Her work is characterized by radiant backlighting, dramatic viewpoints, layered foliage, and expressive colour. Rather than rendering the landscape literally, she seeks to convey the experience of being immersed within it—the glow of light filtering through trees, the movement of a forest canopy, and the heightened colour of a landscape in transition.

Her process begins outdoors through hiking, observation, and photography. These encounters become the foundation for paintings developed in the studio, where she builds depth and atmosphere through layered applications of colour, energetic brushwork, and strong contrasts of light and shadow.

Primarily self-taught, Fleury has further developed her practice through mentorship with Canadian artists Tim Packer, Lee Munn, David Langevin, and Charlie Easton