Emily Klassen
Emily Klassen grew up in an environment that actively supported creative learning. Her family included musicians, woodcarvers, and language teachers, and she was encouraged to make art from an early age. While she did not initially view art as a possible career, particularly before high school, her parents consistently supported her creative interests. That sustained encouragement allowed her to build foundational skills over time and form meaningful connections with peers and mentors within the art world.
Klassen’s work is shaped by a strong technical foundation paired with an interest in pushing the boundaries of realism. She is drawn to artists and writers who demonstrate deep mastery of their mediums while using that knowledge to convey something beyond straightforward representation. Writers such as Margaret Atwood and painters like Edward Hopper have influenced her thinking, particularly in how structure, composition, and technical precision can be used to communicate mood, experience, and emotional depth.
Her own artistic practice centers on close observation and detail. She works as a portrait artist and values the discipline required to render subjects accurately, often spending extended periods refining a drawing or painting. At the same time, her personal work goes beyond one-to-one realism. While rooted in what she sees, she adjusts compositional and visual elements to better communicate specific feelings or experiences. Accuracy functions as a starting point rather than an endpoint.
Klassen’s personal life directly informs her subject matter. She gravitates toward scenes and images drawn from lived experience, even when working within observational genres such as landscape. Rather than depicting locations solely for their visual appeal, she focuses on places with personal significance, using specific details to build narrative and context. These choices shape how viewers engage with her work, whether through self-portraiture, figurative scenes, or more surreal compositions.
Her creative habits are closely tied to project-based thinking. She tends not to sketch casually unless developing a specific idea, which can lead to long periods without drawing when balancing full-time work. While she does not see this as a loss of ability, she has expressed interest in shifting her routine to allow for smaller, more consistent periods of personal creation. Looking ahead, she plans to adjust her work-life balance to make space for personal art alongside commissioned projects.
Klassen has previously collaborated with children’s book authors and is interested in continuing similar partnerships. With a background in both writing and illustration, she values collaborative projects that prioritize storytelling and careful communication. Working on books for children holds particular significance for her, given the lasting influence of the stories she encountered growing up.
She is currently working on a series of self-portraits focused on external relationships and how those dynamics can be expressed visually. These works are less concerned with physical likeness and more focused on capturing a particular mental or emotional state. She is also developing tribute paintings inspired by Guillermo del Toro’s interpretation of Frankenstein, as well as revisiting older, previously abandoned ideas with renewed perspective. As she moves forward, her focus remains on sustained observation, intentional detail, and allowing work to evolve through continued attention and practice.
