My name is Sarah Dufresne and I am an abstract expressionist artist from Thunder Bay, Ontario. I have successfully participated in 2 collaborative art exhibits, one being with my father, Guy Dufresne, and 3 solo art exhibits. In Thunder Bay while attending Lakehead University completing my HBA in Psychology, I took some painting and drawing courses in order to cope with the stressors of University and young adulthood. That led me to be showcased in their yearly juried art show (2016 & 2017), which started my experiences of gallery showing. My artwork was then displayed in The Study, the café on campus (2016) and then again in the collection of Lakehead University’s Marketing & Branding office (2018). A local student newspaper, The Argus, highlighted me and my work in a one page feature outlining my practice and the message behind my pieces. The Walleye, the leading magazine for all of Northwestern Ontario, awarded me third best art exhibit (2017) and best art exhibit (2018). Since studying in Toronto I have grown my technical strengths as an artist and I participated in a group show run by Project Mood Ring in 2019. In 2020 I was relocated back to Thunder Bay due to the pandemic where I continued my studies online. This led me to exhibit again and obtain the title of best visual artist in Thunder Bay in The Walleye. My large scale abstract acrylic paintings use colour, line, and organic form to release emotions and create a colour field that soothes and disturbs the eye. My work materializes the visual impact of light as it interacts within an environment. The boldness of abstract expressionist women that came before me inspired my drive to create unapologetically and with vigour. My abstract expressionist pieces, while extremely personal, are also intensely reliant upon the viewer. The emotions that my pieces evoke are more important to me than the content behind them. The therapeutic release that painting grants is something I desire to give back to the viewer as they experience the harmony of colour and brushstrokes in my work.