Dawn Mockler is a physiotherapist, mom, cartoonist and watercolour artist. Internationally recognized, Dawn has had her work hung all over the world including the United States and the United Kingdom. She sells her work online through her Facebook page, “Awash in Colour”. With no formal training in the arts apart from high school art class (Dawn was the recipient of Bathurst High School’s Art Award in 1984), she turned to books, YouTube instructional videos and visiting artists in residence to progress her work.

Drawing her whole life, often as a donation to fundraisers for various charities or to her children’s schools. She started painting with acrylic paint about eight years ago, before falling in love with watercolour. Dawn is inspired by nature, as a physiotherapist, she knows that nature is proven to calm the body’s nervous system (studies have shown reduced heart rate and blood pressure when in a forest). She hopes that her art can make others feel better.

Something eye opening to her was how much work it can be to sell her art, eventually she would like her art to be hung in a gallery. She has had solo exhibitions at the Fredericton Public Library (Beauty on the Outside, July 2017). Her proudest moment in the cartoon portion of her work would be being part of the Cartoonists Rights Network’s, international campaign to free Eaten Fish, an Iranian cartoonist imprisoned for his work on Manus Island in Australia. Dawn was a part of the Gagged Exhibit (Free Eaten Fish collection) in the UK. Fish is now free and living in Finland, it was amazing to her to be able to see the power of art.

Dawn’s favourite part of ArtsLink is how easy it is to find out what events are happening. Being painfully shy her whole life, Dawn forces herself to get out of her comfort zone on a regular basis, so if you see her make a quick getaway after an event, don’t be insulted.

A quote Dawn lives by is, “Leave things better than you found them”, Everett Wiley Wilson.