My Story

Hi, I’m Tori Swanson, a Canadian artist currently living in Portugal.

I’m a multi-disciplinary artist with a focus on painting and textiles. My work explores themes of femininity, spirituality, and the human experience of navigating our emotions.

My artistic journey began with life drawing, particularly focused on the female figure. For years, I was commissioned by both women and men to capture their essence through figure drawing portrait sessions. During each session, we would sit together for an hour, discussing what brought them to the work, and I would strive to capture their vulnerability on paper. While my work supported the healing of others, synchronously, I also healed my own body dysmorphia.

Over time, I transitioned to creating large, bold, and colourful abstract feminine figures in acrylic on raw canvas. Now, living in Western Europe and drawing inspiration from North Africa, I’ve become captivated by textiles as a medium for storytelling. Through weaving, hand hooking, and embroidery, I continue to explore and express the stories that shape my work.

I create intuitively, drawing inspiration from the colours and environments around me. I am also deeply introspective, often looking within to uncover areas of resistance or blockages in my life. These internal struggles fuel my creative process, allowing me to work through personal obstacles, ultimately surrendering to what I can and cannot control through the process of producing art. My hope is that my own journey with resistance inspires others to face theirs full on, so that they can live a life of freedom.

I was raised in a spiritually inclined household, where discussions about esotericism and astrology were a part of daily life. The cosmos continues to offer me guidance and inspiration, helping shape the work I create today.