Bio
Brooke Semple (b. 1983 Toronto, Canada) is a contemporary painter based in Victoria, BC. Her work explores the relationship between inner states and the natural world.
Her current series is inspired by the coastal ecosystems of Vancouver Island and the interplay of land and sea. On daily walks with her dog, she draws inspiration from the distinctive flora of the region — seaweed, coastal flowers, tree branches, and rocks become reference points, simplified and abstracted into compositions that blur the boundary between observation and imagination.
Working primarily in oils on canvas and birch board, Brooke builds her paintings through layered stains, gestural marks, and soft structure. Before returning to painting, she spent over a decade as a designer — a background that continues to inform her sensitivity to composition and colour.
Her work is released in seasonal collections online and is held in private collections across Canada.
Series
The Land That Holds the Water, 2025
A Place of Respite, 2024
Exhibitions
TD Art Gallery Paint-In, Victoria, BC
Winter Small Works, Massey Gallery (AGGV), Victoria, BC
TD Art Gallery Paint-In, Victoria, BC
Us Ones In Between, Open Space Arts Society, Victoria, BC
On Paper, Polychrome Fine Arts, Victoria, BC
Gifted, Deluge Contemporary Art, Victoria, BC
Abcracadabra, Victoria, BC
Abcracadabra, Little Mountain Gallery, Vancouver, BC
Winter Group Show, Victoria Arts Council, Victoria, BC
New Works, Studio 16 1/2, Victoria, BC
The Make, Victoria, BC
The Feast, Victoria, BC
The Subtle Halls of Memory, Qualicum Beach, BC
PUBLICATIONS
Abracadabra, Anteism Publishing
The Make, Anteism Publishing