DeAnna Josephson is a Canadian multimedia artist & singer-songwriter based in Vernon, British Columbia. Her creative journey has been marked equally by a fusion of art and music. DeAnna graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Regina. After a move to the Sunshine Coast, British Columbia, DeAnna cultivated her musical passion as a singer-songwriter. In 2012, her debut single, “Open Road” achieved Alternative Country Song of the Year with the 11th Independent Music Awards and achieved #2 on the Canadian Roots Charts.

Since a move to Vernon in 2017, along with raising her young family and working with the Early Learning Child Care department for School District 22, DeAnna has been honing her love for fine art and digital media by employing an intuitive abstract style that evokes depth in her landscape and floral compositions. Of note, DeAnna was selected to showcase her art in the 2024 Northern Visions Online Exhibition, “My Canada” hosted by Canadian Art Daily August in 2024. DeAnna’s first solo exhibition, “Dark Skies & Flora” will take place April 29-May 31, 2025 at Gallery Vertigo in Vernon, BC.

Born in Winnipeg, Leila remembers having to live in her Grandma’s Victoria Beach cottage during the 1950 flood. Photos show her drawing at an early age and fortunately samples of those early renderings were saved by her mother. At age 19 she became an elementary school teacher. In 1969 she studied to obtain a Bachelor of Arts degree in English/Psychology.

Several moves to Vancouver, Abbotsford, Cherryville, and finally Vernon found her pursuing further study this time for a Diploma in Fine Arts in 1990 followed by distance learning to obtain an Education, Fine Arts MA in 2000. Throughout her studies her interest in art prompted her to take a special interest in photography.

Leila states, “My images are drawn from nature – I love to zoom in on small objects with my closeup lens and produce large images in photos, paint, or pastel. In addition, my creative passion has led to a small business, Okanagan Eye Photo Art, where I market photo greeting cards. I enjoy sharing my passion by leading groups of budding photographers on tours of local beauty areas, so that they too may capture the beauty that surrounds us.”