She is also the first to mention that nothing predestined her to take the brush in her hands.
“I didn’t have artistic flair when I was young. When I was drawing in art classes, I didn’t think I was really good at it. It was really by chance that I started painting.”
(The Sun, Caroline Grégoire)
Before transferring to Laval, Holt who played at Dalhousie University suffered a torn shoulder. An injury that kept her out of the game for the majority of the season.
“I had nothing to do and my little sister asked me one day to draw her. I liked it and started doing more of it. At that time, my mother found the set of acrylic paints that were at the family home from our old sitter and gave it to me,” explains the Moncton native.
A passion that has simply increased tenfold during the pandemic.
“There wasn’t a day I wasn’t painting during COVID. People who know my energy and my ability to talk all the time have a hard time understanding that I am able to sit in silence and make art quietly. It’s a way to relax and take my mind off basketball. I love it now,” says the woman who is finishing her master’s degree in nursing.
Unpretentious
Despite an obvious talent for painting, Holt, who has even already sold a few of her paintings, assures that she is not an expert in the field. She even has difficulty characterizing her style.
“I learned on the job and even though I’m much more interested in painting than before, that really doesn’t mean I’m an expert. When I paint, I just want it to be beautiful and colorful. I really like light, nature and I particularly like trees,” says the woman who now expresses herself perfectly in the language of Molière.
Her inspiration often comes from things she observes, photo montages or even family requests.
“I really like the artist Andrew Tischler. He’s not very well known, but he makes excellent videos. I also like the American painter Bob Ross. Sometimes inspiration comes naturally to me. Because of basketball, summer is when I am most productive. I also have three sisters and a brother and sometimes they ask me for special things.”
Flirty at times, she also likes to introduce small details that are difficult to perceive at first glance in her works which reveal her penchant for cartoons.
“I’m having a little fun with it. There’s a painting that has the boat in Peter Pan or another that has Shrek walking through the grass. It’s a bit of my signature.”
The last dance
Although he has two years of eligibility remaining, Holt believes this season will be his last. With the Canadian championship which will be played in Laval in March, she likes her team’s chances.
“We have a mature team and there are several graduates on the team. We can’t arrive too confident and there is still a lot of work to do, but it’s obvious that with the Canadian championship played at home, it brings additional motivation.
Regardless of the results at the end of the season, Holt assures that she is in Quebec to stay there.
“I find it really cool to live in French and I love the city. I also met my boyfriend here, I’m going to be a nurse in addition to having a great community around me. All I have to do is paint,” finishes the friendly basketball player.
Here is the artist’s Instagram account.
