I'm Ariana Zimmermann, a Victoria-based wildlife artist inspired by the deep connections between humans and animals.
Drawing from my lifelong love of animals and an academic background in Environmental Studies and Anthropology, I create paintings that explore the symbolic and emotional worlds we share with wildlife.
I am an emerging, self-taught artist based in Victoria, B.C. My mixed-media paintings center on animals, translating the human experience through the archetypal symbolism of wildlife. I create images of the natural world that balance imagination with representation, honoring the beauty in nature while creating space for the magic, mystery, and interpretation in our relationships to it.
I pull from my academic background in Environmental Studies and Anthropology to inform my work. I am particularly interested in the concept of “emotional ecology”, the idea that a deep bond with nature is foundational to all environmental conservation and sustainability efforts. Each of my paintings can be seen as a prayer—a wish for love, goodness, and resilience within both the human and natural worlds.
