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Born in the Netherlands, Soleil Mannion’s formative years were defined by living in Vancouver, B.C.  Her travels through the dramatic landscapes and seascapes of the Pacific coast awakened her artistic insight and personal aesthetic. 

In 1991, Soleil moved to London, England to engage in multidisciplinary art studies - in drama, dance, and costume design.  The vibrant palettes of the African and South Asian cultures surrounding her London neighbourhood stimulated her sense of creative design, and further provoked her ongoing personal fascination with the magical interaction of colours with form.  As she went on to work and teach in acting and costume design, she refined her sensitivity to lighting and spatial dimension – elements which play central roles in her paintings and mixed-media works ever since.

While overseas, Soleil traveled through Europe, cultivating openness to aesthetic discoveries along the way.  One year in the Netherlands inspired an increasing love of open spaces - for their aesthetic possibilities and meanings, and also for their emotional potential.  Two years in Greece and Italy rewarded her with a sharp sense of the various powers of warm light and subtle colour.

In 2003, Soleil moved to Vancouver Island and completed fine art studies at Vancouver Island University.  Her cross-disciplinary creative history informs her painting style: the freeing gestures of dance and dramatic arts are present in her paintings.  Soleil is an artist who seeks to call forth an initial feeling response with her work, which can soften armour and open doors to imaginative and thinking engagement with art.

Soleil began mounting solo exhibitions in 2005.  Her work can be viewed at Sooke Harbour House, near Victoria, B.C., and at her home studio in Cowichan Bay.