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27 B C B U S I N E S S . C A S E P T E M B E R 2 0 24 Ta n y a G o e h r i n g MANY words have been written about Zoë Pawlak's illustrious career as an artist. Vancouver-based Pawlak has been covered in most local outlets you can name. She was dubbed a Designer of the Year by Western Living. Her work hangs in the homes of revered former Canuck Trevor Linden and actress Cobie Smulders. Walking into her studio, you're immediately met with a diz- zying array of colours that somehow blend seamlessly together once they hit a canvas. And yet, when Pawlak describes herself in five words, it's both simplistic and com- pletely fitting. Pawlak was on the lookout for a new studio manager when she visited an old mentee and ended up meeting her assistant, Christina Bowe. "I don't know what happened," says Bowe with a smile. "But the next time she came in, she was like, 'I want you to work for me.' And then she poached me." Pawlak has a wry grin on her face when she confidently speaks those five words: "I like what I like." Pawlak's business is vast. She sells her paintings to galleries, individuals and orga- nizations (the Canadian government has been a client) and often travels to Toronto and New York to meet with prospective buyers and to showcase her work. She credits three mentors—Robert Genn, Nancy Crawford and Don Li-Leger—with helping her along the way in both her artistic and business journeys. All three of those mentors have since passed away, but Pawlak hasn't forgotten the lessons they taught her. Genn, who had a studio in White Rock, where Paw- lak grew up, was instrumental in helping her negotiate contracts. Crawford trained her in traditional realism. "That deeply affected the beginning of my career," Paw- lak says. "While you see a practice that is STUDIO SESSIONS Artist Zoë Pawlak runs a robust business with the help of her studio assistant, Christina Bowe largely based on abstraction, it's rooted in a formal, rigid training, the way you would imagine a really strict ballet. It's like I understand the architecture of anatomy: I studied the nude rigorously for 20 years. I understand the architecture of things and then abstract from that place as a depar- ture point." Li-Leger demonstrated what it's like to provide for a family, something that Paw- lak, who has two kids of her own, took to heart. "He had this insanely beautiful stu- dio and was also human," she says. "He let creative work move through him and mon- etized that in a way that had pros and cons that I observed from the inside." Bowe, a model and artist, has been working with Pawlak for over two years. "I feel like I do a bit of everything here," Bowe says. "Sometimes I help with theory if she's having painter's block—come in with FRAMING DEVICE Zoë Pawlak (left) and her assistant, Christina Bowe, have been working together in Pawlak's studio for over two years Zoë Pawlak Paintings: 1 From Here I've Flown So Very Far Away, 2023 Oil on Canvas 60" x 72" W 2 After Wanting, 2024 Oil on Canvas 30" x 40" H Christina Bowe Painting: 3 Parts of Us, 2024 Oil on Canvas 24" x 30" H 1 2 3 L E A D E R S H I P

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