✶ Chelsea Virginia Creates ☾

Home is where the giant sleeps ❤️. I’ll be selling prints of this little piece for the holidays (just as soon as I get a mini-online shop figured out). Happy Thursday! #illustrationart #thunderbayart

Hello Instagram friends 👋, new and old!! My name is Chelsea Virginia (pronouns she/her) and I’m a Scandinavian-Ukrainian artist ☺️. I was born in Thunder Bay/Animiki-waajiw, lived there for 26 years, and now I live in Toronto/Tkaronto (but TBay will always be home). 🌷 In the day time I work as a Communications Manager for an awesome nonprofit arts organization, and in the night time I embrace my identity as a multifaceted artist (illustrator, muralist, photographer, creative writer ✌️). I love to doodle and paint colourful places, animals, and themes I care about - “fun art, not fine art”. My literary work is a bit more dark and reflective, often focusing on themes of grief and identify, while my photography is usually focused on Mother Nature herself. 🌻 If you know me personally you know I’m super passionate about the environment, feminism and human rights, and I also personally deal with GAD and IBS, so mental health is very important to me too. For fun I love to go backcountry camping, read a good book, explore new places, or bake or cook something new (love good food). 🌸 Much of my inspiration comes from my creative family: from my grandmother who was a storyteller and a singer with her guitar; to my father who did professional calligraphy; to my aunts and uncles who are seamstresses, writers and cooks; to my mother who is a talented gardener and creator - being an artist is very much a part of my blood. 🌹 Thank you so much for following me and connecting with me on here! In some ways I still consider myself an emerging artist, so I’m very eager and excited to see what’s next 😅!!! P.S. You can purchase some of my work via my Etsy shop -link in bio! P.P.S. this original headshot was taken by the talented @cassrudolph 💕, and doodles by me lol. Cheers!

Sharing a colourful, folk-inspired acrylic painting I finished on this rainy and foggy April weekend 🌷🌧️. I’m sure I’m not alone here, but I feel so tapped out from screens, and algorithms, and AI garbage! Even with my iPad, which was arguably the tool that motivated me to take my art more “seriously”, I’ve been totally uninterested in picking it up. Instead, I’ve been drawn back to analog art forms; I want to embrace a new season of experimentation and creation that emphasizes the tangible over the digital 🌱. I’m also trying to create healthier boundaries with social media and my phone, because I sometimes find being on it consumes my mind in a negative way more than a positive 😵‍💫. These apps are designed to show us what we will react to and engage with to keep us glued for longer, and it bums me out! So, stricter social media time limits and creative activities that bring me joy is the current remedy ✅. Thanks for reading! Sending warmth and kindness your way as you read this ☀️. #analogclub #folkartpainting #torontoartists

#StARTSpotlight 🌟 Chelsea Virginia 🧑‍🎨 Outside The Box Program Happy National Pet Day! This #OutsideTheBox2025 mural was painted by @chelsvcreates , a Scandinavian-Ukrainian illustrator, muralist, photographer, and writer hailing from the shores of Lake Superior in Thunder Bay, currently based in Toronto. This mural celebrates the joy and love that dogs (and pets!) bring to the city! 📍 Warden Ave and Metropolitan Rd 📷: @alexeimalakhov Artwork Description: The background of this mural is a baby blue paint colour with circles in the colours of green, yellow, pink and purple scattered on top. Placed on the background are the head portraits of 14 different breeds of dogs spaced out. In addition, there are small black details throughout the mural, like the outline of a dog pawprint.”

A few fun & cool Toronto mural artists are in search of other fun & cool Toronto mural artists to come and join us for a second edition of the “Mural Artists Meetup & Potluck” 🥳. On Wednesday April 1st, 2026 from 6-8PM, come by to hang out with us; share your stories, skills, tricks and tips; bring an item to contribute to the casual potluck (easy dishes for sharing are welcome); and get creative on the edge of Riverdale Park. We will have an easy and accessible art activity available for artists to engage with on site ☺️. ➡️Location: St. Matthew’s Clubhouse (450 Broadview Avenue), a fully accessible venue with gender neutral bathrooms. ➡️Date: Wednesday April 1, 2026. ➡️Time: 6PM-8PM(ish) *if we’re having fun, we have more time! ➡️RSVP: The clubhouse has a capacity limit, so please DM @chelsvcreates @merrynmoon or @candypress if you wanna join in 🩷. *Who Is This Event For? Local Toronto mural artists (emerging and established) who want to get to know, and/or hang out with other muralists in our awesome city 🤟! We’re looking to present these events at least twice a year, so come join us and be part of the fun 😊. #torontoartists #torontomuralist #toronto

🚨Super Cool TBay Poster Alert🚨 Check out my new Thunder Bay Love poster! It’s in celebration of the design I was honoured to make for the cover of the 2026 Thunder Bay Experience Guide for @visitthunderbay 🫶. There are two sizes to choose from: 11x17” or 12x18”, and either one is $30/poster with $5 of every poster purchased going towards @roots_cfc (an incredible organization that focuses on food as a way to connect folks and build belonging and dignity through programs, initiatives, and advocacy). How do you get one? Here are your options: ➡️ 1. Roots Location - Go to Roots Community Food Centre in Thunder Bay @roots_cfc (450 Fort William Rd) to buy a poster on site at their location during their regular business hours (M-F, 8:30AM-4:30PM) 😊! They can take any form of payment. ➡️ 2. Port Arthur Pick Up - Purchase a poster by e-transferring the total to me (send me a DM), or purchase online through my Square Shop via credit card (link in bio), then select “Port Arthur Pickup location”. I will message or email you within 24 hours to share the address of where the poster can be picked up from. No shipping costs apply here. ➡️ 3. Online with Direct Shipping - Purchase a poster online through my Square Shop (link in bio) by selecting “Ship to Me”. Please note that the cost with a tube mailer is $25 with Canada Post (this is the cheapest option 🙃), so this fee will be applied on top of the regular $30 for the poster. Shipping is only within Canada (if you are outside of Canada, I can provide a quote). Thanks for the love and support 🩷👌. Ps. Tax is included in the poster price ($30 total for poster). Square shop link is here as well: https://square.link/u/6RiFxAMv #ThunderBay #tbaylovin #tbayartist

Art makes you happy. Did you know that whether you’re creating art or observing art it fires up parts of your brain that make you feel good? Some of our favourite art at the Rowan Tree Collective is made by our own members. But the art of @chelsvcreates is pretty popular around here. If you’re not familiar with Chelsea’s work it’s on the cover of this year’s Thunder Bay Experience guide. But it’s also on our walls! Our members are drawn to the bright images of places familiar to them. Some from our neighbourhood walks like the Pagoda or Magnus Theatre and some from our own family rituals like visiting the good old Hoito on Bay or walking around Kakabeka Falls. But Chelsea’s work is also an important feature in Noah’s Lounge. Noah’s Lounge is a safe space at the Collective where members can go to find some peace and quiet during a busy day to help settle their sensory system. It’s also a place to help regain emotional control when challenges arise. Thank you to Chelsea for creating work that speaks to our group. Maybe it speaks to you too.

Oh Canadian Winters ❄️. As people who live far north of the equator, what do we get from our long winter seasons. Dry hands? Chapped lips? Salt covered boots? Chilled bones? More importantly we get a resilience and wisdom that only comes from having survived another deep freeze. I’m always grateful for the season change, and the moments of beauty that winter offers: the white snow, the glittering lights, the darkness, and slowness - there’s a magic to it for those who look. When I think about winter I think of my childhood and the ways I embraced play in the snow with my friends. I think of my grandmother sitting by her window, and the number of long winters she endured throughout her life. I wanted to doodle what was in my head, so here it is: an Ode to Winter Wisdom ❄️🧦🧊! #winterillustration #winterlove #canadianartists

The 2026 @winter.stations are here 🥳! I vividly remember when I first moved to Toronto in 2018, got a job at @eastendartsto , and I discovered Winter Stations for the very first time. I can still recall the feeling of awe when I saw these public art installations down on the beach in the winter: 8 years later, and I still feel the exact same way 🙌. #publicarttoronto #winterstations2026

One goal I made for 2026 is to try to explore a new neighbourhood each weekend (or every second weekend). Outside of wanting to see more of the city I currently live in, there’s lots of good research out there that says doing just one new thing each day can significantly improve mood, memory and overall well-being 😏. So, off on all the adventures we go! #TorontoTourist #CanonPhotography #TorontoLiving

Sharing some winter shots of this big city called Toronto ❄️🏙️. I don’t care what the haters say, I love this season and think it’s beautiful, OK 😅! #torontowinter #urbanphotos #canoneosm5

Look mom, I made the news 😂! I had the privilege and honour to design the front and back cover of the 2026 Thunder Bay experience guide 🥹😍, and what an experience it was! This design is a love letter to my hometown of Thunder Bay 🙌, featuring all the best local sites, eats, & activities one can enjoy in this beautiful Northwestern Ontario city. Tbay is home and has my heart forever. This was an absolute joy to create, and I hope visitors near and far enjoy the colour, whimsy, & love that pops off the page. Thank you again @visitthunderbay for this collaboration! I am forever grateful and will always be proud of this project. You can find your own copy at the Terry Fox Visitor Centre, hotels, the airport, and visitor centres throughout Ontario, Manitoba, and Minnesota 😉. The digital edition can be accessed online at visitthunderbay.com. PS. I will also be selling a limited edition poster of this design for any Tbay folks near and far who are interested 🩷! Coming soon.