Islay McNab is a self-taught, contemporary visual artist in Dartmouth, NS, Canada (Mi’kma’ki). Raised as a homeschooler in rural Nova Scotia, her practice is rooted in a lifelong freedom and drive to commune deeply with the environment. Her large-scale abstract works are characterised by atmospheric layering, a refined use of dream psychology, and an intuitive, embodied approach.

Driven by visceral physical engagements with nature- including open-water swimming and trail running through coastal forests- McNab creates delicate yet powerful compositions that merge the energy of raw texture with elements of landscape painting to form dreamlike, immersive works.

Her practice, grounded in the subconscious and in metaphysical structures, explores the sensory and emotional impact of the natural world. Through repeated marks and a fluid integration of traditional painting mediums with hand-foraged bio-pigments and recycled papers, her paintings evoke memory, terrain, and shifting light. McNab invites viewers into a sensory dialogue with the landscape, using harmonious tones and expressive gestures to narrate personal, place-based, and deeply physical experiences.