BJ Arnason has painted for most of her adult life, beginning at the age of 18 as a commissioned portraitist. After raising her two children, and enjoying her career as a university lecturer, she decided to concentrate on painting full time. Working from her studio in McLure -- a rural community in south central British Col- umbia -- she appreciates the peaceful setting that affords ample inspiration as well as convenient access to galleries in Vancouver and in the Kamloops / Okanagan area. In addition to painting daily, Arnason has con- ducted very popular pastel workshops, art classes and adjudicated group exhibitions. Although she still participates, as a demonstrator, in community arts council events, she has recently scaled down her teaching and exhibition schedules in order to concentrate on producing thematic bodies of work such as the "Dancers" series in black and white, the "Gypsy Spirit" series of semi - abstract female nudes, and the "Mosaic" series of domestic images. BJ Arnason is currently at work on a series of paintings tentatively titled "Bodies of Knowledge", for exhib- ition in 2002.