I first met Darby Milbrath a few years ago at the Gibraltar Point artist residency on the Toronto Islands, where I would encounter her outside translating the surroundings into mystical vistas that far exceeded the view I was seeing. Darby’s saturated canvasses look like they’re painted in the golden hour light, tinted with a soft amber that makes everything hazy, a bit more manageable on the eyes. The Fauvist-style paintings are interdisciplinary, inspired by Darby’s practice as a dancer, as well as someone deeply interested in plants, storytelling, and alchemy.