Sandra Woods has been an optimistic dynamo since we met more than thirty years ago, when we bonded over the arts, museums, and nature. In 2016, she developed a rare autoimmune and neuroinflammatory disease, with severe chronic pain and other symptoms. By 2018, a resulting Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) ended her bioethics career, so she began volunteering in chronic pain projects across Canada, as much as her MCI permitted.
When she tried watercolour painting in 2021, as a brain-plasticity or neuroplasticity approach to pain management, I never imagined how far she’d come as a self-taught artist.
After tonnes of painting courses and workshops, involvement in many arts activities, arts awards, almost fifty group exhibitions and a solo show, this spring Sandra’s watercolours were accepted into national juried online exhibitions with the Canadian Society of Artists (SCA) and Federation of Canadian Artists (FCA) – and an international show. The Canada Council for the Arts just upgraded Sandra from “Emerging” to “Professional Artist”, and she applied for a small Visual Arts Group grant for an event that she’s founding; the West Island Art Studio Circuit (WIASC).
Meanwhile, her #ArtDespitePain initiative encourages people with chronic pain to try creative activities for their own pain management.
-Written by André, Sandra’s husband and soulmate
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Which ’hood are you in?
I’m in the West Island area of Montréal, within cycling distance of a beach, farms, nature parks, and even a vineyard – all great places for painting en plein-air (outdoors) off the back of my bicycle in good weather!
What do you do?
People often think I’m joking when I say that “I paint because of pain”, but it’s true! I started this whole art adventure because of research suggesting that having an active art practice might help patients manage chronic pain as well as cognitive issues. Then I fell in love with the luminosity and transparency of watercolours. I’ve been described as a Disabled Artist, or a Veteran who’s a visual artist, but I think of myself as a perpetual student; always trying to learn something new, literally playing with pigments.
What are you currently working on?
I always have a lot going on. I’m currently Patient Partnering in two pain research projects, co-organizing the 2025 Art Awards of the Canadian Pain Society, and founding the annual West Island Art Studio Circuit (WIASC). The inaugural WIASC will feature an Open Studio Day in mid-August, a group show in September at Studio 77 café-gallery, and a 3D virtual exhibition in October. The WIASC is starting small with a dozen visual artists in 2025, then will expand in 2026 as there are more than ten artists’ associations on the West Island.
Where can we find your work?
Oh my gosh, it’s everywhere this year! I had paintings accepted into three online juried exhibitions this spring – with two national and one international arts organizations – and I’ll have watercolours at the Conseil des arts de Montréal (Montréal Arts Council) throughout May. This summer, I’ll have paintings at a gallery in scenic Old Montréal and will host my first “Open Studio Day” in mid-August as part of the WIASC. Then I’ll participate in several group exhibitions through the fall and into the winter holidays. You can find my work on my website, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook. For a longer profile, I was featured in the February 2025 issue of CanvasRebel art magazine. Also, I shared my journey—and the science behind it—in the 2024 PAINtalks presentation “Solving the Pain Puzzle: How Flow becomes HOPE,” which is available to watch on YouTube.
