Artist finds joy, captures grandeur of the ordinary

Published 12:30 pm Thursday, October 16, 2025

Anne Marie (Nehring) Harvey was born at Fort Babine, and from the start, she had an inherent love for indigenous people.  A love and joy that she put into art.

Her mom, Mary Hughes, was raised in Victoria, B.C., and got her degree in education. However, it wasn’t a cultivated, cultural lifestyle that she wanted. She took her education degree, and was the first white woman to teach at Fort Babine.  

Mary met Douglas Stevens, a gold prospector of the Golden Eagle and Silver Cup mines. Three children came 11 months apart. The siblings were inseparable. 

The chief’s wife babysat Anne Marie and her brothers. She was kind, gentle, and very strong.

A portrait of an indigenous person was the first piece of art Anne Marie sold at age 20.  

Smithers, too will always be in part of her heart. Her family built a home on Lake Kathlyn, and Anne-Marie graduated from Smithers Senior Secondary.

Her life’s journey, which centred around joy, took her on a path from northern BC.. to the wine country of the Okanagan, and finally to the oceanfront of Bowser on Vancouver Island. 

With all of her travels she has carried within her a joy of light and colour, and she loves to capture that in people and scenery..

Anne-Marie won a competition to be a cover artist and illustrator for The Advocate, a law magazine for B.C. and Yukon. They said, “With one short interview, she created a lighthearted portrait, which accurately captures the spirit of this person.”  This work earned her a spot as finalist for best illustrator at the Western Magazine Awards.

Back in her Smithers days, three intended artists started from nowhere. Quentin Robbins, Dave Nehring and Anne-Marie enthusiastically mentored each other. Throughout 23 years they helped each other become artists.

Anne Marie’s path took her from oil to watercolours, to acrylics, and back to oil. Settled now on an oceanfront that has captivated her, the shaman within is beckoning her to teach. She may write a book.

Anne-Marie has teamed up with my daughter Jenny on Vancouver Island, and their slogan together is, “We can do anything, we are Smithers girls.”

A reminder. There is a free session-topic on reflexology, and it's a brown-bag lunch, Monday Oct. 20 at the Healthy Living Centre across from the Salvation Army.

If you have items that you would like to see in Valley Connections please email sonja.lester.b.c@gmail.com or call 250-847-4414