Acadian born artist Dorina Gates started Gates Belle Arts in 2001. She currently paints and carves in Belleisle Creek, New Brunswick. She was born in Saint Charles, Kent County.

She enjoys working with palette knife, pencil, black ink, chalk pastel, oil pastel, watercolor, and oil. Though largely self-taught, she has studied under Joyce Pike, Henry Vivinkyl, George Armstrong, Lloyd Pretty, Kelly Cooper, Chin Koktan, Fred Ross, Franz Aeuelts, and Bridget Grant O'Toole. In April 1984, she completed the Program Fundamentals of Art course through the Art Instruction School. In 2010, she received a High Honor Diploma from International Career School Canada. She also took a course in photography at the New Brunswick Community College, Saint John.

Her work has appeared in exhibits in Saint John, Moncton, and Fredericton. Solo exhibits in Fredericton and Sussex portrayed the growth and harvest of blueberries. Nela Rio included Spiritual #7 in the International Itinerant Poetry and Art Exhibition at the University of Wisconsin, in July 2007.

In 2003, Dorina completed a two-week show along with her students at the Sussex Tea Room. In 2004, they again had an exhibit, this time at the Belleisle Creek Hall. In May 2005, art shows ran concurrently in Sussex, the Kennebecasis Valley, and in Saint John, at the Westmoreland Public Library, where she had exhibits yearly from 2006 to 2011. She also exhibited her work at the Kennebecasis Public Library.

"A lifelong learner is a lifelong winner."

-- Matshona Dhliwayo

Dorina has taught watercolor, and given color courses at Gates Belle Arts and in Sussex. In 2016 she had an art show at the Saint John University of New Brunswick, through the Lorenzo art society.

Dorina was accepted to display a painting "Talent On The Stage" to represent the 100th anniversary of the Imperial Theatre in Saint John, She had an exhibit at the Westmoreland Public Library in 2013.

Her inspiration is her dad, Julien Richard, a great painter of local folk themes. He was seldom without a sketching pencil in his hand. She now loves and lives for Art.

The reward of life is to learn every day. As an inquisitive child, I became obsessed with learning. If there was a question, it had to be answered. The originality to know and accept who we are is the bravest and the wisest thing we will ever do.

Since teaching art, I realized my students struggled the most with learning about colour. It became the most important learning for me to master and I would say the key to a great painting.

The language of colour is so much more important than the colour on a canvas. Colours are like people; some you blend together and some you don't. Colour evokes feeling, colour is your personality, your aura, and the colour is your positive energy waiting to explode.

Your life is your canvas. Paint it well. Not in the footsteps of others but by being original.

-- Dorina Gates