“An Artist is more than the person who puts brush to canvas, notes to page, clay to form, etc. An Artist is an actual State of Being, one that moves both inside and outside the realms of a studio or creative work. It is a way of living, of perceiving, and most of all, of sharing.” - Patrice Donnelly, nationally renowned painter

Dolena Thompson, a native of Vancouver, Canada, seemed destined to express herself through art from the beginning. You could say it’s in her blood, as the descendent of famed French writer Alexander Dumas, author of such historically significant novels as The Three Musketeers and the Count of Monte Cristo. As a child, her mother recognized and fostered Dolena’s artistic nature, teaching her to sew intricate creations, providing her with the tools to paint her ideas onto canvas and encouraging her forays into performance arts like figure skating.

It seemed Dolena excelled at any artistic format she set her heart and mind to. Her mastery of the skating arts took her around the world at an early age, allowing her to share her passion with others across the globe. Throughout the early 1960’s, Dolena skated with Holiday on Ice and the Ice Capades as a star attraction, and in 1966 became the Assistant Performance Director for the Ice Capades, sharing not only her physical talent but her creative vision on the ice.

Dolena refined her skills in visual artistry at the University of British Columbia, excelling in their fine arts program and creating detailed mural wall paintings, many of which now grace the walls of the finest private residences across Vancouver. Her passion for all things artistic eventually led Dolena to the world of beauty and the ultimate canvas, her league of adoring fans.

Dolena signed on to La Donna Fina Spa in West Vancouver a little over 6 years ago. With training in manicures, pedicures, body treatments and eyelash perming and tinting, she quickly became an essential addition to the spa. Her artistic precision and dexterity eventually brought her to the addition of eyelash extensions, as she recognized the up and coming field as an excellent opportunity to expand her repertoire of talents. After weeks of research, she selected Xtreme Lashes® for a February 2007 training because, “Xtreme Lashes® was, without a doubt, the best,” she says, “and I always want the best training.”

Her inherent creativity makes Dolena a natural with the application of Xtreme Lashes® and, as with her skating, she loves to share her talents with the world. She performs an average of three new full sets each week and is booked for three to four fills every day. Clients come from as far as Australia, British Honduras and Germany, just to be lashed by Dolena and she counts Miss World Canada 2005 amongst her biggest fans.

Professionally and personally, Dolena embodies the spirit of artistry as a way of life and as a form of sharing herself with others. She employs her special skills to help others in the community through the Cinderella Project, where she recently lashed a deserving underprivileged high school graduate, teaching skating to the blind and donating her lash services to benefit research for Parkinson’s Disease. She still paints her murals, residentially and commercially, and her most recent now graces the wall of La Donna Fina Spa.

It is obvious that all those who have seen the work of Dolena are touched by her gifts of artistry and those who have been blessed to benefit directly from her work will never cease their praise: