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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Kim Legler, also known as Miss Kimi, explores a wide variety of styles and subjects through her paintings.

The 19-year-old artist calls her art a "creative mind spill."

Whether she is painting Northern landscapes, cartoon characters, people, plants, animals or abstracts, her work is colourful, dynamic and filled with youthful enthusiasm.

She has more than a dozen pieces on display in the After 8 billiard lounge alongside paintings by her partner Tamsone and friend Ben Westergreen.

Her latest work pays tribute to technology from the recent past, such as cassette tapes and Polaroid cameras.

Her paintings also honour some of her favourite things like cupcakes and lollipops.

"I'm trying to put out art that is interesting and that no one else does," she said.

"I want to keep it unique and fresh and colourful."

She recently began producing abstract art using watercolour alongside her realist portraits.

"I'm having a lot of fun experimenting with watercolours because it gives me more options with more blending and more layers than acrylic paint," she said.

Her roots in graffiti art still find expression in her artwork.

"I'm working on my graffiti and it's come pretty far," she said.

"My tags are getting better and my letters are getting better."

This month she is preparing a submission for the Aurora Arts Society's Trashformation contest, which encourages artists to use recycled items in their pieces.

"Making art out of garbage will be fun, I think," she said.

She is also preparing for a photo shoot with model and photographer Carissa Chung. The pair will present a joint photography exhibit this fall. In October, Miss Kimi will explore sculpture in an upcoming workshop led by Terry Pamplin.

"I'd like to bring my artwork down south definitely and get it into a gallery there," she said.

Next year she plans to collaborate on photographic art projects with some friends in Vancouver including professional skate board magazine photographer Sean Dalin. Her aspirations don't end there.

"I want to tour in the U.S and see if I can hook up with some venues in L.A., in California, because I heard that the art scene and the fashion scene are really good there," she said.

"And I have some dreams of going to Madrid in Spain and different places in Europe that are down with the art scene and do shows there as well.

"That's something I want to save up for."