Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Terrilynn Dubreuil

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Terrilynn Dubreuil. Check out our conversation below.

Good morning Terrilynn, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
Time and how we perceive it is a contrived concept. Why do we mostly envision it in a linear form? It could be circular, as suggested in the movie “The Arrival”. Or actually, in my experience it often feels like a three dimensional criss-crossing web. Think of those moments when a memory comes flashing back to us, so strong and so real, that it feels like now. Then our thoughts jump back to the future, or in another direction to something seemingly totally unrelated.

Creating, when I am deep within it, I lose all track of time. Even as a university student, I would enter the darkroom for my photography course and exit hours later, when it seemed like a fraction of that time had passed. Whether painting, sculpting, sometimes even in teaching, I can easily lose track of time. So I set an alarm on my device, usually my phone, so I can stay accountable to those around me and my other responsibilities. When emerging from a total deep focus, that is when I realize that this present experience has been the true me.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
In my prior articles for CanvasRebel, I have gone into more details about my background, training and experiences. I am an artist, a traveler and a teacher. These define me the best. My artistic journey has taken me through years of many different approaches to self expression. At times a part of me steps back to take a more objective look at this process and I think .. hmmm, this certainly has been an interesting adventure.

My present life deals a lot with teaching. I teach for a couple of international adult schools and groups. One in Europe, which is a virtual school, allows me to be connected with people all over the globe! Another has annual live conferences where I am on faculty and present teachings. I also have a Patreon group, a YouTube channel and present workshops and demonstrations of my techniques and the fundamentals of drawing and painting to help others grow in their own art expressions. Watching students acquire ability that helps them create the way they want to gives me great satisfaction and joy.

Teaching a workshop in Le Marche Italy in April 2026 will bring various joys of my life together! How exciting is that? (info on my website TravelingArtista.com)

Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
I started traveling at the age of 17. One week after high school graduation I found myself in the very different country of Ecuador in South America. I went there not speaking the language nor did I have any idea about what the cultural and social norms were. And no one really prepared me for it, either. The life I experienced, the things I saw and smelled and heard were so absolutely different from what I had lived growing up in rural Maine. A kalidescope of sensual experiences: wondrous fruit flavors beyond imagination, the harsh odors from a hide tanning factory as we drove out of the city toward the ocean .. and that came just a few moments before the rich, sweet aromas of coffee and chocolate factories .. the sight of men peeing from the sidewalk into the gutter, tiny children begging on the steps of a church, the sharp cry of a street cart seller of oranges and avocados at six in the morning. Such different experiences from my norm could not help but have a lasting effect upon my life. Empathy, fascination, and curiosity are branded deep within me.

What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
Rather recently I came to realize that a close relative is a classic narcissist. Throughout my whole life this person would do anything to demean me, and others, just to make themselves feel better, more important; to set themselves above their deep insecurities. I spent most of my life trying to “fix” the relationships and undefined hurts within my birth family. A task which is impossible, because no one can fix the unfixable. The revelation of this destructive personality trait of a key person in my life was mind-blowing and life-changing for me. When I finally let go of the need to try to fix things – knowing it is not my responsibility to fix another person, and I let go of any relationship with the person themselves – I gained great freedom and confidence to move forward within my own strength and decisions.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
In my life I aim to be my true self whether it is in private or with others in public. “This is me,” has been my thought for decades. I am who I am, I do my best to be honest, have integrity, and show caring and empathy to others. Because, basically, it’s how I think and feel.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What will you regret not doing? 
Regrets? I aim for no regrets. I often will make some sacrifices in order to experience life as I wish it to be. I may wish I had done things I have not had a chance to do – like surfing, visiting China, having enough money to not be concerned about living costs – but for those things that are vital to me, I have spent years focusing on doing them. For instance: I drive 1100 miles every 3 months or so to see my two daughters and grandchildren (who live that far apart), I wear reasonable clothes because I’d rather spend the money on travel, I do my own hair and nails so I have a bit extra spending money for a fine dinner out, I rent and live with a friend so I can have money to travel abroad.

I remember during my first serious college relationship, with a great guy who said he did not ever want children, “What if I reach the age of 80 and never had children? How would I feel about my life.” Well, we didn’t work out as a couple, and now I have two beautiful, amazing children and two extraordinary grandchildren. And that is just one example of my “no regrets”. Make a decision and stick with it!

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Terrilynn Dubreuil

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