BOLD AND GUTSY, DARING AND BRAVE

You’ve never seen this before. Like the artist herself, Ashley Longshore’s own brand of vibrant pop art makes a lot of noise — and it’s all infused with an incredible sense of fun. Huge canvases of icons, like her muse, Audrey Hepburn, and Kate Moss in a sassy nun’s habit are just the beginning. Longshore is an artist, a gallery owner and a successful entrepreneur with brilliant ideas and collaborations that have made her a smart businesswoman, too

- DONNA PARIS

When you’re talking to Ashley Longshore, you want the interview to go on forever, because, well, what comes out of her mouth is just so out there that you never want it to stop. It’s not just what she says, either; it’s her delivery. With a southern drawl, she knows how to tell great stories — all sprinkled liberally with some epic swear words.

But one thing is for sure: Longshore is authentic. “I’m very trusting and I don’t have anything but love,” she says. “I don’t care who you have sex with, I don’t care what god you believe in, I don’t care what colour your skin is.”

She grew up in the American South, the daughter of an advertising executive and a stay-at-home mom. “I was always into activities like tap dancing and ballet,” she says. But it wasn’t until her later teens that Longshore discovered art on her own. “When I was 18 years old, I started painting and I found a joy that was so great; I’d never felt that.”

Longshore knew pretty quickly that hers was not a life to be spent being groomed to become a trophy wife. “I knew marrying a rich man wasn’t going to make me happy. And when I realized that nothing brought me as much joy as my art, I completely immersed myself in it.”