Our Instructors

Owner, Director, Instructor and Artist
Emily Grav (she/her)


Emily Grav graduated from UVIC with an Honours BFA in Visual Arts in 2005. She gained extensive experience teaching Art and ESL while living in Taiwan from 2007 to 2008 and also directing children’s Art Camps here in Victoria.  In September 2008, Emily was inspired by the children she’d been teaching at a local art camp and decided to open The Paint Box School of Art so she could teach art to kids, teens and adults, all year long!   Emily enjoys teaching all styles of art, especially drawing and painting.

Through an open and engaging teaching style, she encourages students to express themselves creatively through many mediums.

Since opening The Paint Box, Emily has exhibited her paintings in numerous art shows around Victoria.  Having explored watercolour, acrylic and mixed media for many years she's now engrossed herself  "En Plein Air" Paining (the art of painting out doors) using oil paints. She's now also taking the occasional mural commission. 

Along with painting, Emily enjoys other hobbies, such as, swimming, tennis, mountain biking, yoga, telephone pole painting, apple cider brewing, and playing with her kids, Jasper, born in 2013 and Quinn born in 2017. 

Artist & Instructor ~ Ashley Moore  (she/her)

Ashley is a passionate Elementary and Middle School Teacher who grew up in Bella Coola, a breathtaking valley located on Nuxalk territory where the mountains, ocean, family, friends, and community nurtured an inspiration for art making. Ashley has a dedicated personal art practice. She enjoys tapestry weaving, gouache, print-making, photography, digital illustration and experimentation with new mediums.  

After completing a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Bachelor of Education, Ashley transitioned from working in the school system as an Education Assistant to her new role as a classroom Teacher. In this new role she uses art to nurture problem solving, positive risk-taking, fine-motor skills, patience, expression and identity exploration. 

Ashley describes working with young people as a gift that reminds her that art can exist without the pressure of a narrowly specific outcome; that being a successful artist can be measured by the joy experienced in the process and what is learned along the way.

Artist & Instructor ~ Ana Eligio (she/her)

My name is Ana and I am a self-taught artist born and raised in Mexico, I’ve been doing art ever since I can recall, always having a creative outlet for myself since it is something that brings me comfort and happiness. I am always learning something new and I’ve delved into all kinds of artsy activities such as mural-ism, resin art, embroidery, clay sculpting, jewelry making, animation, graphic design,and more! Plus, I specially enjoy painting and drawing.

This passion for art led me to study digital design and in 2021 I graduated with honors from Vancouver Film school, specializing in motion design. I worked in digital design and animation for a while before moving to Canada, and now I’m currently getting a bachelor of arts in professional communications. I strongly believe that anyone can be a great artist, the key to achieving this is staying motivated and enjoying the process!

Artist & Instructor ~ Grace Laurat (she/her)

My name is Grace and I am from the traditional territories of the Erie, Neutral, Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Mississaugas, colonially known as Hamilton, Ontario.

Ever since I canremember I have loved using art as an outlet to express myself. I recently graduated from the University of Victoria with a Bachelor of Arts in Gender Studies and loved the flexibility of being
able to mix my academic work with my creative work. While at UVIC I was able to take a multitude of art education courses including painting, printmaking and ceramics.

My favourite mediums to work with currently are acrylic paints as well as crochet, both of which I love to work on during my down time! To me, art is a very meditative process and the ability to immerse myself in a project and use my hands is something that I have always found very
valuable. I am so excited to share my passions with the students at The Paint Box and I cannot wait to see what we will create together!