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Capturing the Light
Paint Ontario art show opens
March 11 in Grand Bend
Lynda Hillman-Rapley
Postmedia Network
How can something feel
calm and colourful at the
same tune?
Artist Gwen Card some-
how captures the magical
light hiding deep in a lovely
iris or in a face and brings it
to life on a canvas. Card is
one of the hundreds of art-
ists who will participate in
Paint Ontario 2107. Paint
Ontario, in its 21st year, is
dubbed the largest show of
its kind in Ontario. It is a
show of 'representational'
art that depicts our life in
Ontario. More than 200
original and ready -to -hang
paintings prepared from oil,
watercolour, acrylic, pencil,
charcoal, or mixed media
will be displayed at the
Lambton Heritage Museum
from March 11 to April 2 in
Grand Bend. Paintings will
be judged by professional
artists to provide outstand-
ing quality for viewers and
buyers Card is an infor-
mally trained artist who
has, as with many artists,
been interested in art or
craftwork since she was a
child. "I can't not do some-
thing creative," says Gwen.
She was born and raised in
Woodstock, where she
attended an arts -oriented
high school. She lived in
different places in Ontario,
and before moving to the
London area in 2001, she
was doing some folk art
painting and selling it in St.
Jacobs. An art teacher saw
Gwen's work there and
encouraged her to take
some fine art training. She
took bis advice and started
taking a variety of art
classes at Fanshawe Col-
lege. Painting became a
focus and she continued to
take painting classes with a
local teacher "I started with
watercolour, thinking it
would be the easiest, but I
soon learned otherwise,"
she joked. Gwen moved on
to paint with acrylic and
now works with oil paint. "I
like the creaminess and the
way you can blend soft
edges with the oil paint. The
way I paint is with a lot of
layers." She says she paints
`anything but landscapes' -
portraits, still life, flowers,
and dogs are a special love.
Gwen's golden retriever
passed away several years
ago and she wanted to paint
him in his memory. People
saw the picture and com-
missioned paintings. "Peo-
ple say my paintings are
unique because of the way I
use light and shadow - I try
to paint how the light
affects the object it's hit-
ting." Card paints in her
home studio from a photo-
graph she has taken, and
says setting up the photo is
the first part of her painting.
"The light changes quickly
and a photo can capture
that one special moment. If
I look at a photo I've taken
and it makes me excited
that is the best." It's the
transparent layers of paint
that help Card to capture
the light so well. Rather
than mix paint colours in
the tray, she works slowly
aver several weeks to layer
different transparent col-
ours on top of each other to
reach a unique effect of vis-
ual depth. "I like to get
more intimate with my
work and stop to smell the
roses." Card's skill has been
recognized several times,
including at Paint Ontario
where in different years she
has received an Honourable
Mention, Second Place, and
the Rosemarie Crosswell
award.Paint Ontario has
been a confidence -builder
and great exposure for Card
over the years - she says the
show is getting better and
better. "Every year the show
draws artists from further
away. The best part for me
is the encouragement from
everyone you meet, and the
passion that everyone puts
into their work." You can
see Gwen Card's art on her
website - www.thefrontpor-
chartstudio For more infor-
mation, go to www.painton-
tario.com
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