Paint Ontario is an annual art competition, exhibition and sale that features a mix of realistic and impressionistic artworks highlighting the rich tapestry of Ontario.  Long established as Ontario’s foremost show and sale for representational painters and sculptors, this three-week Grand Bend based event near the Lake Huron shore has attracted artists and art appreciators from all parts of the province and beyond for the last 30 years. 

This year is my first time entering artwork in the Paint Ontario event and I am thrilled to have three paintings accepted into the show. I am sworn to secrecy, so I can't tell you which pieces they are - you will just have to come to the show to find out!

Over $14,000 in awards and prizes will be announced at the Opening Night gala on May 1, 2026, at the Grand Bend Legion Community Hall. The Exhibition and Sale continues from May 2 to 17 with on-site art demonstrations and special events for added learning and enjoyment. With custom designed lighting and display walls, the Legion facility will be transformed into a stunning gallery for over 200 juried artworks, selected from over 600 competition entries, and resulting in a truly prestigious event. 

The Paint Ontario collection celebrates the beauty and diversity of the province, with a focus on capturing the essence of everyday experiences. Subject matter includes still life, people and figures, wildlife, landscapes, florals, gardens, urban and rural scenes, boats, and waterscapes, all reflecting life in Ontario.

Not only does Paint Ontario give emerging and established artists the opportunity to sell their works, the monies raised in commissions go straight back into cultural activities within the community. The Grand Bend Art Centre provides, among many others things, a music program to local schools, a community pottery facility, kids summer camps and grants to arts boosters in the community. 

Click here for more Paint Ontario 2026 details.

If you are familiar with my work, you will know I’m often drawn to the ancient rocks and pristine blue lakes of the Canadian Shield.

I grew up surrounded by this rugged landscape and it keeps finding its way into my paintings.

This past winter, I decided to really spend some time on the Shield - at least on paper. From January through March, I worked away in the studio, bit by bit, on the largest watercolour paper I can manage.

The subject was a place I hold close to my heart: the quiet, timeless shores of Georgian Bay.

The genesis of this major work began over twenty years ago, when my husband and I spent a quiet weekend at a small Eco-lodge tucked among the islands of Georgian Bay. 

It was my first time seeing up close the ancient striped rocks of this region, and I was truly captivated. With my very first digital camera in hand, I captured over 200 epic photos, some of which are pictured in this post.

Out on the water in a kayak, I came face to face with that landscape in a way I never had before.

The smooth, ancient rock rising out of the gorgeous blue waters of the bay, and the wind‑sculpted trees, all stayed with me. 

Ever since then, those rocks and trees have felt like old companions.

Their patterns, their strength, and their quiet resilience have found their way into several dozen artworks over the years. 

Painting them feels a bit like returning to a place that knows me as well as I know it.

The photo shown here has inspired four previous paintings, which are pictured in the photo collage below:

When one of the galleries representing my art mentioned a while ago that they had clients showing interest in my large rocky landscapes, I decided this Georgian Bay scene would be a good candidate for a large-format piece.

With a finished image measuring 40 x 28 inches, this new varnished watercolour painting titled Serenity in Stone is over twice the size of the previous four paintings put together.

I made sure to photograph the work in progress at the end of each stage, so I could compile this two-minute video showing the whole process. Click on the image below and enjoy!

I hope you have found this creation story interesting and informative. Serenity in Stone is now on display at Eclipse Art at Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville, ON. Click here for more details or purchase inquiries about Serenity in Stone.

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Over the past month, I’ve been spending wonderfully focused days in my art studio, completing the four new watercolours shown above. Winter is one of my favourite times to create, working beside a cozy fireplace while the daylight slowly begins to stretch a little longer beyond my window.

In recent years, I’ve returned again and again to 'after dark' themes, and they continue to captivate me. My initial inspiration often comes from reference photos taken during the day, and then I let imagination guide the transformation into night.

This latest body of work gave me the chance to experiment with new pigment combinations and explore richly atmospheric, dusky skies.

The new series features the Milky Way glowing gently above quiet northern lakes.

To bring more clarity to the landscape, I included a subtle trace of sunset’s afterglow along the horizon, reflected softly across the water.

Today, I’m excited to share the stories behind these new artworks, beginning with the two unframed miniatures.

This is Finding Peace, varnished watercolour on 5 x 5 inch panel.

Decades ago, while cruising on Georgian Bay one overcast afternoon, I saw this rustic cabin hunkered down on a rocky point, bracketed by wind-sculpted trees.

Seeing this tiny rustic abode made me wonder who lived there and what their life was like. For my painting, I imagined how the scene would appear after sunset, with the Milky Way leading a celestial trail to the cabin.

For more information about Finding Peace, click here.

This is Stardust, varnished watercolour on 5 x 5 inch panel.

In October 2018, I took a sightseeing lunch cruise with my local Women's Probus Club on Lake Muskoka.

I was really keen to photograph the rocky islands and robust pine trees of this renowned lake, viewed from the water.

The weather was terrible though - drenching rain the whole time - so I thought my photos would be dreary. How wrong I was!

The rain gave atmospheric perspective to my photos, which made closer islands appear darker than background shores. This dramatic layering of values would not have appeared in photos taken on a sunny day. I ended up with dozens of inspiring island photos such as this one, which I used as reference for Stardust.

Click here for more details or purchase inquiries about Stardust.

This is Starlit Shores, varnished watercolour on 10 x 10 inch panel.

In August 2017, on the suggestion of an artist acquaintance, I stopped at the hamlet of Rossport on the Ontario shore of Lake Superior to see the scenery, and I am so glad I took his advice. 

The Rossport Archipelago is the largest group of islands on Lake Superior, and they were absolutely stunning, with high cliffs and lush tree cover. 

The day was foggy but I took many photos and they have inspired several paintings since then.

This is the photo I used as reference for Starlit Shores.

For purchasing details and other information about Starlit Shores, click here.

The fourth painting in my Milky Way series is Mazinaw Midnight, varnished watercolour on 10 x 10 inch panel.

It was inspired by our camping trip to Bon Echo Provincial Park near Cloyne, Ontario last fall and is part of my Bon Echo Collection of paintings.

We truly fell under the spell of this stunning nature preserve, enjoying kayaking on Mazinaw Lake to examine the mighty cliff face of Mazinaw Rock, and hiking in the surrounding forest.

This is one of the wonderful photos I took during our ten-day stay in the park, and this snapshot taken after sunset served as inspiration for Mazinaw Midnight.

I recounted the wonders of Bon Echo in my previous blog post The Magic of Mazinaw, highlighting all my best photos and videos of this natural wonder.

Click here for more information about Mazinaw Midnight.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the personal narratives accompanying my latest paintings. Creating imagined wild landscapes illuminated by spectacular starlight brings me great joy, and I’m grateful to share them with you.

If you have comments you wish to share, please do so using the 'Leave a Comment' button at the top of this post.

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Over the Christmas break, I had to pause painting, as many days were spent on administration of my art business. Since the turn of the year, the return to my art practice has been very intentional and all the more meaningful. Sitting at my drafting table, near a warm fireplace, I have been pouring so much love and gratitude into new work, including the four new watercolours pictured here.

These new scenes were inspired by our incredible adventure to visit Churchill, Manitoba, on the shores of Hudson Bay, in 2024. That time away left me brimming with inspiration.

I shared the enthralling magic of this trip of a lifetime, including awesome photos and videos, in a previous post Witnessing Wonder: Polar Bears and Northern Lights.

I am so thrilled to introduce you to these luminous new paintings! 

Working with these vivid, glowing colours was an absolute joy, but I do admit, the early stages of northern lights scenes are decidedly unattractive and discouraging. It takes patience and a profound belief in my process to pursue the painting journey to completion.

In this first piece, I love the way the northern lights seem to swirl through the starry sky, so I titled the painting Dancing With the Stars, (varnished watercolour on 9 x 12 inch panel).

If you are a student of watercolour, or interested in how beautiful things are hand crafted, see the full creation story of this painting in my previous post The Making of 'Dancing With the Stars'.

Click here for more details about this artwork.

This vibrant artwork is titled Rhythms of the Night, varnished watercolour on 12 x 12 inch panel.

It was inspired loosely by the reference photos below.

I photographed the green aurora from the dome car of the train transporting us overnight from Churchill to Thompson.

I saw the rocky shoreline during our Tundra Buggy tour outside of Churchill.

This point of land is at the mouth of the Churchill River, where it flows into the salty water of Hudson Bay, after a 1600-km journey from Saskatchewan.

For more details or purchase inquiries about Rhythms of the Night, click here.

The painting shown here, Guardian of the Sky, varnished watercolour on 12 x 12 inch panel, was the third painting in this collection.

Reference photos provided a jumping-off point for my painting, which evolved into an imaginary scene all its own.

I saw the band of northern lights one epic evening, displayed over Cross Lake, near Wabowden, Manitoba.

We were camped on the shore of the lake, and the rays of scarlet, pink, and green aurora danced throughout the entire dome of the sky for several hours.

Words cannot express the wonder we felt as we witnessed this natural phenomenon. It was an overwhelmingly moving experience.

The storm-sculpted white pine I photographed during a camping holiday in the Temagami region of northern Ontario years ago, and it has been featured in several of my paintings.

For purchasing details and other information about Guardian of the Sky, click here.

And finally, the polar bear painting...

The fourth painting of the series is my first watercolour featuring northern lights and a polar bear.

I titled this piece Guardian of the Night, varnished watercolour on 12 x 9 inch panel. 

The title is ambiguous; it could refer to the polar bear, guarding its territory, or to the aurora, watching over a vast northern kingdom.

Either way, I created the scene to honour the memory of our incredible experiences in northern Manitoba.

The northern lights reference photo shown here I took from the Churchill train, and the bear I photographed from the safety of a Tundra Buggy, on the shores of Hudson Bay near Churchill.

If you want more information about Guardian of the Night, or if you are thinking of acquiring it, click here.

I hope you have enjoyed the personal stories of my latest paintings. It brings me profound joy to imagine and invent beautiful wild places bathed in spectacular aurora light, and then share them with you.

If you have comments you wish to share, please do so using the 'Leave a Comment' button at the top of this post.

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Last month I finished this painting Dancing With the Stars, varnished watercolour on 9 x 12 inch panel. 

It was inspired by my travels in northern Canada, especially my recent trip to Churchill, Manitoba to see epic northern lights. 

The rolling landscape with sparse trees also reminds me of our snowmobile adventures in Labrador a decade ago.

I prepared for this painting, along with three others, by making these 2 x 2 inch concept drawings of snowy scenes with aurora skies, in my sketchbook.

Then I created full sized pencil drawings on 300 lb watercolour paper.

I worked on all four paintings at the same time, using the same colours.

This is a tactic I employ often to save on paint and time. As I waited for one painting to dry, I worked on the others, using brushes already loaded with the appropriate colours.

DANCING WITH THE STARS DAY 1:

MASKING AND FIRST AURORA LAYER

I taped my sketched watercolour paper onto a rigid waterproof support and masked off the horizon with tape to preserve the white of the snow while I painted the sky. Reference photos are shown around the painting.

I also spattered masking fluid randomly across the upper half of the sky. This protects little dots of white paper that eventually will look like stars in the sky.

After wetting the sky area with clean water, and using five paint colours (each with its own separate paint brush), I quickly painted the basic shapes of the aurora and dark sky around it. Then I let the painting dry overnight.

DAY 2: AURORA LAYER 2

I wet the sky with clear water and, using the first layer of colours as my guide, brushed the same five colours onto the sky. I overlapped the edges of some existing light shapes with darker colours, to smooth out colour transitions. 

Then I let the painting dry overnight.

DAY 3: AURORA LAYER 3

Using the existing colour placement as my guide, I wet the sky area with clean water and added paint on top of the existing colours.

Some green areas were darkened with blue to contrast with the remaining luminous greens. Then I let the painting dry overnight.

DAY 4: FINAL AURORA LAYER

I was happy with the overall shapes and colours in the sky. After wetting the entire sky with clean water, I used my two darker blue pigments and a negative painting technique to make the luminous shapes more feathery. I let the painting dry overnight and then removed the masking tape and masking fluid.

DAY 5: SNOW AND TREES

I decided I didn't like the bear idea that was in the initial sketch and replaced it with a cluster of boulders and some small trees peeking out of the snow.

After drawing these new objects with pencil, I wet the entire snow area with clean water and painted in soft blue-grey shadows to indicate contour changes in the snow.

After an hour's pause to let the paper dry, I used a very fine rigger brush to paint the trees. The dark (almost black) paint mixture was created by combining complimentary colours navy and brown and very little water.

Using two mixtures (warm tan and cool grey, mixed from primary colours), I painted random patchy colour on the stones. 

Once dry, I added a few darker shadows and cracks to make the boulders look more natural. 

Then I painted the foreground tree, shrubs, and twigs to complete the scene.

I love the way the northern lights seem to swirl through the starry sky, so I titled this painting Dancing With the Stars, (varnished watercolour on 9 x 12 inch panel). For more information about this artwork, click here.

I mounted the completed watercolour onto an archival wood panel, protected it with UV-blocking varnish, and framed it in a black wood float frame, shown here.

If you are interested in the details of this mounting process, see my free article Framing Watercolours Without Glass, or order my art instruction book Watercolour Toolbox.

If you have comments you wish to share, please do so using the 'Leave a Comment' button at the top of this post.

Subscribe to Karen's Newsletter for more painting tips, exclusive early access to new work, studio news updates, travel tales, and notices of upcoming exhibitions. 

Last week I delivered two commissioned paintings to their new owners, and it warms my heart to see how delighted they are with their special new art pieces.

The painting pictured here, Tamarack Territory, varnished watercolour on 16 x 16 inch panel, now graces a home near Ottawa, Ontario.

Not familiar with the term 'commissioned'? It refers to custom artwork created with the specifications of the client in mind. Over the years, I have created almost 100 custom paintings for clients who wanted to celebrate the memory or feeling of a special time and place.

In the case of Tamarack Territory, my clients saw the two reference photos pictured here in an article I wrote in 2024, Manitoba: Through An Artist's Eye.

The first photo is Clear Lake in Riding Mountain National Park near Dauphin. The leaning tree on the point caught my eye but I also love the rocks in the foreground and the moody sky.

My client is from New Brunswick originally and this scene reminded her of the seashore there.

The second photo I took from the train between Thompson and Churchill. The tamaracks were in their full autumn glory the week we were there. They are a deciduous conifer whose soft needles turn golden in the fall, drop from the tree and regrow each spring.

My clients let me know they wanted a painting of the rocky shore with a few tamarack trees added. We agreed on a size that suited their wall space and I worked on the new scene for five weeks, completing it on Christmas Day.

Painting the sky and water waves really stretched my technical creative skills, and I was very pleased with the success of the finished painting.

Once it was displayed in the clients' home, they sent me this photo and remarked "We have hung our treasure beside the fireplace where we can admire it every day. It catches the morning light beautifully."

As an artist, knowing that this special piece will be treasured in its new home is very important to me, and magnifies the impetus to keep painting.

The second commissioned painting, Whispers of the Wilderness, varnished watercolour on 8 x 8 inch panel, is shown here. It now resides in Peterborough, Ontario.

My client saw a similar painting of mine last summer in my blog post New Works: Little Gems from my Traveling Studio.

The piece captured her love of exploring northern lakes by canoe and she admired the scene, but it was a bit too large for the wall space she had in mind. She asked me to create a new version of the scene in a smaller size, and with more emphasis on autumn foliage.

I finished her painting on Christmas Day and she and her husband picked it up from my studio last weekend.

The next day she sent me this photo of the new painting hanging in their living room and commented "Hi Karen! It’s hanging with my other favourite pictures!! Thank you for your incredible talent." I think the painting looks perfect in its new home (below another painting of mine, Whispers of the North) and am so pleased my clients are happy.

Whether large or small, a work of art can communicate in a personal way what no other object can. It is a permanent presence in our lives and can be passed on to future generations.

If you would like to acquire a painting similar to one of my previous pieces, or inspired by my travel stories from all across Canada, please contact me to discuss your ideas.

If you have comments you wish to share, please do so using the 'Leave a Comment' button at the top of this post.

Subscribe to Karen's Newsletter for exclusive early access to new work, studio news updates, travel tales, painting tips, and notices of upcoming exhibitions. 

Since I began my art career almost 40 years ago, I have been showing my artistic creations at studio tours, art festivals, open houses, fund raisers, juried shows, and art galleries.

Over that time, almost 1,000 of my watercolour paintings have made their way, one by one, into the hearts and homes of people near and far. It warms my soul to know my creations bring peace and joy to the daily lives of so many people.

While the majority of my artworks reside with collectors in Canada and the USA, several of my paintings have become world travellers. So far, to my knowledge, my paintings are enjoyed in at least 24 countries. How cool is that!?

One of my recent travellers, Mazinaw Memoir (varnished watercolour on 6 x 12 inch panel), is shown here. It came about after a camping trip in Bon Echo Provincial Park, near Cloyne, Ontario. I shared the scenic highlights of this park in my previous blog post The Magic of Mazinaw.

I showed Mazinaw Memoir on Facebook in early December and caught the eye of a long time friend and former co-worker, who now lives and works in Cairo, Egypt. She sent me a message to acquire the painting and later picked it up at my studio while she was in Ontario visiting family for Christmas. Her message mentioned "It was one of my favourite camping places when I was young. So many memories!".

It makes me smile to think of this Ontario lake scene residing in the Middle Eastern desert, bringing happy childhood memories to a Canadian living abroad.

If you have comments you wish to share, please do so using the 'Leave a Comment' button at the top of this post.

Subscribe to Karen's Newsletter for exclusive early access to new work, studio news updates, travel tales, painting tips, and notices of upcoming exhibitions. 

When I created this charming watercolour scene last July in our Airstream trailer, I loved the peaceful feeling the artwork conveyed.

While I have made over 400 paintings about rocks, this was my first one with a dragonfly. It was pure joy to recreate the body markings and delicate wings of this exquisite creature.

At the time, I had no idea how profoundly this little dragonfly at rest on a pebble beach would touch the hearts of thousands of people I have never met.

First, a little back story:

A Place of Rest, varnished watercolour on 10 x 10 inch panel was inspired by a photo I took in 2019 of a Mosaic Darner dragonfly at L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic site in Newfoundland.

I selected these uniquely striped stones from my vast pebble collection (many of which also came from Newfoundland) to use as painting references.

Then I sketched a still life scene showing the smooth stones nestled together between a few large boulders. One of those boulders became the dragonfly's perch.

In August I introduced this painting along with several more in my Studio Newsletter. One of my subscribers, a collector of my work in Georgia, USA, moved swiftly and acquired A Place of Rest for her home.

This fall, I entered a digital image of A Place of Rest into the Richeson75 international online art competition and it was accepted as a Finalist. As is my habit, I announced this happy news on Facebook, and that is when things got really exciting very quickly.

Here is my Facebook post from November 20:

I am thrilled to announce that my watercolour painting A Place of Rest has been selected as a Finalist in the Richeson75 Animals, Birds, and Wildlife 2025 annual international competition.
Typically, this prestigious event attracts submissions from 3,500 artists in over 70 countries, so it is an incredible honour to see my little painting from Canada be accepted by the jury.
The 75 Finalists and Winners paintings are on permanent display online at
https://richeson75.com/pages/wildlife/2025/index.html There are some awesome pieces here so do check them out!
A Place of Rest (varnished watercolour on 10 x 10 inch panel) now resides in the home of one of my collectors in Georgia, USA. She sent me this lovely note: "Your painting arrived. When I opened it, my husband said "wow, that's amazing!" You have a gift for watercolor realism I haven't seen from any other artist. Thanks so much - you can rest assured your work will be well appreciated in its new home."

I was not prepared for, and cannot explain, the avalanche of good wishes that came my way in response to this post. Shown below are Facebook's audience engagement stats as of November 24.

Including two Facebook group sites where I shared my post, in the span of four days it has been viewed over 100,000 times, reached over 70,000 people, and attracted over 5,000 interactions including almost 1,000 comments. I have never had a post receive this much attention in all the years I have been on Facebook.

In the midst of all this excitement, several people asked if they could order prints of my dragonfly painting, so I got to work on that right away.

I am happy to report, A Place of Rest is now available as art prints from my online publisher Fine Art America. (Just in time, in case they have a Black Friday Sale!)

Prints of this dragonfly painting can be ordered on your choice of substrates (paper, canvas, metal, acrylic, wood, or fabric) in sizes ranging from 8 x 8 inches to 36 x 36 inches. Fine Art America will create a custom archival print to your specifications and ship directly to you from their closest manufacturing facility. Shown here is an example of a framed paper print. Check out my entire collection of art prints here.

And that is the remarkable tale of how my little dragonfly went viral.

If you have comments you wish to share, please do so using the 'Leave a Comment' button at the top of this post. 

Subscribe to Karen's Newsletter for exclusive early access to new work, studio news updates, travel tales, painting tips, and notices of upcoming exhibitions. 

In last month's post, The Magic of Mazinaw, I shared with you my most inspiring photos and videos from our recent ten-day camping trip to Bon Echo Provincial Park in eastern Ontario.

This park is one of those magical places that makes us pause, breathe, and rediscover the rejuvenating power of Nature. It is no wonder that people have felt a reverence for this place for thousands of years.

Now that my husband and I are settled back in at home after the camping season ended, I have been happily working on new paintings in my studio.

As well as three commissioned custom artworks for clients, I have been painting my Bon Echo Collection. I am so excited to share the first small pieces in this series with you now. 

Pictured above is Mazinaw Memoir (varnished watercolour on 6 x 12 inch panel). This is the panoramic view that greeted me during the first sunset I witnessed in this park.

The last rays of sunshine painted the granite cliff orange, while dramatic purple shadows crept up its face. Tranquil water reflected the entire wondrous display, with a few ripples guiding our eyes through the scene.

Shown here is the photo I took that evening, which I used as one of several references for the painting.

I made a few changes to the near shore to improve the balance of the composition.

Click here for more information about Mazinaw Memoir.

Pictured here is Mazinaw Magic, (varnished watercolour on 8 x 8 inch panel), the next piece in my Bon Echo Collection.

This painting captures a special moment, when afternoon sun lights up the cliff face, and its warmth is reflected in the breaking waves along a pebble beach. We almost can hear the waves as they are guided gently onto the shore by a soft breeze.

Shown here is the photo I took that afternoon and used as a general reference for the painting.

I took some artistic licence with the beach gravel and I used warmer colours in the entire scene.

Click here for more information about Mazinaw Magic.

The Bon Echo Collection is inspired by the quiet power of lake and rock and the freshness of autumn air in the pines. I hope these paintings serve as reminders of the power of art to bring peace and presence back into our lives.

More Bon Echo paintings will continue into next year. It’s a body of work that deserves time to breathe, and I can’t wait to reveal the collection as it evolves.

If you have comments you wish to share, please do so using the 'Leave a Comment' button at the top of this post.

Subscribe to Karen's Newsletter for exclusive early access to new work, studio news updates, travel tales, painting tips, and notices of upcoming exhibitions.