Cathy Ross is presenting watercolor works by her late mother Audrey Ross. Audrey was a beloved founding member of our Studio Tour. Audreys work will be exhibited and available for purchase at the Tweed Heritage Center.

Audrey Ross was born in Moosejaw, Saskatchewan in August 1928. Her father was a firefighter, who would eventually find his way to Ottawa to become the Chief Fire Marshall. Ross attended school in Ottawa, including art lessons. It is in Ottawa where she met her future husband and became a mother of three. Ross lived in many cities across Canada before landing in her final destination: Tweed.

Art has been a passion all her life. Ross drove her mother and teachers crazy by drawing in the margins of her school textbooks. She recalls that her art lessons in Ottawa were very formal, which did not suit her style or character. Ross’s art process would undergo a transformation later in life when she travelled to Actinolite to attend the Schneider School of Fine Art in 1975. John Bennet was an instructor at the school, a watercolourist, who would become a good friend and have a significant impact on her. She told Bennet about her “formal” training, how precise she was taught to draw, and moreover about staying within the lines.

Bennet’s philosophy was just the opposite. Bennet encouraged her to loosen up, and paint not just what you saw but how the subject makes you feel, and gave her this exciting piece of advice: paint outside the lines all you want. Bennet’s mentorship set her free, and she never looked back. Ross’s work is quiet and calming. The subtle structure and a balance of muted and colourful luminosity shines through her watercolours of landscapes and rural settings such as rivers, dams, forests, and farms.”

From article written by Paul Kite for Quinte Arts Council‘s Cultivating Creativity

Email: cathyrss27@gmail.com,

Phone: 416 809-3656

Address: Tweed Heritage Center

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