Thornhill artist brings beautifully-detailed oil paintings to Victoria Park Gallery as guest artist

Cheol Hwang loves detail, and his artwork is the remarkable product of that fascination.

The Thornhill artist has a collection of his beautifully-detailed landscapes on display in the guest gallery at the Victoria Park Gallery in downtown Kincardine for the month of October.

Born in South Korea, Hwang completed art school, and gained experience from some of the most outstanding landscape and portrait artists in Korea. For the past 30 years, he has concentrated mainly on oil painting and prefers that medium for his work.

"I tried other forms, such as watercolour," says Hwang, "but oil painting is the best for me because I can fix things and improve the fine details."

An avid traveller, he has visited various countries which are featured in his work, such as the "Mediterranean Lunch," "Lavender Fields, Provence," "Deep Valley," "Yosemite National Park," "Autumn Road," and "Winter Road."

Hwang has had exhibitions in several countries, including Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Greece, France and Japan, and his portrait and landscape paintings have been collected by royalty in Saudi Arabia and Dubai, as well as mayors in Greece and Cyprus.

He came to Canada in 2009.

As for his art, Hwang mostly works from photographs, as well as his experiences and his memory of the places he has lived and visited.

"I have tried to work on my paintings outside (with the subject at hand), but I'm best to paint in my studio where I can concentrate on the details," he says. "My art has evolved over the years, as I add even more fine details to my paintings."

It takes him a few weeks to complete a painting, he says, beginning with the broad strokes of colour for the water or the sky, and then gradually getting down to the minute details to give the painting more depth.

At one of his art shows, he met Ruth Nicholson of Kincardine, a member of the Victoria Park Gallery, who invited him to exhibit his work here.

"I appreciate the opportunity to show my work in Kincardine," says Hwang.

The Victoria Park Gallery is located in the Kincardine Arts Centre in downtown Kincardine, Its hours are Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, Noon to 3 p.m. For more information, check the website at www.vpgallerykincardine.com