London artist has vibrant, colourful paintings on display at Victoria Park Gallery in downtown Kincardine

Jacquie Gillespie loves to paint richly-textured landscapes of the Canadian prairies and the Ontario countryside, capturing the vivid transformations that accompany each season.

The London artist has her vibrant, colourful paintings on display at the Victoria Park Gallery in downtown Kincardine, as the guest artist for the month of September.

Born in the small prairie town of Melita, Manitoba, Gillespie followed a commercial art program at Assiniboine College in the 1960s, and worked as a commercial artist at National School Services and Gambles/McLeod's in Winnipeg from 1969-73.

She travelled across western Canada in the mid-1970s, spending a couple of years in Victoria, British Columbia, before settling in London, in 1975.

Since graduating with a fine arts diploma from Fanshawe College in the late 1970s, she has participated in a number of solo and group shows, winning several awards from the Canadian Council for the Arts, and the Ontario Arts Council. Well-regarded by the local art community, she managed the Forest City Gallery from 1984-88.

"I was a site-specific installation artist for years and did sculptures and that type of thing," says Gillespie. "That's the art for which I won awards and received funding. But afterwards, I had nothing to show for all my work but the photos and slides.

"About 10 years ago, I started painting, using a medium of acrylic mixed with glosses and lustres. After I retired, I built a studio, and now, I paint every day."

Inspired by landscapes, Gillespie and her husband enjoy taking road trips to view the countryside. She also has wonderful memories of growing up in Western Canada, as well as vacations in Tuscany and other locations.

Gillespie has three grown children and three grandchildren. Her daughter, Nora Gillespie, is one of the librarians at the Kincardine Library, so Gillespie is familiar with this area.

Back in July, Lise Pomeroy, a jewellery artist at the Victoria Park Gallery, invited Gillespie to be the September guest artist, She agreed to do it, and her work is now on display until the end of the month.

The Victoria Park Gallery is located in the Kincardine Arts Centre in downtown Kincardine; and is open Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, Noon to 3 p.m.

For more information, check the gallery's Facebook page, at: www.facebook.com/victoriaparkgallerykincardine/?fref=ts