Tag: Art Opening

News

Lighthouse Festival invites you to join us in celebrating the mixed media artwork of artist JC Lee

Posted on February 25, 2025

Please join us as we unveil the mixed media artwork of Norfolk County & Hamilton artist JC Lee that will hang in the box office lobby for the 2025 season at Lighthouse Festival Theatre in Port Dover. Champagne and light refreshments will be served and JC’s artwork will be for sale.

When: Sunday, March 23rd | 2 PM to 4 PM

Where: Lighthouse Festival Theatre – Box Office Lobby | 247 Main Street, Port Dover ON

JC Lee is a Norfolk County/Hamilton, Ontario artist creating contemporary textured paintings of landscapes and nature with hints of fantasy!

His passion for art started during his childhood in Malaysia where he learned the basics of painting using watercolour.  After a long hiatus from painting as other life pursuits including moving to Canada became a priority, JC’s passion for art was rekindled by the beauty of the varied landscapes and wildlife in Norfolk County, Ontario while vacationing in Turkey Point.  He now splits his creative time between his Turkey Point cottage and Hamilton home, where he lives with his husband and two dogs while maintaining a tech job in the IT industry.

JC taught himself techniques of oil and mixed media painting.  He paints with a distinct personal style, creating a combination of textures with a variety of mixed media, especially mica powder, and blending with richly coloured oil paints to capture his inspirations, infusing them with emotion and magic on the canvas.  His artworks paint stories in the vein of Magical Realism – rooted in realism but enchanted with fantastical elements and perspectives.  

Artist Statement

“I draw inspiration from the diverse Canadian landscapes and natural environments, then combine my own life experiences and feelings to create stories through my paintings with a touch of fantasy.

My artworks are set in reality but I intensify magical elements in nature through juxtaposition of colours, textures, patterns, composition and perspectives.  I bring my detail oriented personality into my paintings, as a result, my work often feature highly defined textured foreground for an almost 3D effect and a detailed background. Transformative play of light, symbolism and metaphors are also recurring components of my paintings. Due to the variety of textured and shimmering media, many of my paintings are best appreciated in person.”

Please note tickets are not required to attend this opening reception as this is a drop in event. 

Visit JC Lee’s website at www.jclcreations.ca

Follow JC Lee on social media:

Facebook: facebook.com/jclCreationsByJCLee

Instagram: instagram.com/jc.lee.artist/

News

Lighthouse Festival invites you to join us in celebrating the mixed media work of artist Jen Lados

Posted on February 3, 2025

Please join us as we unveil the mixed media work of Norfolk County artist Jen Lados that will hang in the long bar for the 2025 season at Lighthouse Festival Theatre in Port Dover. Champagne and light refreshments will be served and Jen’s artwork will be for sale.

When: Sunday, February 9th | 2 PM to 4 PM

Where: Lighthouse Festival Theatre – Long Bar | 247 Main Street, Port Dover ON

Jen Lados’ artistic journey is one of passion, play, and self-expression, deeply rooted in her Norfolk County (Delhi) upbringing. From an early age, she embraced creativity, honing her skills and growing into a key member of the local arts community. With a unique and self-taught approach to art, Jen’s work reflects a love for play, experimentation and exploration. Her multi-layered canvases, rich in texture and color, often blend mixed media like pastels, paint, ink, fabric, and resin, which allows her to create complex, playful, and thought-provoking pieces. Inspired by nature, storytelling, and pop culture. Whether displayed in local exhibitions or internationally, Jen’s artwork invites viewers into her vibrant, imaginative world, capturing ordinary objects, landscapes and simple pleasures that surround her. Her multi-layered canvases are often infused with humorous elements and playful images allowing the viewer to join in her abstract, sophisticated yet childlike exploration of life and the world in which we live.

“Looking Out My Back Door” – Mixed media paintings on canvas

Jen’s series, which began in 2020, emerged from a deeply challenging time. As the world faced the onset of Covid-19, she was also facing her mother’s terminal illness. During this period, Jen found it nearly impossible to focus on her art in the way she once had, resorting instead to the act of simply making marks, pouring ink, mixing colors, and tearing up magazines. The process was cathartic, though often frustrating, as she covered and painted over canvases repeatedly. Beneath these layers are many stories.

After the Covid lockdown, Jen found an unexpected spark of inspiration when she saw the image of an owl and peacock emerging from the chaotic ink stains on her canvas. Drawing from her vast collection of ephemera, vintage books, magazines, and clip art, she began cutting, collecting, and assembling new works. What started as an intuitive response to the mess around her soon became a reflection of the world she was seeing through her own windows—both literally and figuratively.

In this series, Jen found solace and joy amidst the darkness and uncertainty of the times. The works, infused with elements of music, pop culture, and vintage glamour, not only convey her personal journey of renewal and hope but also aim to bring humor, comfort, and connection to others. She hopes that viewers will smile, feel seen, and be reminded that they are not alone in the face of life’s challenges.

Please note tickets are not required to attend this opening reception as this is a drop in event. 

Visit Jen Lados’ website at www.jenlados.ca

Follow Jen Lados on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JLados

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenlados/