Although Ardythe took her first watercolour class in 1984 there never seemed to be enough time to paint seriously until 1994 when she and her husband retired to Nova Scotia. That province's rugged and diverse landscape was a great incentive to pick up the brushes once again. After three years Ardythe returned to live closer to family in the Waterloo area. She returns to the east coast from time-to-time to paint their unique landscape and to visit the many good friends she made there. A self-taught painter, Ardythe has been inspired by Ontario artists, Edward O’Neill, Devona Paquette, Bea Hogan, and Art Cunanan. In addition to painting with watercolours, she began to paint with acrylics on canvas. This medium enabled her to create larger pieces of art and to satisfy a desire to paint with a more tactile medium. Most recently she has come to know a very talented artist in Nova Scotia by the name of Uschi Kueng who has introduced her to the art of painting on silk with French dyes. Ardythe has found that no matter where she lives she benefits greatly from painting with fellow artists. The sharing of techniques and their generous feedback has been a most valuable part of her growth as a painter. The subjects of Ardythe’s paintings are varied, reflecting her love of nature as it relates to home, land and sea with particular emphasis on nostalgic themes. In 2003 Ardythe was approached to teach a group of four beginning painters. With apprehension she took up the challenge and since that time has been teaching in her home studio, having no more than four students in a session. She obtains students by word-of-mouth and teaches regular classes during the winter months only, with periodic workshops upon request. Ardythe is a member of Colour Wheel, a group of talented painters local to the Region of Waterloo and comprised of Mary Guillaume, Jane Bayne, Phyllis Didur and Carole Bacso. Ardythe's home studio in St. Agatha, Ontario is open to the public on a prearranged appointment basis. Ardythe is a member of the following galleries and art organizations: Homer Watson Gallery, Waterloo Community Art Centre, Kitchener-Waterloo Society of Artists, Central Ontario Art Association .
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