Originally from Toronto, Ontario, Gretchen Jeens majored in drawing and painting at the Ontario College of Art and Design, graduating with a BFA in 2009. She draws inspiration from the beauty of nature with a focus on exploring the complexities and experience of women through figurative painting. Working comfortably in oil, acrylic, watercolour, pencil, and pen, she achieves a whimsicality in the application of the chosen medium while delighting in the physical and emotional act of painting itself.
Her work has appeared in juried shows and exhibitions including those of the Ontario College of Art and Design, the Women’s Art Association of Canada, the Markham Group of Artists, the Society of Canadian Artists, the annual Schoolhouse Group of Artists Show, The Annual Fall Exhibition and Sale at the McMichael Gallery in Kleinburg, Ontario, the AWOL Gallery in Toronto, and the Annual Spring Show and Sale of The Muskoka Arts and Crafts earning many prestigious awards. Solo exhibitions include ‘Solace in Newfoundland’ at The Auburn Gallery of Fine Art, ‘Change of a Dress’ at the Chapel Gallery, Muskoka, Ontario, ‘The Language of Clothing’ OCAD, Toronto, Ontario, and ‘Femme’ at The Auburn Gallery of Fine Art, Muskoka, Ontario. |