About the Artist
In Living Colour
There is no greater journey to follow than the path of an artist.
Sharon Wadsworth-Smith lives on a lake on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, where she creates captivating paintings, rich with texture and loose brushwork.
Sharon was born in Regina Saskatchewan in the mid of winter. She spent her early years, drawing on absolutely everything she could find. In her teens, she headed west to Vancouver where she completed her Associate in Arts Diploma in Graphic Design. She moved to the Toronto area and after working for several years as a graphic artist, she returned to her fine arts roots and started to teach classes.
She is a prolific painter and instructor in several mediums including drawing, watercolour, oil and acrylic.
Sharon’s work is widely collected and she has received numerous awards including recent award Established Artist of the Year Award and 2018 McMichael Gallery Plein Air Painting Award, 1st place. “I prefer to express my art with loose brush strokes and palette knife work. It’s wonderful to paint what you see but more exciting to paint what you feel.”
Sharon now lives on the South shore of Nova Scotia, drawn to the natural beauty of the area and abundant parks and beaches. She completed a commission project of 32 unique paintings for The Muir Hotel in Halifax. She was chosen and participated in the 2022 and 2024 and 2026 PIPAF festival in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia. At the 2026 PIPAF she was awarded the Best Land and Sea Award for her painting "SWEPT"
“The ocean is ever-changing and magnificent. Nova Scotia really is an artist’s playground.”
Awards
2026 Selected artist to participate in the Parrsboro International Plein Air Festival, Nova Scotia. Awarded BEST LAND AND SEA for her painting "Swept"
2024 Selected artist to participate in the Parrsboro International Plein Air Festival, Nova Scotia
2022 Selected artist to participate in the Parrsboro International Plein Air Festival, Nova Scotia
2021 Chosen artist created 32 original paintings for the Muir Hotel in Hallifax, Nova Scotia
2018 Orangeville Arts and Culture Award Established Artist of The Year
2018 McMichael Gallery Plein Painting Competition 1st Place canvas category
2018 Arts and Culture Award for Utility Box Display
2018 Orangeville Heritage Award wall of Art for Alder project
2017 Orangeville Heritage Award community electrical box design
2016 OAC Grant recipient Going Places
2014 The Reed Cooper Visual Arts Bursary
2014 Jurors’ Second Award, Orangeville Art Group Fall Show
2013 Jurors’ First Award, Orangeville Art Group Fall Show,
2012 Peoples’ Choice Award, Orangeville Art Group Fall Show,
Solo Shows
2022 Just Add Water, Solo Show at the Lunenburg Art Gallery. Nova Scotia
2018 Just Breathe Wadsworth-Smith Art Studio, Mono ON
2017 Moving Forward Wadsworth-Smith Art Studio, Mono ON
2016 Going Places Allan Pace Pottery Studio, Mono ON
2016 The Wall Dragonfly Art on Broadway, Orangeville, ON
2014 Exploring the Badlands Allan Pace Pottery Studio, Mono ON
2014 Fresh Paint Theatre Orangeville Gallery, Orangeville, ON
2012 A Matter of Taste Framed by Design, Orangeville, ON
2005 Summer Allan Pace Pottery Studio, Mono ON
Media
2022 East Coast Living Magazine https://eastcoastliving.ca/2022/05/makers-of-muir/
2019 Sideroads of Caledon – winter edition editorial
2017 Cover Design Dufferin Hikes – a book by Authour Nicola Ross
2016 In our Space Magazine – Editorial – Autumn issue
2016 In the Hills Magazine – Artist in Residence – Autumn issue
2014 Brushed By Art – TV interview and demo – Rogers Network
2014 Sideroads Magazine – Cover Page Magic – Dec issue
2012 In the Hills Magazine – Artist in the Spotlight Blog – Arlene Taylor
Shows and Events
2025 NEW Gallery on Lincoln, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia Opening April 3rd, 2025!
2024 Artist at Smith & Smith Gallery, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
2023 Featured artist for August at Smith & Smith Gallery, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
2022 Just Add Water, Solo Show at the Lunenburg Art Gallery. Nova Scotia
2020 Riding the Swells, Art at the Astor Theatre, Liverpool. Nova Scotia
2019 Deck The Halls, Art at the Astor Theatre, Liverpool. Nova Scotia
2018 Just Breathe, Wadsworth-Smith Art, Mono, ON
2017 Walls of Smalls, The Noodle Gallery, The Historic Alton Mill, Alton, ON
2016 Going Places, Allan Pace Pottery Studio, Mono ON
2016 Art Lecture Benefit Speaker, A Light in the Forest, Mono, ON
2015 Art Battle participant, Headwaters Arts Gallery, Alton, ON
2014 Kaleidoscope Juried Show, Headwaters Arts Gallery, Alton, ON
2014 SGI Juried Show, Headwaters Arts Festival, Alton, ON
2014 Cuisine Art Juried Show, Headwaters Arts Gallery, Alton, ON
2014 Rockstars – Badlands, Dragonfly Window Display, Orangeville, ON
2013 Brushfire Artists Group Show, Monora Park Pavilion, Mono
2013 Mono’s Big Day Out, Mono Centre, ON
2013 Cuisine Art Juried Show, Headwaters Arts Gallery, Alton, ON
2013 A Matter of Taste Dragonfly Window Display, Orangeville,
2012 Orangeville Art Group Juried Show, Dam Gallery, Alton, ON
2012 Creative Harvest Juried Show Dufferin Museum and Archives, ON
2011 Members Gallery Group Show, Dam Gallery, Alton, ON
2009 Dragonfly Arts on Broadway, Studio Artist Orangeville, ON
2008 Headwaters Arts Festival Open Studio Mono, ON
2007 Headwaters Arts Festival Open Studio, Mono, ON
2006 Volunteers Juried Show and Sale McMichael Gallery, Kleinberg, ON
2003-2005 Headwaters Studio Tour, Mono, ON
2002 Group Show The Burdette Gallery, Orton, ON
2001 Creative Harvest Dufferin County Museum, Dufferin ON
1996-1999 High County Studio Tour, Creator – Coordinator Orangeville
1995-1996 Hills of Mulmur Studio Tour, Guest Artist , Mulmur ON
1993-1994 The Little Gallery, Private Gallery Hockley Village, ON
Education and classes
2018 Masterclass Landscape, John Leonard
McMichael Art Gallery, Kleinburg ON
2017 Figurative Abstract Course with Brian Smith
OCADU Toronto Ontario/Haliburton School of the Arts ON
2015 Studio Process Advancement Graduate Certificate
Haliburton School of the Arts, Fleming College, Haliburton, ON
2015 Contemporary Landscape, John Leonard
Haliburton School of the Arts, ON
2015 Acrylic Mediums, Kim Lee Kho
Haliburton School of the Arts, ON
2015 Wire Sculpture, Chuck O’Neill
Haliburton School of the Arts, ON
2013 Painting the Urban Landscape, Ivano Stocco
Wellington Museum, ON
2012 Artist as Educator Program
Royal Conservatory of Music, Newmarket, ON
1983 Graphic Arts/Associate in Arts Diploma
Kwantlen College (now University) Surrey, B.C.
1981 Fine Arts Program,
Douglas College, Richmond, B.C
Organizations and Memberships
Lunenburg Art Gallery Society
Co-creator Gallery on LIncoln, Lunenburg, NS
