Using the horizon line as a constant starting point, Paul Chester is Inspired by the lakes, rivers, cloudscapes, fields, forests, and rolling hills that surround his studio. These locations are then painted from memory in the studio. Using brushes and palette knives, Chester’s works are layered repeatedly with oil paint and glazes, then painted, scraped, scratched, and layered again to create a visual diary, where the works reveal their spiritual quality. They are an investigation into the visual and emotional connections of nature. Chester’s work is a real place and an imagined space at the same time, becoming a metaphor for the passage of time. Paul Chester studied painting and sculpture at the Ontario College of Art (OCA), graduating in 1992. His work has been exhibited at The Latcham Gallery, The Station Gallery, The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Edward Day Gallery, and in various other public and private galleries across Canada including Toronto, Vancouver, St. John, Halifax, Ottawa, Peterborough, Edmonton, Montreal, and Whistler. Chester has also shown his work in the United States in Minneapolis, Boston, Santa Monica, and Los Angeles as well as in London, UK. Born in Toronto, Chester now works out of his studio in a quiet, rural area of southeastern Ontario. CV EDUCATION2002 Member of the Federation Of Canadian Artists1990/92 OCAD (Advanced Standing) Ontario College of Art, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.1982 Academy St. Roch, Paris, France.1981/82 Arts Sake, Toronto, Ontario, Canada2001 Member of the Society of Canadian Artists. SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2021 The Art Shop,The Palette of Fall, Lakefield, ON2018 Art Gallery Of Bancroft, Landscape Reflections, Bancroft, ON2016 Wallack Galleries, Landscape Poetry: Between the Real and Imagined ,Ottawa, ON, 2011 Wallack Galleries, The Luminous Landscape, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada2010 Russell Gallery, Rural Paths, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada2010 Newbury Fine Arts, The Ephemeral Realm, Boston, MA2009 Gallery Gevik, Miles Away, Toronto, Canada.2008 The Russell Gallery, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada2008 Galerie le Royer, Montreal, Canada2006 The Russell Gallery Of Fine Art, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada2006 Argyle Fine Art, Halifax, Nova Scotia2005 Gallery Gevik, ‘Return’, Toronto, Ontario, Canada2004 The Russell Gallery,’Rural Impressions’, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada2004 West End Gallery, ‘Corina’s Garden’,Victoria, BC 2004 Galerie Le Royer, Montreal, Quebec2003 West End Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta…’Seasons’2003 The Art Gallery Of Peterborough, ‘Beyond The Natural Landscape’ Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.2003 Teodora Art Gallery, ‘Landscape Passages’ , Toronto, Ontario, Canada… 2002 The Russell Gallery Of Fine Art, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada2002 Art & Soul Gallery, Pickering, Ontario, Canada2001 Teodora Art Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada2001 West End Gallery, Victoria, B.C., Canada2000 The Russell Gallery Of Fine Art, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada 2000 Teodora Art Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 1999 Teodora Art Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada1999 West End Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada1998 Teodora Art Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada1998 West End Gallery, Victoria B.C., Canada1998 The Russell Gallery Of Fine Art, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada1997 Teodora Art Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada1996 West End Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada1996 The Russell Gallery of Fine Art, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada1994 The Russell Gallery of Fine Art, Lindsay, Ontario, Canada1991 Toronto International Art Exhibition (Art Expo), Toronto, Ontario, Canada1987 Gallery St. Luke, Toronto, Ontario, Canada1985 Here and Now Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada1983 David Jean Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada SELECTED JURIED AND GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2024 Colborne Street Gallery, Feature Artist, Passing Memories, Fenelon Falls ON2023 Gallery Gevik, Highlands and Lowlands, Toronto.2023 Petroff Gallery, Expressive Landscapes, Toronto.2022 Colborne Street Gallery, Year of the Garden, Fenelon Falls ON2021 Petroff Gallery, Small painting group show, Toronto, ON2020 Colborne Street Gallery, Close and Far, Fenelon Falls ON2020 Gallery Gevik, Painted Land, Toronto, ON2010-2019 Gallery Gevik, Living in the Landscape, Toronto, ON, Colborne Street Gallery, Fenelon Falls ON, The Art Shop, Lakefield, ONGallery on the Lake, Buckhorn ON , Arts On Queen, Toronto, Wallack Galleries, Ottawa, Kingston Glass Studio and Gallery, Kingston ON, Christensen Fine Art, Peterborough, ON, Meta 4 Gallery, Port Perry and Peterborough, ON Frame of Mind, Toronto, ON2012 Christensen Fine Art, New Paintings, Peterborough, ON. Canada2010/11 Gallery Gevik, Autumn Landscapes, Toronto, Ontario, Wallack Galleries, December Choice Exhibition, Ottawa, Ontario, SCA Integration Show, Art Gallery Of Hamilton, Ontario2002-2009 The Russell Gallery, Peterborough, ON, Chameleon Nation, Kingston, ON, Wallack Galleries, Ottawa, Meta 4 Gallery, Port Perry, Ontario, Newbury Fine Arts, Boston, MA, USA, Argyle Fine Art, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Gallery Gevik, Toronto, Wynne/Falconer Gallery, Chatham, MA, USA, The Whistler Art Galleries, Whistler, B.C., Galerie Le Royer, Montreal, Quebec, Rendez-vous Art Gallery, Vancouver, B.C.2001 Opening Night Gallery, Minneapolis, MN, U.S.A.2000 Trinity Galleries, St. John, New Brunswick, Canada1998 The Railings Gallery, London, England, U.K.1997 Gail Harvey Gallery, Santa Monica, California, U.S.A.1996 The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada1996 The Edward Day Gallery, Kingston, Ontario, Canada1995 Cygnet Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada1995 The Russell Gallery of Fine Art, Lindsay, Ontario, Canada1994 James Baird Gallery, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada1994 The Station Gallery, Whitby, Ontario, Canada1992 Marble Arch Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada1991 Kitchener/Waterloo Gallery, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada1990 The Cure Gallery, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.1990 Galerie Beaux Arts, Toronto, Ontario, Canada1989 Art Dialogue Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada1989 Del Bello Gallery (Int. Miniature Exhibition) Toronto, Ontario, Canada1989 The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada1989 Grace Gallery of Fine Art, Whitby, Ontario, Canada1988 The Station Gallery, (The Human Element) Whitby, Ontario, Canada1987 The Station Gallery, Whitby, Ontario, Canada1986 Uxbridge Celebration of the Arts, Uxbridge, Ontario, Canada1984 Art Alive Gallery, Stouffville, Ontario, Canada1981 The Latchman Gallery, Stouffville, Ontario, Canada CATALOGUES/REVIEWS/PUBLICATIONS 2019 The Artists Of Kawartha, Book.2017 The Link, The Human Relationship with Nature, by Janet Jarrell2010 Exhibition Catalogue, Newbury Fine Arts, Boston, MA2005 Return, Exhibition Catalogue, Gallery Gevik, Toronto, Canada.2003 Beyond The Natural Landscape, The Art Gallery Of Peterborough, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.2002 Parcours, L’Informateur des arts, Autumn Issue, Vol. 8, # 32002 Peterborough Examiner, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, Sept. 12/022001/02 Recent Paintings (Catalogue Brochure)1998 Luminous Skies: Recent Paintings by Paul Chester (Catalogue)1998 Peterborough Examiner, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, August/981996 Magazin’ Art, Fall Issue, Charting the Land:Recent Paintings by Paul Chester(Catalogue) AWARDS 2017 Leadership in Arts and Culture in Peterborough County1991 Best Sculpture: The Station Gallery, Whitby, Ontario.1990 Loomis & Toles Award: Best Sculpture, Scarborough, Ontario.1989 Best Sculpture: The Station Gallery, Whitby, Ontario. .