Artist Statement

For me, art is a way of connecting with and celebrating the natural world. My creative journey has always been guided by rhythm, observation and a deep appreciation for beauty—from my classical training as a flutist to my work as a landscape designer and author of two published gardening books. These experiences have taught me to listen, notice, and find meaning in the subtle rhythms of nature.

Working primarily in soft pastel, I create landscape and nature-inspired works that capture more than a place—they seek to convey its mood, energy and sense of light. My paintings celebrate the fleeting moments that make a landscape memorable: the changing seasons, the movement of light, and the interplay of colour, form and atmosphere.

I translate these observations into art through expressive colour, layered applications of pastel pigment and a sensitive approach to light. Like music, my work is composed through rhythm, balance, pause and movement. Across my many creative disciplines, I bring the same curiosity and attentiveness to each new work—living the rhythm in art.

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Bio

Lorraine Roberts is an award-winning Canadian artist whose soft pastel paintings celebrate the beauty of landscapes, florals and abstraction. Her work has been selected for juried exhibitions across Canada, the United States and Europe.

Her distinctions include First Place in the Federation of Canadian Artists Toronto Chapter’s Spring Kaleidoscope Exhibition (2024), recognition as a Top 100 Finalist in the PleinAir Salon Art Competition in both 2024 and 2025, and multiple Honorable Mention Awards in international competitions.

Lorraine is a juried member of the Federation of Canadian Artists and the Pastel Society of America, as well as a Signature Member of Pastel Artists.CA. She has studied with internationally renowned pastel artists Karen Margulis, Marla Baggetta, Jeanne Rosier Smith and Albert Handell.

A lifelong creative, Lorraine has explored a wide range of disciplines, including painting and drawing in all mediums, paper mache, ceramics, stained glass, photography, music and garden design. She received an Award of Excellence Art Scholarship at the end of high school and began teaching painting to adults in her early twenties.

Lorraine was also an accomplished flutist, composer and recording artist for more than 20 years. After meeting her husband, Robert, at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, the pair performed as Rousseau & Carlton at thousands of events and recorded four instrumental albums featuring flute and guitar with an acoustic ensemble.

In 1999, a move to rural Caledon, Ontario, inspired Lorraine to create Plant Paradise Country Gardens, an award-winning organic perennial nursery and botanical garden. She later authored and photographed two gardening books: A Recipe for Continuous Bloom and Spectacular Plant Combinations for the Perennial Garden.

Today, Lorraine’s creative journey has come full circle as she shares a life in rhythm translated into art. Her gallery and studio in Yarker, Ontario, northwest of Kingston, is open Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and by appointment.