Lorraine Roberts – 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.