Paul Chester

Forest Light, 2023, oil on panel
About the Artist:
Inspired by the horizons, waterscapes, and rolling hills that surround his studio in Southeastern Ontario, the contemporary landscapes of Paul Chester are in the tradition of Canada’s Impressionists, though tempered by a modern sensibility. Paul studied painting and sculpture in Toronto and Paris, and graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design in 1992.
Using oil as his primary medium, Chester builds the surfaces of his wood panels and canvases with many layers of paint and glazes. The physicality in the treatment of these canvases is closely connected to Chester’s sculptural experience and sustained relationship with his natural surroundings. Lines are often scratched and carved into the paint, exposing the ground layers beneath. Luminosity is the essential element that threads Chester’s works together. His paintings are not individually derived from specific locations but rather, are suggested fragments of recollection; glimpses of memory. Paul Chester has had 37 solo exhibitions and over 45 group shows across Canada, the United States and London, England, and is currently represented by 10 galleries.
“The subjects of my oil paintings are restful places and retreats found in the natural landscape – country fields, flowers, forests, horizons, clouds and waterscapes. These impressions are painted from memory and the experience of that moment – they are my visual diaries; peaceful mementos celebrating beauty.” – Paul Chester

Studio: interior of Paul Chester’s Studio. Shared location with Corina Kiefert Chester
Exhibitions
Carol Forbes, Indwelling, 2022, mixed media, 36" x 36" (from the 2022 exhibition: Between the Lines)
It’s All About ART: Preview Exhibition
Oct 6, 2023 to Oct 22, 2023
Stephanie Ford Forrester, Northland Harmony, 2022 textile, painted cotton & batiks
Selections: 39th Annual Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour
Jul 8, 2023 to Oct 1, 2023
Jenny Kastner, Haze, acrylic on canvas
It’s All About ART Online Auction Preview
Oct 8, 2022 to Nov 6, 2022
Miguel Hernandez Autorino, Why I Left, 2022, oil on canvas KAST 2022 Selections Exhibition
Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour: Selections
Jul 9, 2022 to Oct 2, 2022
Bronson Smith - All about Art Online Auction 2021
It’s All About ART Online Auction Preview
Oct 21, 2021 to Nov 21, 2021
Installation view of KAST Selections exhibition. From Left: Paul Nabuurs, Bronson Smith, David Hickey
Selections: 37th Annual Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour Exhibition
Jul 22, 2021 to Oct 3, 2021
Jane LowBeer, String Theory, 2015, monotype on paper, 22" x 28"
It’s All About ARTISTS Preview Exhibition
Oct 8, 2020 to Nov 8, 2020
Left: Leanne Baird, Forest Light, 2020, acrylic on canvas; Right: Victoria Wallace, Silhouette Series: #10, 12, 20, 21, 2019, encaustic, ink and oil pastel
Selections: 36th Annual Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour Exhibition
Aug 20, 2020 to Nov 8, 2020
Rowena Dykins, Lynn River, 2012
33rd Annual Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour: Selections
Jul 1, 2017 to Sep 24, 2017
Leanne Baird, Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour, 2016
32nd Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour – Selections
Sep 17, 2016 to Oct 30, 2016
John Climenhage, Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour, 2014
Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour: Selections
Sep 19, 2014 to Oct 19, 2014