On an even keel

New works by Karole Marois at Melt Gallery

Karole Marois has always had a fascination and affinity for water. As a child she remembers outings to waterscapes with her mother, and ten years ago she and her husband moved to the County because of its access to water and sailing. Ms. Marois entered the Ontario College of Art and Design at age 17, and subsequently enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, specializing in anatomy and figure. When she returned to her hometown of Ottawa, she did contract work for Parks Canada and the National Museum, painting large-scale murals of scenes such as the War of 1812 and the Cod Fisheries. In between her contracts she continued to do her own personal work that were exhibited at various galleries. She joined the arts scene in the County when she moved here, and her painting titled Devils Picker won an award at Art in the County in 2017.

Since then, the main themes of her paintings have been the various aspects of water. In 2019, she had an exhibit at The Armoury that paired her water scenes with poetry and music. Since the pandemic however, she has mostly shown her work in galleries in St. John, New Brunswick and in Ontario at Bath and Bracebridge. She was looking for a space to show her work in the County when she became aware of the rental space available at Melt Gallery. Gallery owner Susan Wallis has set aside a space called the Focus Gallery as a place for emerging or mid-career artists to showcase their work. Ms. Marois obtained an Ontario Arts Council grant that covered the rental cost and part of the framing costs, and her exhibit “On an Even Keel” opened on October 19 and will run until November 12.

The pieces are inspired by her sailing trips on Lake Ontario, where she and her husband will typically stay out for a few days at a time over the sailing season. “I called the exhibit ‘On an Even Keel’ to represent a sailboat that is stable and not heeling to one side or the other. It references a stability in life, especially in this post-pandemic time. For me, the horizon represents stability. But I think being on the water is therapeutic and important for a healthy well-being and a healthy mind,” she says. Melt Gallery is located in Barrack 3 at Base31. More of Ms. Marois’ work can be found on her website karolem.com.