"Some of my earliest memories are those of my father teaching me how to paint as I peeked over the dining room table!" says watercolour artist Pam Wong, on her website. A native of Ancaster and now living in Sarnia, Pam’s summers are spent in the Muskoka region, at the family cottage near Bala. 

  Her love of painting was instilled within the family by two generations of painters. Though art training was based primarily in high school, Pam has continued to study art following university through the traditional evening courses. In 1989 she began her watercolour career following a course taught by noted Canadian painter Jack Reid, and has not stopped painting since. Jack remains a mentor to Pam today, and is still a motivating factor in her career.

  Watercolour is Pam's preferred medium. "With discovery of watercolour I had been let loose. As a lover of the earthly elements, I have found the sense of solitude found in the expanse of most landscapes to be one of my favourite topics for expression. Some of my favourite times are those I spend outdoors gathering strength and spirit. With the elements of light, sky, water and weather my hope is to create a feeling of mystery and wonder about it all. Call it a moment for reflection, quiet thoughts, introspects. If these feeling are in some way experienced by the viewer, then I may consider my work successful, as the intimate expression of mood through water and colour on paper."

Pam has enjoyed a successful career to date. She was awarded an Ontario Arts Council grant for her first two-woman show "Niches" in 1992. Since that time she has had her work featured on the cover of Lambton Family Magazine, and in 1994 the painting "Bala Falls" was published in the Muskoka Lakes Association "Summertimes" 100th Anniversary yearbook. In 1995 she released her first limited edition print of "The Kee to Bala" at the Cranberry Festival. It was published in Peter Young's new book "Let's Dance" - a celebration of Ontario's dance pavillions and dance halls, in the spring of 2002. In 1998 the first of two Giclee prints "Soaring" was released and the second "The Gathering" was released in 1999. Pam's originals and prints are found in private and corporate collections worldwide.

Pam has also been active in developing the arts community in Sarnia. In 1998 she received an Honorary Life Membership from the Sarnia-Lambton Arts Council for her role in that group's development She is also a member of a new professional art group in Muskoka "Cottage Country Artists" who present shows in Muskoka and Toronto annually.

In1997 Pam and fellow artist Lynda Lynn began a venture in collaborative work, painting together on single works. In 1999 Lynda and Pam held their first collaborative show at Kenneith Gallery in Sarnia.

Pam may be contacted in Sarnia at 519-542-3671, July and August in Bala at 705-762-0803 or through Scott's of Muskoka (705-645-5127), Iroquois Artisans (705-762-0550) and the
Kenneith Gallery (519-332-8901). Email: pam.wong@sympatico.ca or visit her website at www.pamwong.com.