Margaret Dent
"It's hard for me to pinpoint the exact time when I started drawing. My maternal grandfather had a lot to do with it. He was the "closet artist" in our family. When I was little he loved to sit me in his lap and entertain me with his favourite trick: He'd take a piece of paper and scribble a random mass of lines and marks with a pencil or pen. He'd then add two or three lines and a beautiful horse stared at me from the paper. To me it was magic.
As a very young girl I begun collecting horse pictures and I guess, at some point, started drawing them. My attempts were sporadic and each time I started a new drawing, I was sure the last time I was just lucky. I could not possibly draw another nice picture again, could I? It took me 30 somewhat years to realize that, hey, maybe I really can draw!
"Even when I was relatively comfortable drawing horses, it never occurred to me I could draw other subjects. That perception was shattered one night in a live model drawing class I took in university. In front of me was a very cute and very naked young man, a sheet of paper and a piece of charcoal. I was terrified and sure someone would soon realize I was an impostor. The class started with quick five minute poses. Faced with little time I worked furiously and ignored all logical thought. The results were amazing. But even then it was years before I drew anything other than horses.
In my work, I try to uncover and show the beauty we don't notice in our daily lives. We all rush around and only glance at things. I want people to stop, look closer, and see the things I see: the simple beauty of life and creation.
Born and raised in Poland, Margaret has made her home in the Hamilton, Ontario area since 1982.
As a very young girl I begun collecting horse pictures and I guess, at some point, started drawing them. My attempts were sporadic and each time I started a new drawing, I was sure the last time I was just lucky. I could not possibly draw another nice picture again, could I? It took me 30 somewhat years to realize that, hey, maybe I really can draw!
"Even when I was relatively comfortable drawing horses, it never occurred to me I could draw other subjects. That perception was shattered one night in a live model drawing class I took in university. In front of me was a very cute and very naked young man, a sheet of paper and a piece of charcoal. I was terrified and sure someone would soon realize I was an impostor. The class started with quick five minute poses. Faced with little time I worked furiously and ignored all logical thought. The results were amazing. But even then it was years before I drew anything other than horses.
In my work, I try to uncover and show the beauty we don't notice in our daily lives. We all rush around and only glance at things. I want people to stop, look closer, and see the things I see: the simple beauty of life and creation.
Born and raised in Poland, Margaret has made her home in the Hamilton, Ontario area since 1982.