Although there is much common ground within the group and shared creative vision, each artist has the freedom to diverge and to explore new horizons.
In diversity, there is strength!

Ethel Rexine Grossmann, Mary Lou Hiller, Gordon MacKenzie, and Tiina Price are the core artists comprising Diversity. Flexibility within the group enables them to occasionally invite other artists to participate in exhibitions. Their upcoming art exhibition is on Dec. 1st at Etobicoke Civic Centre. For more information see below Links to forthcoming art exhibitions...

Oakville and Nobel resident Ethel Grossmann was born and educated in Manitoba. She studied at Manitoba Teachers’ College, the University of Manitoba, The Royal Conservatory of Music, Harvard University and McMaster University.

She was a former Music and Phys. Ed. Specialist and later became a Certified Administrative Manager. Art became her focus and passion after retirement in 2001. She has attended art classes at Sheridan College, Bridgewater Loyalist College, Haliburton School of Fine Arts, Canadaire College and many art workshops in Canada, U.S.A. and Europe.

Currently, she paints with watercolours, acrylics and latex wall paint. Teaching watercolour classes to beginners allows her to give back. She is an active member of six art groups and many of her paintings have been accepted in juried shows. She has had several successful group and solo exhibitions. Also, she is a yearly member of the Seguin Art Tour in Parry Sound. Her work hangs across North America and Costa Rica.

Artist’s Statement: “I enjoy the interactions of colours with shapes and forms. All types of watermedia hold my attention. They will always be a colourful, creative, changing challenge which will enable me to reflect emotion and spirit."

Mary Lou Hiller is a lifetime arts educator and painter in watercolour and acrylic. She works out of her home studio in Waterloo. Educated at the Universities of Waterloo and Western Ontario and the Ontario College of Art, she has continued to be instructed and inspired through many workshops in Canada, the United States and abroad. Some of her notable mentors are Bert Williams, Gordon MacKenzie, Art Cunanan and M. Douglas Walton.

Her work has been exhibited in solo, group and juried shows and been honoured with a number of awards. Consistent sales from exhibitions, galleries and commissions have brought both private and corporate placements. She is a member of the Central Ontario Art Association, the Kitchener Waterloo Society of Artists, and the Cambridge Centre for the Arts. For many years she has been an active volunteer at the Waterloo Community Arts Centre.

For me, painting is the excitement of observation and creation. It is a give-and-take process of communicating what I see, how I feel while allowing the painting to surprise me with endless ways to do that. My content is drawn from my travels and personal experiences. My “style” is naturalistic, sometimes expressionistic, with colour, light and form being the most dominant elements.

Mary Lou Hiller is a member and frequent exhibitor with Central Ontario Association. Mary Lou is also a member and exhibitor with the Kitchener Waterloo Society of Artists, as well as a member of the collective Uptown Gallery of Waterloo.

Gordon MacKenzie resides in Sault Ste. Marie where he has retired after 33 years as teacher and Art Specialist/Consultant for the Public Board of Education. During his career he has also taught numerous Ministry of Education and Nipissing University Art Education courses for teachers as well as adult art classes for many Ontario colleges. He has sat on his share of Arts boards, juries and advisory committees for local groups and associations.

Gordon has mounted 25 one-man and countless group watercolour shows in Canada and the U.S.A. and his work hangs in many private and corporate collections throughout Canada, U.S.A., Europe, Africa and the Far East.

He is probably first known for the hundreds of adult watercolour workshops that he has conducted across Canada, USA, Mexico, France and Italy since the 1970’s. With an Arts education background and over thirty years of adult teaching to his credit, Gordon has earned a solid reputation as a first class artist and adult instructor.

Internationally, he is recognized as the author of the best selling painting instruction books, “Watercolorists Essential Notebook” and “Watercolorists Essential Notebook-Landscapes”, as well as two instructional videos all published by North Light Books of Cincinnati.

His work deeply reflects his experiences and lessons learned from living in the North, especially the area around Algoma and the Lake Superior coastline.

Gord is a member of C.S.P.W.C. (Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolours).

Visit Gordon's website at www.gordonmackenziewatercolours.com

Tiina Price is a watercolour artist and a former educator, as well as an active member of many art organizations. Besides being educated at Queen’s University, the University of Waterloo, and O.I. S.E., she attends workshops given by noted artists to refine her skills and challenge her perceptions. Although she paints in her home studio in Cambridge, Ontario; her many travels in Canada and abroad continue to motivate and inspire her work. Tiina exhibits in solo, group, and juried shows and is a regular member of the yearly Cambridge Studio Tour Show & Sale. Use of colour, mood creation, and a representational style characterize her work.

Tiina says, “Painting watercolours allows the nuances of nature to unfold. I am continually intrigued by the play of light on water, the shadows in foliage, the changeability of skies, and the vibrancy or subtlety of colour. As a medium, watercolour permits me to experiment capturing transparency and form. My paintings celebrate not only the energy and vitality of life, but its serenity and harmony”.

Tiina Price is exhibiting around Ontario specifically at 100 Mile Home Store and Gallery in Burlington, The Bean Cafe in Deep River, as well as in Edissi Gallery, Kitchener, and Gallery M, Cambridge. Visit Tiina's website at www.tiinapriceart.ca