Arts and Entertainment

Painting brings colour, creativity and joy to Shelburne artist’s life

August 27, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

Janis Dixon is in her third year of learning to paint, and she is delighted to discover her talent much later in life than many artists.

“I must be doing well enough,” she told the Citizen earlier this week, “because Headwaters Arts accepted two of my paintings for this new show.”

She was referring to the Art of Abundance, running now until Sept. 13 at the Headwaters Arts Gallery in the Alton Mill Arts Centre.

The Shelburne-based artist began her path as a painter when she started taking lessons from Angela Burdon, who also runs the stables where Dixon has been keeping her horse.

For Dixon, who has entered life as an artist with her work hanging in a premier art gallery, art is no mere hobby.

She feels the passion for it as any creative person does and says, “Time goes by so quickly when I’m painting. I love mixing the colours and I love the colour red.”

In the main, Dixon has been painting flowers. She and her husband, Mark, have a wonderful garden full of the joy and abundance of colour such a garden can provide.

When asked if they grow vegetables among the blooms, she replied that their neighbours’ garden is abundant in vegetables, which they are pleased to share. For Dixon, the mission in her painting is to see people smile at them, to provide moments of joy in this troubled world.

Born in Southern England in a small town near Bristol, Dixon came to Canada with her mother when she was 15.

“My dad walked out one day and my mother was a nurse. She had a sister living in Canada,” she said.

At the time, there was a choice for her and her mother to go to New Zealand or Canada, and they opted for Canada.

“And I am very glad we chose Canada,” Dixon remarked.

She talked about her early years here and how she began to attend college to learn secretarial skills. She found employment easily, jobs that in the long run promoted her to be the assistant to presidents of corporations.

She and Mark met when they were both 50. Love blossomed, and they have been happy ever since. Mark is an avid golfer, playing every week during the season. They are both avid gardeners.

“I don’t worry whether my paintings are better or not than others, as long as they put a smile on people’s faces,” she noted and went on to say how some of her paintings bring back memories.

Primarily, she paints flowers because of her own garden, and it was wonderful for her and Mark to learn that they have quite a knack for the work.

For all her love of painting in bright colours, a friend of Dixon requested a quieter piece of her pastel poppies, a cooler pink rather than the ravishing reds. It was truly a challenge for her to do the calmer version, but it was very nice once it was finished.

Cooking is another passion for Dixon. Mark and her frequently host dinner parties.

We love company,” she said. “You get to a point in your life where you want to enjoy yourself.”

“We don’t dwell on the news,” Dixon said.

Four dogs add to their life’s pleasure and, in the role of sponsors for the SPCA of rescue dogs in a home that also loves cats, they can raise the dogs they care for to learn to live with cats in other homes when adoption comes.

Art encourages growth, and Dixon is thinking about learning more about shadowing in her paintings and how to include people without delving into portrait painting. Angela helps with this by advising her that “if you make a mistake, you can paint over it.”

Being a member of Headwaters Arts means that she takes her turn to do sessions of attending the show to greet visitors and answer questions they may have.

Dixon was surprised and very pleased recently when her photograph, titled Morning Sunrise, was accepted by the Bruce Trail Conservancy for their 2027 calendar. They even sent her four calendars as a thank you.

Readers Comments (0)