Wild Water
Featuring Barry Hodgson & Michelle Paskin
Opening Reception
Thursday, September 3, 2026 7 - 9 pm
September 3 - October 3, 2026
Earls Court Gallery is pleased to present Wild Water, a two-person exhibition featuring new artworks by Canadian artists Barry Hodgson and Michelle Paskin. Opening September 3 and continuing through October 3, 2026, the exhibition brings together two artists who engage and observe wild water.
The phrase "wild water" is used by Robin Wall Kimmerer in the book The Serviceberry to describe freshwater that remains untouched by pollution or significant human intervention. It evokes water in its natural state—part of a "gift economy" in which the natural world provides freely and abundantly, sustaining all living things.
Through their artistic practices, Barry Hodgson and Michelle Paskin engage with this idea of wild water by observing and connecting with places where it still exists in its most natural form. Their journeys take them to lakes, rivers, shorelines, and waterfalls where water continues to shape ecosystems with remarkable resilience. Their paintings and pastels capture not only the beauty of these environments, but also the interconnected relationships between water, land, plants, and wildlife.
Places where wild water can be experienced in its natural state are becoming increasingly rare. These paintings serve as both observations of remarkable places and reminders of the value of healthy freshwater ecosystems. By recording these landscapes with sensitivity and care, Hodgson and Paskin encourage us to appreciate water not only for its beauty, but for the essential role it plays in sustaining life.
Wild Water will be on view in the main gallery at 215 Ottawa Street North, Hamilton, from September 3 through October 3, 2026. Earls Court Gallery is open Tuesday to Friday from 10 am to 5 pm, and Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm. All artworks will also be available to view online upon installation.
Please join us for the opening reception Thursday, September 3, 2026, from 7–9 pm, where both artists will be in attendance.
Entry is free | Family Friendly | Fully Accessible | Groups Welcomed
About the Artists
Barry Hodgson
Barry is an artist from Hamilton ON. He works in oils on canvas and panels, ink, pastels and watercolour on paper and the occasional sculpture. Landscape subjects dominate his body of work but it also includes still life, a large group of drawings of butterflies and some abstract compositions. Barry was born in 1954 and grew up in Vineland Station, ON, where farming, gardening and camping established his interest in the outdoors. Drawing with his grandfather and family visits to galleries established his interest in art. Barry studied at the University of Guelph, first in biology, then switched to Fine Art and completed his B.A. in 1978. After university Barry stayed in Guelph for several years, painting and drawing in his studio and working extensively in the outdoors near home and on trips across Canada. Painting trips are sometimes solo endeavors, with family or very often with other artists, notably fellow Guelph graduate Scott Abbott. Scott and Barry painted at the Abbotts’ cottage near Parry Sound immediately after graduation in 1978 and have repeated the experience as often as possible ever since. While still a student, Barry started working in the university art gallery as assistant preparator, work that led to a part-time career in museum work at Guelph, the Art Gallery of Ontario, Harbourfront Gallery in Toronto, and the Prairie Gallery in Grande Prairie AB. He has lived in Hamilton with his wife Barbara and their two children since 1988. Barry has exhibited widely in public and private galleries in Canada and received numerous awards and grants, including a month as Artist-in-Residence at Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland. His work is in the collections of the Art Gallery of Guelph, the Alberta Art Foundation, the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador and other public, corporate and private collections in Canada and abroad. Barry is represented by Ingram Gallery in Toronto, Earls Court Gallery in Hamilton and Madrona Gallery in Victoria, BC.
Michelle Paskin
Michelle attended art college in the UK straight out of school and focused on print making and photography. Her career started in a photographic printing lab, from there she became the in-house retouch artist, restoring old photographs” the old-fashioned way” before Photoshop and then progressed to the digital world. Michelle and her family emigrated to Canada over 20 years ago, where she eventually started her own sign company which she has been running for the past 15 years. Michelle paint’s part time from her home studio in Hamilton, Ontario. Half of Michelle’s childhood was spent in the hills and valleys of Shropshire in England, of which she has many fond memories of this beautiful landscape. Recently she moved to the countryside into an old century Ontario farmhouse, which she had been longing to do for many years. Somehow, being surrounded by nature, farmers’ fields and a beautiful old house inspired her to come back to her art. She focuses on her surroundings, rural landscapes, nature, local towns and home. Michelle primarily uses soft pastels. Michelle is now driven and focused on her art journey to finally “finding her voice”.