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Dawn Ayer

Dawn Ayer self portrait 2025 in Italian watercolour by painter & mixed media artist Dawn Ayer

About Dawn Ayer

Dawn Ayer works in paint, mixed media and photography. Her lifelong ephemera collection inspires a diverse range of subjects, mediums and conceptual themes. From hand-cut photomontages to oils to screenprints and watercolours, Dawn’s focus is to document the fleeting beauty of the varied environments she inhabits.

Dawn shares “My Mum encourage my artistic talent by insisting I use Canadian-made iconic Laurentian coloured pencils instead of crayons. In 1984, I discovered oils and painted a wise owl on a masonite board that my Dad helped me prep. My deep affinity for watercolours was sparked and nurtured for more than 30 years by my late mentor Anthony J. Batten. Painting pool water with delightfully unpredictable watercolours is the one constant throughout my body of work. While I dabble in printmaking, digital photography, hand-cut photomontages and acrylics, I always find my way back to paint and brushes.”

A selected list of recent exhibitions of Dawn Ayer’s work includes:

2025 “Nestings 2.0 Art Auction” – at “Jazz, Wine & Art” group exhibition, Mount Tabor Shed, Milford, ON
2024 “Nestings Art Auction” – at “Jazz, Wine & Art” group exhibition, Mount Tabor Shed, Milford, ON
2023 “10×10 Art Show” – Carbon Art and Design, Prince Edward County
2022 “Decay” – Melt Studio and Gallery, Base 31, Prince Edward County
2022 “Sunflowers for Ukraine” – County Arts and Macauley Museum
2019 “Been There, Done That” – Macauley Museum in conjunction with Wassail
2019 Summer Guest Artist – Arts on Main Gallery, Picton
2019 Up The Creek Art Auction – Mariners Museum, Prince Edward County
2018 “Art on the Shelf” – Prince Edward County Public Library and Archives
2017 Artist Proof Sale – Open Studio, Toronto

Learn more about Dawn Ayer’s communications practice and at dawnayer.com.

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