Margaret Chwialkowska was born and educated in Poland and settled in Canada in 1979.
Her painting is inspired by nature, particularly the power and richness of the North American landscape. Many of her works grew out of travels to the Northwest Territories, the US, and throughout Ontario's vast lakes and forests. Today she works primarily in the Ottawa area, focusing on the banks of the Ottawa River and the forests of the Gatineau Hills, working to capture both its timeless grandeur and the ever-changing moods of its snow-banks, trees, sunsets.

Chwialkowska paints "alla prima," blending the pigments together on the canvas using a palette knife. This technique allows textures to evolve naturally, and permits a loose, spontaneous style and in turn evokes the tactile quality of my subjects.

The goal of her painting is to evoke the mood of a natural setting and to capture the feeling of being overwhelmed by the natural, almost magical beauty of a landscape. She wants to take the viewer on a walk with her. She is captivated by the creative process of painting and compelled by the spirituality that overtakes me when contemplating a landscape.

Selected Awards

2009
Finalist:  Canadian Brushstroke Magazine Landscapes Competition
Second Prize: 28th Annual Art & Photo Juried Exhibition, ARTEAST, Ottawa
Third Prize: 28th Annual Art & Photo Juried Exhibition, ARTEAST, Ottawa.
Viewer’s Choice Award: Foyer Gallery, Canicule Exhibition, Ottawa.

2008
First Prize: 27th Annual Art & Photo Juried Exhibition, ARTEAST, Ottawa
CBRE Corporate Purchase Award: the Artist Project, Toronto
Framework Foundation Purchase Award: the First Ottawa Timeraiser