About the Instructor:

Sharon Mackinnon received her Master of Education Degree from the University of Toronto and has over 30 years of teaching experience.  She is an elected member of the Society of Canadian Artists, the Ontario Society of Artists, and the Polar Art Group.

​For five years, Sharon was the artist-in-residence on expedition cruises in the Arctic and Antarctic.  She was also the art teacher on White Squall Paint and Paddle trips on Georgian Bay for over a decade. Her sketch book and paints were and are always aboard.  Imagine trying to sketch when paddling through polar brash ice with a Polar Bear just 50 feet away! Through teaching art, Sharon had the opportunity to kayak all of the world’s oceans.  She’s learned that she loves the journey as much as achieving the end goal whether it’s finishing a painting or kayaking her last ocean.

Sharon’s paintings are collected internationally and have been presented to the Canadian Embassies in Vietnam, Cambodia, and South Africa, and the High Commissions in Thailand, India and Sri Lanka. The Ontario Government has added a large encaustic painting of Sharon’s to its art collection.

Sharon was awarded 3 Ontario Arts Council Exhibition Grants and published exhibition catalogues with Huronia Museum and Quest Art School and Gallery in Midland Ontario.