Grace Croughan is an artist who works in acrylic and pastels. When she sees her open case of pastels with hundreds of beautiful colours or her tubes of acrylic paints she feels an overwhelming surge of energy and excitement and can't wait to dive in and create. 

Grace was born in Okinawa, a small island in the very south of Japan. During the next 10 years her father's studies and vocation took them back and forth between the United States, Canada and Japan, finally settling in Toronto, Ontario. Finding herself in new places, she turned to art which came naturally. Always drawing or painting or singing and playing the piano was and still is her favorite pastime.

Being warned about the hard life of an fine artist, Grace decided to study Graphic Design and received her degree from Andrews University in Michigan then went on to study Advertising Design at the Ontario College of Art and Design. After graduating from OCAD she went to work for Jerry Goodis at his new advertising agency Goodis Inc. where she honed her creative skills as an Art Director .

After 10 years in the advertising industry she decided to take the time to raise and enjoy her two young children. 

Fast forward a number of years. Grace's passion for creating art would not let her be still. She pursued her love of pastels and began to capture the beauty of southern Ontario. "I feel so privileged to be able to live in this beautiful country. It's such a joy to capture this on paper."

Recently she has been working in acrylic alongside pastels. She finds it's good to change it up sometimes and come back to each medium with fresh eyes. She especially loves to build up textures for her signature style in acrylics and is really enjoying creating her Mountain Dream Series of paintings.

"To me, colour and light are the keys to creating and sharing my emotions and vision of the scene. I hope to move the viewer with this expression in pastels and acrylics and share with others what I'm so passionate about."

Grace is an elected member of the Colour & Form Society, signature member of Pastel Artists of Canada with Master Pastelist status, Associate member of the Pastel Society of America, and member of the Richmond Hill Group of Artists.