A year after winning the $100,000 top prize at London’s Art Comp, Corunna artist Wilma Mehl is launching her first solo exhibition, “Within & Beyond the Wave,” at the Lawrence House Centre for the Arts.
Just one year after winning the $100,000 top prize at London’s Art Comp, Corunna artist Wilma Mehl is marking another major milestone: her first solo exhibition.
Her show, titled “Within & Beyond the Wave,” will run throughout September in the main gallery of the Lawrence House Centre for the Arts, a location that holds special significance for the artist.
“Having my very first solo exhibition is such a milestone in my artistic journey,” Mehl said in an email. “I couldn’t imagine a more meaningful place than the Lawrence House, where I first began exploring art here in Lambton County.”
The exhibition will feature about 20 original pastel works, all custom-framed and available for purchase. While Mehl’s trademark waves and seascapes inspired by Lake Huron are central to the collection, the show also explores landscapes and other coastal scenes.
The journey to this point has been a whirlwind for Mehl, who moved to Lambton County from Frankfurt, Germany, in 2011. While she had explored various art forms over the years, she only began to seriously pursue pastel painting in 2020. What started as a creative outlet during the pandemic quickly became a passion.
She was drawn to the rich, vibrant colors of soft pastels—a medium made from pure pigment and a binder. “I’m a very organized and tidy person by nature, which makes working with soft pastels a fascinating contrast for me,” she explained. “Pastels can be very messy.”
Using her fingertips to blend the powdery pigments, Mehl developed a highly detailed, realistic style. “While many pastel artists lean toward a looser, more painterly style, I take pride in the intricate details of my work,” she noted.
Her dedication paid off in September 2023 when her piece, “Into the Blue,” won the Panel’s Choice Award at Art Comp, an event that The Journal covered in a previous story. That moment, she said, was a pivotal turning point in her career.
“As a self-taught artist, I’ll admit that confidence hasn’t always come easily,” Mehl shared. “Winning Art Comp 2023 gave me the boost I needed—it was the moment I started to truly call myself an artist. Since then, I’ve felt more confident speaking about my work and approaching galleries.”
The momentum has continued to build. In the past year, Mehl had the honour of serving as a juror for Art Comp 2024, participated in group exhibitions in Toronto, and received a Sponsor’s Award at the Paint Ontario exhibition in Grand Bend this year.
Still, this solo show feels like the biggest highlight. “What an incredible honour to reach this point in my journey!” she said.
When creating a piece, Mehl’s process is grounded and immersive. Fueled by coffee and a soundtrack of artists like the Beatles and Tom Petty, she begins by sketching shapes and layering pigments from dark to light. The specialty paper she uses can hold up to 15 layers, which she blends with her fingertips to create depth and smooth transitions. A single painting can take anywhere from one to five days to complete.
With this exhibition, Mehl hopes to share a sense of joy with visitors.
“I hope visitors leave my exhibition at the Lawrence House feeling uplifted and inspired, carrying a little piece of joy with them,” she said. She added that one of the most rewarding parts of being an artist is hearing how her work evokes personal memories for viewers—from childhood moments by the water to the familiar feeling of waves crashing on the shore.
Looking ahead, Mehl hopes to continue growing, with aspirations to showcase her work in galleries beyond Lambton County. “If the past years have taught me anything, it’s that opportunities often arrive when you least expect them,” she said.
The opening reception for “Within & Beyond the Wave” will take place on First Friday, September 5th, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Lawrence House. The evening will feature live music from local duo The Songbirds Union, whose uplifting spirit, Mehl says, perfectly complements the atmosphere of her exhibition.
