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Ilse Hughes I thought an artist was someone who could skillfully copy what they saw, but today, my feelings are different - artists interpret what they see, by using pencil , paint and sculpture to express their inner feelings. From Ilse Hughes: From Dentistry to Artistry, by Chris Pickard, The Evening Telegram, April 14, 1991, p.19. Ilse Hughes was born in London, England, in 1938. Guided by her mother's advice, Hughes graduated as a dentist from London University in 1961. Thirteen years later , Hughes, her husband, Brian, and their two children came to Canada, settling in North West River, Labrador.
While working as a travelling dentist along the Labrador coast, Hughes began paying attention to her creative inclinations. Sometimes she was forced to wait days, depending on weather conditions, for transportation back to North West River. She used this waiting time to sketch and paint the various coastal communities' landscapes, figures and views of the ocean. When Hughes and her family moved to St. John's in 1980, she immediately enrolled in painting, drawing, sculpture and printmaking courses offered by Memorial University Extension Service. Her earlier career as a dentist became a part-time practice, eventually abandoned in favour of art.
Hughes instructed courses in painting and drawing for the Memorial University Extension Service in 1989. She also acted as an adjudicator for the provincial government's Arts and Letters Competition and was an external examiner for Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council grants from 1989-92. She has always been a strong advocate for the province's art community, as evidenced by her position as National Vice Representative for Canadian Artists Representation (CARFAC) National, Ottawa, from 1992-95. In 1997, Hughes held a solo exhibition of her work titled, Biding Time at the Resource Center for the Arts in St. John's, Newfoundland. Hughes personal experiences with her mother's nine-year stay and eventual death in a nursing home motivated her exploration into the image of the aged and the treatment of the elderly. Hughes' solo and group exhibitions of watercolours, oils and acrylics have been shown at the Salon des Vendanges, Cognac, France; the Canadian Cultural Centre, Paris; as well as galleries across Canada. In addition to being part of the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador's Permanent Collection, her work is represented in private and public collections including the University of Moncton and the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, New Brunswick; Husky Marine Services, Halifax, Nova Scotia; Sir Wilfred Grenfell College, Corner Brook; and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. Hughes lives in St. John's, Newfoundland for most of the year; however, she summers in southwestern France where she offers drawing and painting holidays to travelers.
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