Encarnita Seco Gardner, born and raised in Granada, Spain, came to Canada after her marriage with John Gardner. She dedicated herself to her family and a career in the study of Spanish literature that included publication in Spain of two books of poems. Away from her native country, English her second language, she found limitations in this tool as a form of artistic expression. She discovered the universality of painting and decided to express herself in this voice. And she did it with passion.

Although largely self-trained, she took lessons with well known Toronto artists. She paints in oil, watercolour and acrylic, and likes to experiment with other media. Lately she has been fascinated by techniques that apply and manipulate watercolour on yupo paper. Another recent novelty in her work is painting oil on wood panels.

Affiliations include:  Don Valley Art Club, Toronto Watercolour Society, Willowdale Group of Artists