While candle light might represent winter and darkness to some people, artist Kendra Earls is using it in an entirely different way in her latest show.Her exhibition ‘Candle-lite — Love Has Taken Over’ is on now at the Common Ground Cafe in Hamilton and is organised by Select Palette Art.“Candle-lite has to do more with ‘Light’,” she said. “The light of love or light that my work may bring. At the opening we had candles and flowers decorating the cafe. It was beautiful.”She said the exhibition, which is full of portraits of graceful ladies and floral still lifes, is filled with feminine energy and spring sunlight.“My first solo show was called Luminous,” she said. “I like to play with light a lot. This collection is about beauty. The names of the pieces reflect that as well.”One of her pieces is a portrait of a lady in a white hat called ‘Little Gaia’. Other titles include ‘Lilies of Love’ and ‘My Heart Says Yes’. She went with lighter colours and themes to reflect the joy of springtime.“I am most proud of the women because I normally don’t do portrait art at all,” she said. “With this I was able to go into that realm easily after studying the art of one of my favourite French painters Amedeo Modigliani. He is known for his portraits of women with long necks.”Ms Earls said some of the love expressed in this art series stems from her love for the turn her life has taken recently.“I have been experiencing a transformative time in my life,” she said.Several years ago she was a teacher at Somersfield Academy, but left teaching to pursue other avenues. Now she is back to teaching and loving it.“Right now I am teaching at Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation (KAF),” she said. “I am working with every age group there is. I am working with kids and I am also doing an adult expressive arts class at CedarBridge Academy. I am also doing arts therapy in several nursing homes.”Having a regular income again has also taken some of the financial pressure off her work and allowed her to lower the prices on the pieces in this collection. They range from $175 to $500.“I wanted to keep the prices reasonable because I wanted to sell everything,” she said. “I am not an artist who likes to store art after a show; I want it to sell. With this economic conditions people still love art, but people aren’t buying it. So I said, okay I am going to do it for a lower price. I want to create.”Apparently, the strategy is paying off as half of her pieces sold on opening night. She planned to replace the pieces that sold with new pieces until the show comes down at the end of August.For more information see her website at artofluminousdesign.com or call Common Ground Cafe at 505-4290 or e-mail spart@logic.bm .