I know and respect each of the artists represented in the gallery, some I have worked with for many years, others have come to know me recently, through the gallery. I try not to limit the works to any specific genre, scale or medium despite my own personal biases.
It’s an absolute pleasure to admire, display, reproduce, sell artwork that I’m genuinely enthusiastic about. I feel that I have an obligation to source out artists who are working on things ‘greater than themselves’, and to support significant contributions to Canadian art.
Many visitors are amazed to learn how many artists are from Vancouver Island or who travel here to paint, study, vacation and sometimes to disappear for a while.
Charles Villiers seldom offers explanation of his work. He prefers to remain a bit of a mystery, leaving the viewer to form their own opinions of his art. Prolific painter, sculptor and more recently digital media artist, he’s made a transition that many artists struggle with; the process of making your art in different mediums without loosing your style. Somehow even highly technical compositions retain a bit of the innocence of his earlier figurative and nonobjective works. It’s not unlike the way you can still sometimes see the boy within a man.
Ken Kirkby is renowned at an internal level as a decisive Canadian painter, he has a distinct graphic style formed by many bush miles. His paintings depict a minimal stillness not unlike other noted Canadian realists. He’s a very passionate man who has a dedication to making an impact as an artist that goes well beyond painting.
Rob Elphinstone is a physicist whose area of expertise is the study of the northern lights. I find it fascinating that his work to quantify something ethereal is also reflected in his art, he’s an actualist painter and his paintings depict his experience, not technically what he saw.
Marla Thirsk – is known as Ucluelet’s artist, and I’d have to say she’s so much more. Almost every art event, function, group in the area has benefited directly from Marla’s help. The Whale Festival posters have been a calling card of hers for years. I’m pleased to have shown several exciting series of hers.
Jeff Edwards – a well known sculptor, and a well liked crab fisherman. Jeff chooses his stone from local area quarries, his works are highly prized. His enchanting bears, and marine mammals are well liked and collected, I’m happy to be showing several of Jeff’s figures, and shapes.
Joan Larson – renowned for her equine (horse) Illustrations, she works almost exclusively in pastels. We’re very pleased to showcase her local landscapes, and the opportunity to publicly unveil her stunning RCMP Musical Ride Series, destined to be recognized as a great Canadian effort.
Peggy Burkosky – Known as a advanced watercolorist, Peggy is an capable painter in any medium. Her paintings have a sincerity about them, a true reflection of her island life. Sea scape scenes often include her daughter, family, or Bob’s fish boat, they are stunning paintings and portraiture. She teaches her secrets at the Old School House in Parksville.
Richard Hoedl – An accomplished painter, his bright whimsical style catches alot of attention. Richard paints in a walnut based oil on deep stretched canvas. His lighthearted approach is one that resonates with his own personal warmth.
Terry Jackson is a Metis artist working in carved wood, silver and cast porcelain. His contemporary use of materials lends a refreshingly clean look to his culturally based works. The porcelain is highly collectible, and the silver reflects an intrinsic value. Terry’s woodwork ranges from masks and wall panels to commissioned totem poles.
Jacqueline Windh, a Tofino based photographer, is well known for captivating seascapes and wildlife. Her work is frequently published and she regularly contributes to CBC Radio. Jacueline prefers to show the wildlife she photographs in their environment, the result are surprisingly sensitive portraits of the wild.
Nigel Brooks Peer is an art photographer of a different kind, he’s well travelled has worked in several genres, and is fascinated with reflections. He’s formed a style of his own in multiple image exposures, juxtaposing images, often on first blush they’re seemingly unrelated subjects, but subtle cultural references emerge to poke at your conceptions of art and photography.
Teresa Knight Paints her experience softly with subtle nuance, experimenting with revealed wood grain in her acrylic on wood panel paintings. Frequently she will paint evening scenes often depicting simple aspects of island living.
Carole Finn brings a fresh impressionistic perspective to the area. She paints with a confidence acquired by her life’s experiences. Her Large scale depictions of the wild pacific trail
invite us to explore the peninsula with eager eyes.
Nana Cook specializes in Arbutus tree portraits. I use the term portrait because not only are they living trees, Nana Cook treats them as her models. They are not personified trees; they are derived from direct observation ~ these trees do, in fact, look like people.
Bruce Muir is a very capable technical painter, who’s sensitivities as a wildlife artist have translated into subtle refined landscapes and coastal depictions. He’s a man who has spent enough time at the water’s edge to notice the things that most people never see, and who is capable of conveying that experience to the viewer.
Katsumi Kimoto grew up here, he’s as comfortable in Ucluelet as his artwork is in contemporary urban galleries. He lives in the interplay between abstraction and representational depictions of west coast life.
Thomas Schmidt and his wife, Judy, spend many years in Bamfield , have recently relocated to Ucluelet. Tom’s sculpture utilizes local Marble and Granite and usually reflect the easy going attitude that he himself exudes. Judy’s aluminum mobiles are similarly light hearted.
