Painting on the Left Coast – West Coast Still Life

We recently moved our home and my studio to the seaside city of Parksville, British Columbia – leaving my hometown of Victoria behind for a serene and immersive locale. After just one month, the studio is finally feeling like my own, and the paintings are flowing again. Five new works are already complete. It feels somewhat like being on an artist residency, and I’ve been treating these first few weeks as such.

Though I’ve lived on Vancouver Island my entire life and traveled across Canada to make and show my art, I’ve rarely turned my focus to painting the West Coast itself. Since moving here, I’ve learned that many locals affectionately refer to it as the “Left Coast.” The phrase plays on geography, our coast lies on the left of the map, but also carries a certain spirit of independence and creative energy that defines this region.

The desire that once drove me to travel and connect with the rest of Canada came largely from feeling isolated from the national identity and the stereotypes of “Canadiana.” British Columbia has always stood apart. When British poet Rupert Brooke arrived in Vancouver after a cross-Canada journey in 1913, he wrote home: “It’s a queer place, rather different from the rest of Canada.” While others may have viewed BC as a rain-sodden outpost, those who live here understand that “Super, Natural British Columbia” is far closer to the truth. As humorist Eric Nicol once quipped, “British Columbians like to think of their province as a large body of land entirely surrounded by envy.”

I’ve often said that we live in our own biosphere here on the coast. BC is undeniably part of Canada, yet it feels like its own realm, a place of unique rhythms and light. If, as historian Jean Barman suggested, “British Columbia is not so much a place as a state of mind,” then I find myself now immersed in exploring what that state of mind truly means.

Here in Parksville, I’ve been walking the endless sandy beaches, observing wildlife, flora, and the play of tide and wind. I find myself looking more closely than ever before, perhaps it’s that residency mindset taking hold. Beyond the beaches, I’ve explored the wetlands and railway tracks, visited the local MacMillan Arts Centre, and joined the Oceanside Arts Council, connecting with the vibrant creative community of Oceanside, Qualicum Beach, Nanoose Bay, and Nanaimo.

New Paintings – West Coast Still Life

This exploration has already inspired two new paintings, visual stories of life by the ocean. The palette of these works draws directly from the coast: green-golds, blues, Payne’s grey, and raw sienna. They are part still life, part landscape, inviting the viewer to look closely at the natural details that define this place. Rocks and shells float serenely within these compositions, much as I feel when walking along the shore, listening to the rhythm of the waves.

The World Is Your Oyster reveals a uniquely shaped oyster shell shimmering above a beach landscape at low tide, while a Great Blue Heron stands silhouetted in the distance. The sundown sky glows with yellows and greys, a quiet tribute to the poetic solitude of the coast.

Sumo tells another West Coast story. A stack of stones, balanced like an inukshuk, takes on the presence of a Sumo wrestler, strong, grounded, and immovable, set against a moody sky of blues and greys with a lush outcropping of green trees in the distance.

These paintings are undeniably Left Coast – rooted in place and mood. As I continue this residency-like chapter of my practice, I look forward to seeing how this new home will shape the stories I tell through paint.

See more paintings of Canada here.