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A West Coast Painting

Visited a West Coast Beach? You’ve Seen a Beach House

When I was young, I spent countless hours roaming the beaches of Canada’s West Coast on Vancouver Island, searching for treasures. We would beachcomb in wind, rain, and even sweltering summer heat, nothing could stop us from the thrill of discovery. Shells, driftwood, smooth stones, and strands of kelp filled our buckets and pockets. We built makeshift structures in the sand and decorated our little dwellings with every shiny or unusual object we found.

A log structure on the beach in Parksville, BC Canada

If you’ve ever visited the West Coast – whether the beaches of Vancouver Island or the rugged shorelines of Washington, Oregon, or California – you’ve likely encountered the iconic “beach house.”

These driftwood structures dot the coastline in all shapes and sizes. Built by leaning and stacking logs into teepee-like forms, they are part sculpture, part shelter, part childhood dream. Some are small and humble; others are substantial enough to withstand years of storms and tides. Many of the logs glow with the warm tones of yellow cedar, slowly weathering to soft silvers and greys as salt air and sun sculpt their surfaces.

These beach houses offer sun-seekers a place to rest in the shade, and give children the perfect canvas to build their own dream home from nature’s materials. Since my recent move to Parksville, a true beach town on mid-Vancouver Island, I’ve felt a renewed connection to these familiar coastal forms. Here, the beach houses feel almost like local landmarks, each one telling a different story of tide, time, and community creativity.

Beach House, 36×48 inches, acrylic on canvas, 2025 – Brandy Saturley

My new painting celebrates these driftwood beach houses and the enduring presence they hold on West Coast shores. They are temporary, handmade, and shaped by both nature and imagination – just like so many of the stories that define life by the sea.

Power of Art in Person

The Power of Experiencing Art in Person

Over the years, virtual exhibitions have become a major part of how art is shared with the world. Nearly a decade ago, I was experimenting with online 3-D gallery spaces, curious about how technology might expand the reach of my work. These digital shows offered convenience and accessibility, and they certainly had their moment. But after recently opening a new solo exhibition at a Canadian art gallery, I’ve been reminded – very clearly – why live, in-person exhibitions continue to hold an essential place in the art world. The Power of Art in person is palpable.

The Wild Life at Miller Art Gallery – Edmonton – Brandy Saturley

Art Needs Space, Light, and Presence

A painting is not just an image. It’s a physical object with texture, scale, and subtle shifts that can only be understood when you stand in front of it. The thickness of the paint, the edges of the canvas, the way colours respond to natural or gallery lighting, these details disappear when artwork is translated into pixels.

In-person, a piece has a presence that simply can’t be conveyed through a screen. Viewers move around the work. They experience its size. They absorb its atmosphere. These sensory elements are part of the story, and they’re lost in a virtual setting.

iconic canadian art

#ICONICCANUCK at CARFAC Alberta – Brandy Saturley

A Rare Opportunity for Artists to Witness Their Audience

Creating artwork is an incredibly solitary process. Much of the time, it’s just the artist, the canvas, and the quiet. Live exhibitions offer one of the only opportunities to step outside that solitude and see how people actually respond to the work.

Watching visitors engage with the paintings – seeing which pieces they spend time with, the angles they lean in from, the conversations they start – provides insight that no online platform can offer. It becomes a feedback loop, a source of inspiration, and a reminder of why the work matters.

Power Art in Person

Newfoundland Impressions – James Baird Gallery – Newfoundland – Brandy Saturley

Power Art in Person: The Human Element That Digital Can’t Replace

Art brings people together. A gallery setting naturally creates dialogue, connection, and shared experience. People who may never otherwise meet find themselves standing side-by-side, interpreting the same piece through their own lens.

In a digital world that moves fast and often feels fragmented, a gallery becomes a slower, more intentional space. It invites presence. It gives the work room to breathe, and gives viewers the opportunity to breathe with it.

Art Opening in Newfoundland

Newfoundland Impressions – James Baird Gallery – Newfoundland – Brandy Saturley

Why I Still Believe in Showing Work Live

While virtual exhibitions will always have a place, especially for their accessibility, there is something irreplaceable about presenting art physically. The atmosphere of an opening, the conversations with collectors, the energy in the room, and the authentic, unfiltered reactions from viewers, these are essential parts of my practice.

After experiencing my recent gallery opening, I’m more convinced than ever that live exhibitions aren’t just important; they’re vital. They remind us that art is a dialogue, not just a digital experience. They bring back the human connection that fuels creativity and keeps the work evolving.

In an increasingly digital age, showing art live remains a powerful way to connect, communicate, and celebrate the creative process.

Power Art in Person

What is an image? Royal College of Art, London UK – Brandy Saturley

Tragically Hip Poster Cellar

Painting Gift Shop: My Collaboration with The Tragically Hip’s Poster Cellar Series

Every quarter, The Tragically Hip commission a different artist to create a poster for their Strictly Limited Poster Cellar Series. Each poster reimagines a single Hip song through the eyes of a visual artist, an incredible opportunity to translate some of Canada’s most beloved music into visual storytelling.

With 233 songs across 13 studio albums, The Hip’s catalogue offers a deep well of inspiration. Their poetic, often cinematic lyrics make it easy for imagery to take root and grow. For my own collaboration, I chose one of the band’s most iconic track: “Gift Shop.”

Tragically Hip Poster Cellar

Why “Gift Shop”?

The beautiful lull
The dangerous tug
We get to feel small
From high up above…

These evocative lyrics immediately set my imagination in motion. I played the song on repeat in my studio, jotting down every visual that surfaced; symbols of Canadiana, emotional beats, and images echoing the tone of the music.

Colour blocking a painting

Developing the Concept

Once the ideas were on paper, I began shaping them into a cohesive composition. The final concept included:

  • Canada Geese in flight

  • A pendulum suspended above a glowing sunset

  • A sweeping valley and mountain peaks, capturing that “view from the top”

  • A Canadian couple wearing red toques, hand in hand

  • A quiet nod to the band’s identity through plaid iconography

With the composition finalized, I transferred the drawing onto canvas, laid in an underpainting, and began colour-blocking. From there, the painting slowly took on depth, texture, and light – layer by layer, until it was ready for varnish.

Behind the scenes: creating a painting for The Tragically Hip – Brandy Saturley Studio

Preparing the Artwork for Print

Once the painting was fully dry, I photographed it in RAW format for the highest colour accuracy and detail. The digital file was then sent to the band’s agency, where they added a subtle yet meaningful detail: The Tragically Hip’s gargoyle logo on the back of the man’s plaid shirt.

The artwork was sent to the printer next, where an edition of 175 limited-edition prints was produced. I travelled to Vancouver to sign and number each one by hand, always a special moment in the lifecycle of any artwork.

Tragically Hip Poster Cellar

Brandy Saturley signing prints at Mitchell Press in Burnaby, Canada

Tragically Hip Poster Cellar: Limited Edition Prints Now Available

I’m thrilled to share that the Gift Shop limited-edition poster is now available through The Tragically Hip’s official website. This series sells out quickly, so if you’re a collector or a fan of the band, now is the time.

Get one while they last!

Tragically Hip Poster Cellar

The original painting is also available for sale through the Miller Art Gallery – all proceeds go towards supporting the gallery programming and the Peck Visual Arts Program.

Commission For The Tragically Hip

Brandy Saturley at Miller Art Gallery

The Wild Life – by Brandy Saturley at Miller Art Gallery in Edmonton

A vibrant celebration marked the opening of Brandy Saturley’s newest exhibition, The Wild Life, at The Miller Art Gallery in Edmonton, Canada. Art lovers, collectors, and the local creative community gathered to experience this powerful new collection by the contemporary Canadian painter known for her bold interpretations of Canadian identity, wildlife, and landscape.

Brandy Saturley at Miller Art Gallery

A Survey of Five Years of Canadian Art

The Wild Life features 15 original acrylic paintings on canvas, surveying five years of Saturley’s evolving oeuvre. From striking portraits of polar bears and elk to sweeping mountain and coastal landscapes, the exhibition highlights the artist’s deep connection to nature in the North. Each painting reflects the untamed spirit of the Canadian wilderness and the stories that emerge from living, traveling, and creating across the country.

Brandy Saturley at Miller Art Gallery

The Wild Life by Brandy Saturley at The Miller Art Gallery, until Dec 21, 2025

About The Miller Art Gallery

The show is presented by The Miller Art Gallery, a dynamic visual arts space located within Edmonton’s iconic Roxy Theatre – a home for both visual and performing arts. Established in 2022 by Theatre Network, the gallery was created to expand artistic programming within the new Roxy development under the curatorial leadership of Jared Tabler.

The Miller Art Gallery is also home to the Peck Visual Arts Program, dedicated to championing Canadian contemporary art and elevating artists from across the country. Their mission is to create an artist-centered space that fosters community, supports creative growth, and encourages audiences to engage with visual art in meaningful and transformative ways.

Brandy Saturley at Miller Art Gallery

The Wild Life, Brandy Saturley at The Miller Art Gallery – Roxy Theatre, Edmonton

Exploring the Three Facets of “Wild Life” – Brandy Saturley at Miller Art Gallery

Saturley’s exhibition delves into three interconnected facets of wild life:

  • Iconic Canadian wildlife – from polar bears to elk, captured with bold colour and emotional depth.

  • Untamed landscapes – mountains, coastlines, and wilderness scenes that celebrate the power and beauty of Canada’s natural environment.

  • The artist’s personal journey – a cross-country exploration that informs her distinct voice as a Canadian artist.

Together, these works tell a story of identity, discovery, and the wild spirit that unites the Canadian experience.

The Wild Life by Brandy Saturley at The Miller Art Gallery – Edmonton, Canada

Exhibition Dates

The Wild Life is on view at The Miller Art Gallery from November 13 to December 21, 2025.

Brandy Saturley at Miller Art Gallery

Commission For The Tragically Hip

Painting a Commission: The Tragically Hip Poster Cellar Strictly Limited Series

Earlier in 2025, the wonderful team at Easy Partners LLC reached out with a very special commission. They manage entertainment merchandise for an incredible roster of musical acts – including The Tragically Hip. When they asked if I would create a new painting for a limited-edition poster series celebrating the band, I didn’t hesitate for a second. As one of my all-time favourite Canadian bands and a constant source of inspiration in my studio, my answer was an enthusiastic yes! Creating a Commission For The Tragically Hip – Poster Cellar Series.

The project was to produce a holiday-themed poster, so I began by immersing myself in The Hip’s catalogue. After an initial meeting with Easy Partners in February, I spent weeks listening – returning to my favourites, and then exploring deeper cuts – letting the music wash over me as I searched for the right song to inspire the painting.

Eventually, one track stood out: “Gift Shop.” I listened to it on repeat, lights dimmed in my studio, letting the words spark images in my mind. Certain lyrics began to form the visual core of the piece:

The beautiful lull / The dangerous tug / We get to feel small / From high up above/ The pendulum swings…

And after a glimpse / Over the top / The rest of the world / Becomes a gift shop.

Commission For The Tragically Hip

Working on the painting in the studio – Brandy Saturley

To me, this song evokes that feeling of standing high on a mountain ridge, looking down over a vast valley painted in autumn tones – feeling small, but perfectly in place within the grand view of the world. The valley below becomes a “gift shop,” filled with treasures of light, colour, and wonder. In the painting, Canada geese glide across the sky, their flight path echoing the swing of a pendulum suspended in the clouds. Below, a young couple wearing red toques stands hand in hand at the edge of the vista, ready to face life’s adventures together.

Commission For The Tragically Hip

Working on the underpainting – first stages of the painting – Brandy Saturley

True to my Canadian Pop Art style, the painting incorporates bold outlines, rhythmic composition, and, of course, a signature plaid shirt. The finished work radiates warmth and musicality – a visual symphony inspired by The Hip’s poetic energy.

Painting in progress in the studio – Brandy Saturley

Once complete, the painting was photographed, and the Tragically Hip gargoyle logo was added to the design. The image was sent to a printer in Vancouver, where I later traveled by ferry to hand-sign 175 limited-edition prints, available exclusively to collectors and fans through The Tragically Hip’s Poster Cellar.

Canadian artist Brandy Saturley signing prints for Tragically Hip Poster Cellar

This collaboration has been a dream come true – a merging of visual art and music that celebrates the shared rhythm of Canadian creativity. Limited edition prints are available late November through The Tragically Hip’s online Poster Cellar. Don’t miss the chance to own a piece of this special collaboration between art and music.

Commission For The Tragically Hip

Gift Shop, 48×36 inches, acrylic on canvas, 2025 – Brandy Saturley

Beyond The Prints – The Tragically Hip Poster Cellar Series

In addition to the prints, the original painting will be presented in Brandy Saturley’s solo exhibition The Wild Life at Miller Art Gallery in Edmonton, Canada.

Proceeds from the sale of the painting go to the Miller Art Gallery/Peck Visual Arts Program.

Still Life Shells Paintings

Shells As Still Life – Paintings of the West Coast

I grew up on a West Coast beach. As a child, my days were spent either drawing in my bedroom or beachcombing and hiking. Just a mile from my house was a quiet stretch of sand with a view of the snow-capped Olympic Mountains, near a place called East Sooke. It was there that my fascination with collecting shells began – arranging them into still life compositions and collages right on the shore.

Moon Snail Shell found in Parksville, BC Canada

Sometimes the shells came home with me, transforming into elaborate displays on my bedroom shelves, often accompanied by rocks and driftwood. Later in life, I began photographing these arrangements, some created on the beach and left behind for others to discover. I became captivated by their smooth, sculptural forms, their layered textures, and their soft, natural palette.

Various clam shells – Vancouver Island, BC Canada

When I think of shells in art, Georgia O’Keeffe immediately comes to mind. I remember visiting her home in Abiquiú, New Mexico, where she kept collections of shells and rocks displayed in her courtyard – often alongside her iconic skulls. In many ways, we are kindred spirits, both drawn to natural specimens that eventually find their way into our work through paint and brushstroke.

Shells found on beaches on Vancouver Island, BC Canada.

Since moving my studio to Parksville, BC – near the expansive sandy beaches on the east coast of Vancouver Island, I’ve found myself revisiting this lifelong fascination. I walk the shoreline almost daily, continually distracted by the remnants of shells scattered along the tide line. For the first time, I’ve felt compelled to paint them, translating these natural arrangements into still life compositions on canvas.

Still Life Shells Paintings

Sea Shells Still Life Paintings – Brandy Saturley 2025

Four New Still Life Shell Paintings

These four new paintings feature shells suspended within coastal landscapes, captured at different times of day and in shifting light. While they are still life paintings, I also refer to them as portraits, as I am painting a portrait of the landscapes, where the shells act as the sitter. They express my enduring love and curiosity for these homes of the sea – a West Coast meditation on beauty, fragility, and form.

Still Life Shells Paintings

The World is Your Oyster, 30×30 inches, acrylic on canvas, 2025 – Brandy Saturley

 

Still Life Shells Paintings

Piece of Mind, 30×30 inches, acrylic on canvas, 2025 – Brandy Saturley

 

Resilience, 30×30 inches, acrylic on canvas, 2025 – Brandy Saturley

 

Still Life Shells Paintings

Pilgrimage, 30×30, acrylic on canvas, 2026 – Brandy Saturley

Behind a Solo Art Show

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The Work Behind a Solo Art Show

One of the interesting things about being an artist is that you often get applause for the small things, while the big things – the projects that take the most time, effort, and investment – rarely get the recognition they deserve. Bringing a solo art show to life can take years of work, all for a brief but beautiful moment of celebration and connection with the public.

I’m currently preparing for the opening of my second solo art show this year. Just last week, my art shipper picked up fifteen paintings headed for Edmonton, Alberta. It’s a 1270 km journey that includes a ferry ride, but in truth, the journey of these paintings began long before last week, and much farther than 1270 km ago.

Preparing for a solo art show begins years before the opening night. It starts with ideas, tiny seeds that grow into new paintings, and with the experiences that shape what I want to say about the world. For me, these seeds are planted when I travel to explore new parts of Canada. On these journeys, I gather reference material: photographs, videos, sketches, and mental notes of smells, sights, and sounds. When I return home to my Vancouver Island studio, those impressions begin to take root and grow.

Behind a Solo Art Show

Brandy Saturley with her art shipping crates

I start by nurturing these ideas digitally, collaging moments into visual storyboards, snapshots of my experiences distilled into narrative form. From there, I edit and refine until I have a solid grouping of fully developed compositions. These collaged compositions then become loose renderings on canvas, sketched out with a chalk pen. Once I have several canvases drawn, I begin laying down underpaintings, blocking in colour and light, before building up the layers of vivid hues that give each piece its life.

Behind the Studio Door

The Gift Shop painting in progress – Brandy Saturley studio – Vancouver Island

The Work Behind A Solo Art Show Takes Time

Each painting takes weeks or sometimes months to complete. When finished, they’re sealed with protective varnish and readied for hanging. This process repeats again and again until a cohesive body of work begins to emerge. Not every painting makes the final cut, perhaps I create fifty pieces in a series, but when it’s time for a solo exhibition, I’ll select fifteen to twenty that best tell the story.

Once the paintings are chosen, they’re carefully packed and shipped to the gallery. From there, the gallery team takes over – unpacking, taking inventory, preparing the space, curating the show, and installing the work. Together, we promote the show and they plan the opening night, complete with wine, conversation, and guests.

James Baird gallery

Booking a solo show typically happens about two years in advance. So, each exhibition is really several years in the making. During that time, I’m not just painting; I’m running a business – working on commissions, participating in group shows, managing my website and social media, connecting with galleries and collectors, and keeping the financial side of the studio running.

Behind a Solo Art Show

Brandy Saturley with her art book – Painting Canada, 2025

To keep the creative momentum going, I’m always planting seeds for future work and exhibitions. Often, I’m preparing for a show two years in the future while also celebrating a body of work that began years before. The cycle never really stops, you’re constantly creating your future through your art.

As I close in on my next solo show at The Miller Art Gallery, I’m taking a moment to pause and appreciate the work of today. For while the public sees the finished paintings, celebrating them for one fleeting evening, what they don’t often see are the years of quiet effort behind each brushstroke, each idea, and each show. And that’s what makes the celebration all the more meaningful.

Behind a Solo Art Show

The Wild Life, The Miller Art Gallery @ The Roxy – Edmonton, Alberta November 2025

See more Canadian paintings by Brandy Saturley.

A Spirit Bear Painting

Tales of the Wild West Coast – A Spirit Bear Painting

In late 2019, I began painting stories of a polar bear searching for a new home – a journey that took this wandering bear from coast to coast, discovering the beauty and vastness of Canada. Along the way, the bear has been joined by a cast of familiar Canadian characters, from Canada Geese to moose, each adding to this evolving visual narrative.

A Spirit Bear Painting

Float Away With Me, 12×9 inches, acrylic on canvas, 2025 – Brandy Saturley

Most recently, I found myself drawn to another iconic creature, the spirit bear, adding a new chapter to this ongoing story of travels across Canada.

The elusive Kermode – Spirit Bear

The spirit bear, also known as the Kermode bear, is a subspecies of the American black bear found along the Central and North Coast regions of British Columbia. With its distinctive white coat, the spirit bear is the official provincial mammal of British Columbia. These white bears are not albinos, they have pigmented skin and eyes, and while not exceedingly rare, their populations are carefully protected because of their deep ecological and cultural importance.

View of Mount Arrowsmith from Parksville, BC beach.

Over the past month, I’ve been painting the landscapes and still life of Parksville, British Columbia, my new home and studio by the sea. For this latest work, I wanted to capture the spirit of the West Coast in autumn: the soft tones of the beach, the distant rise of Mount Arrowsmith, and the abundant bird life that fills the scene with energy. It felt like the perfect landscape for a spirit bear to roam, quietly powerful, reflective, and free.

A Spirit Bear Painting

A Spirited Walk, 30×30 inches, acrylic on canvas, 2025 – Brandy Saturley

Here is A Spirited Walk, my newest painting and the latest tale in this series of Canadian wanderers, a story of connection to place, myth, and the wild heart of the West Coast.

Painting Canada’s East and West

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Comparing Coasts – Painting Canada’s East and West

When I set out to paint stories of Canada, I knew I couldn’t do it without eventually comparing my west coast home with the east coast of this country. Over the years, I have painted the prairies, the Rocky Mountains, and the North, but it wasn’t until 2023 that I found myself standing on the easternmost point of Canada, looking out toward the Atlantic from the rugged cliffs of Newfoundland, and painting Canada’s East and West coasts.

Maui in Newfoundland

Pouch Cove, Newfoundland, Canada

An artist residency at the Pouch Cove Foundation allowed me to immerse myself for a month in rural Newfoundland, exploring the Avalon Peninsula and painting where the sun first rises in the country. It was exactly what I needed to complete a vision nearly two decades in the making – to fill the missing piece in my ongoing portrait of Canada.

Painting Canada's East and West

High Tide, 36×48 inches, acrylic on canvas, 2024 – Brandy Saturley

What I discovered on the east coast is that, despite our vast distance, both coasts share a deep affinity for the ocean. We live surrounded by it, shaped by it, and inspired by it. Yet, the Atlantic feels more fierce, more exposed, an endless expanse that pulls you outward. Here on Vancouver Island, the ocean is often framed by islands or the distant outline of the United States. It’s tamer at first glance, but venture north and you’ll find wild, uninhabited shores every bit as raw and powerful as Newfoundland’s cliffs. The cliffs there are their Rocky Mountains – ancient, resilient, and endlessly humbling.

Painting Canada’s East and West

With Wind and Without, 48×30 inches, acrylic on canvas, 2024, Brandy Saturley

Both coasts share a rugged individualism that sets them apart from the rest of Canada. We are, in many ways, outsiders – shaped by isolation and by a closeness to the elements. For years, I’ve been trying to reconcile my ideas of Canada and what it truly means to be Canadian. In that process, I often felt like an observer on my own coast, always looking for a way in. Newfoundland changed that. Painting there deepened my understanding of my home on Vancouver Island, and in turn, made me love it even more.

Painting Canada’s East and West

When I Go To SEE. 30×60 inches, acrylic on canvas, 2025 – Brandy Saturley

Now, as I paint from my new studio further up the Island, shifting from a southern to a mid-Island perspective, I find myself turning inward. My daily walks by the ocean have become quiet meditations. The beaches, the light, and the rhythms of the tides are slowly revealing themselves as new subjects in my work. It’s an introspective time, one that feels like a natural continuation of everything I’ve been exploring across the country.

West Coast Still Life

The World is Your Oyster, 30×30 inches, acrylic on canvas, 2025 – Brandy Saturley

This fall, I’ll be showing many of these new works, alongside paintings from across Canada, in my upcoming solo exhibition “The Wild Life” at the Miller Art Gallery in Edmonton, opening November 13, 2025. The show reflects a journey that has taken me from coast to coast, from one edge of the continent to the other. It’s a wild life indeed, and the journey continues.

Art with a Narrative

Rocky Mountains Higher, 36×49 inches, acrylic on canvas, 2023 – Brandy Saturley

Read more about Brandy Saturley’s time painting in Newfoundland here.

West Coast Still Life

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.

The beach at low tide in Parksville BC – Canada

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.”

The Beach in Parksville, BC – Canada

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.

West Coast Still Life

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.

West Coast Still Life

Unusual Oyster shell in Parksville, BC

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.

West Coast Still Life

The World is Your Oyster, 30×30 inches, acrylic on canvas, 2025, Brandy Saturley

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.

West Coast Still Life

Sumo, 16×16 inches, acrylic on canvas, 2025 – Brandy Saturley

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.