Art in Banff Canada

Art in Banff, Canada – Willock & Sax Introduces Brandy Saturley

We are delighted to announce that The Art of Brandy Saturley is now available in Banff, Alberta through Willock and Sax Gallery. On the heels of an artist residency at the Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity, the artist is thrilled to have gained representation in Banff. For 24 years now art dealers Tom Willock and Susan-Sax Willock have been connecting people with art, helping art collectors find art they will love for the rest of their life. The Banff gallery located on Bear Street has an impressive and well curated selection of work encompassing many different media and genres by a strong roster of fine Western Canadian art and artists. Willock & Sax represents emerging and established artists and is dedicated to furthering the legacy of historical artists. Collectively they bring to the business over 60 years of experience from the cultural sector, commercial enterprises, and academic studies, including Director of a Public Museum and Art Gallery, Director of a Provincial Arts Service Organization for Visual Art, and academic background in the history of art, design, and visual culture.

Currently the gallery has four paintings on site by Brandy Saturley, showing themes of mountains, landscapes, canoes and even a polar bear riding a Jeep. A nice representation of the work this Canadian painter has become known for over the past two decades. Not only is Banff a stunning natural destination nestled into the Canadian Rocky Mountains, it is also a destination for art lovers with the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, numerous private and public art galleries such as the Walter Phillips Gallery and the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies.

Vermillion Canoes in the window of Willock & Sax Gallery, Bear Street, Banff, Alberta

It will be interesting to see where my recent experience making art at the Banff Centre and my time spent in Banff capturing locations through photography and video will feed new work to be made over the coming months.

November 28, 2022

Top 10 Best Paintings 2022

Art For Sale

Top 10 Best Paintings 2022 – Art in Canada

Every year we review the top 10 paintings of the year, highlighting the best artworks created by Brandy Saturley. This year was a year filled with figurative paintings reflecting Canadian culture, landscapes, outdoor pastimes and icons. There were many portraits painted in 2022, northern skies, wildlife and paintings with canoes. With realistic foregrounds and focal points, set against vividly vibrating abstract backgrounds of form and colour. These modern pop art style paintings, sometimes feature kitschy elements of Canadian culture. With hard edged compositions and representational elements, these paintings tell visual stories of the subjects contained within. Please enjoy these top 10 best paintings created in 2022.

Imagine Canoe: A spiritual landscape at Lake Louise. A Blackfoot tribal chief in regalia and headdress stands at the head vantage point of Lake Louise, towards the glacier. A canoe of red with name inscribed ‘Imagine’. A stack of rocks that resembles a person in the foreground, another red canoe in the distance. Two eagles fly high in the sky above the vortex point of the glacier. The lake is depicted in summer, with tropical turquoise colours and uncovered mountains and trees. Imagine Lake Louise, imagine Peace.

Imagine Canoe, original acrylic painting on canvas, 48×60, 2022 – Brandy Saturley

Golden Hour in The Heart of Canoeland: Two scarlet red canoes meet at sunset, on a lake in Canada. In the distance two snow peaked mountain ranges, and a swoosh of clouds. The tree line bordering the lake sparkles with shades of emerald and lime green. Reflections on a perfect moment shared in nature. Perhaps a skinny dip? where are those canoe lovers.

Canoeland, original acrylic on canvas, 36×60, 2022 – Brandy Saturley

Wanderlust: A family carry a canoe named ‘Wanderlust’ a grand portage across dried creek beds to a lake. On top of the canoe a polar bear and a snow goose accept the offer of carriage to a cooler locale. As with many of my polar bear pieces they are joyful visual stories but also carry deeper more serious meaning.

Wanderlust, original acrylic on canvas, 36×60, 2022 – Brandy Saturley

Dreaming Under Northern Lights: Crisp northern air, standing under the aurora borealis. A girl in a fur trimmed parka gazes up at the northern sky and watches the dance of light. Dreaming under the night sky and the magical dance of the Northern lights.

Dreaming Under Northern Lights, original acrylic on canvas, 36×36, 2022 – Brandy Saturley

Modern Canadian Elk: A mystical elk. A dreamy modern pop art take on a Canadian nature paint. Can you feel the spirit of the elk? Abstract forms an colour, along with a Northern lights sky create a dreamy scene.

Modern Canadian Elk, original acrylic on canvas, 36×36, 2022 – Brandy Saturley

On Top of Nanaimo Bars: all covered in winter. A figure skater wearing a toque and red sweater, blowing a bubble is perched on top of a stack of Nanaimo bars, with Candy colours below. She holds a string of ice that flows into a vase or vessel, from which daffodil flowers burst. An icy lake and bridge behind with sky of violet blue peering through the trees. Painted around the time of the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games. A dreamy confectionary Canadian landscape.

On Top of Nanaimo Bars, original acrylic on canvas, 40×30, 2022 – Brandy Saturley

Surfing Rainbows: A west coast beach under dramatic skies of golden hour, post rain shower and rainbow. Surfers and beachcombers explore the beach, looking for the next wave or beach treasure. Symbolic of a west coast Vancouver Island day on the beaches of Tofino.

Surfing Rainbows, original acrylic on canvas, 30×48, 2022 – Brandy Saturley

A Handful of Polar Bear: This little handful of fluffy white polar bear, sleeping silently, is surrounded by modern flora and fauna. He is perched in a dreamy slumber, on a bed of ice and has a tiny heart in his paw. Has almost an art deco feel – pop art deco.

Handful of Polar Bear, original acrylic on canvas, 48×36, 2022 – Brandy Saturley

Ukraine Strong: Portrait of the artist in Ukrainian headdress, honouring her heritage and in support of Ukraine. She wears a blue collar flannel of red and black check, the quintessential Canadian business shirt. A Canadian Ukrainian with a pysanka egg of Ukraine flag yellow and blue resting between bicep and forearm. Against a background of wheat fields and blue sky.

Ukraine Strong, original acrylic on canvas, 40×30, 2022 – Brandy Saturley

Royal Gaze: “It has been women who have breathed gentleness and care into the harsh progress of mankind.”
Painted during the month of Queen Elizabeth II passing and funeral. I wanted to honour The Queen in a portrait that captured her gaze, her warmth and her strength. This painting of The Queen features an undulating Union Jack flag in the background, her majesty is wearing the Diamond Diadem crown.

Royal Gaze, original acrylic on canvas, 48×36, 2022 – Brandy Saturley

There you have it, our top 10 picks for best paintings of 2022 by Canadian Artist, Brandy Saturley. See more artworks by this Canadian painter here. You can also purchase the annual art catalogue featuring these works and more.

November 2, 2022

Buy My Art Collection

Art Business, Buy Original Art

Offering 400 Paintings – Buy My Art Collection

Imagine this, you develop a relationship with Van Gogh, and he says to you, ‘buy my art collection’. What if Picasso sold you 300 works, in one fell swoop, in his productive mid-career time of life. Can you imagine being one person with ownership of an entire collection of works by one artist? There have been a few times I know of where an art collector has come forward to invest in the works of one artist, setting that artist up for a lifetime of painting and allowing for the artist to move on to ‘bigger things’ than what they are currently capable of financing.

Over the past two decades I have been busy building a significant career and a substantial collection of original fine artworks. The work features in prominent and important collections both public and private. I have gained notoriety as the ‘voice of Canadian Pop Art’ and the ‘Iconic Canuck’. My work is equal parts sincere and quirky, and tells stories deeper than are seen. I am known for my bold and vivid palettes, my paintings are not shy and nor am I when it comes to my Art and where I see myself and my work twenty years from now. Between here and there the goal is always to push the boundaries of the year previous. You may have heard of me or seen my work, and you may not of, but if you are reading this, I am now on your radar.

As I plan for years ahead I realize that I will not be alive forever, and I will need to begin planning stages for what happens to the collection when I am no longer around. At this point my interest is in selling the current entire originals collection (minus the Goalie’s Mask Painting, currently listed at $91,000.00 CAD).

Maybe you have billions, you own a beautiful home on Maui, or a brand new Rivian. Perhaps you are building rocket ships or electric cars, or a society altering clothing brand. Perhaps you are an entrepreneur who finds talent and things to invest in, at the most unexpected places (like this blog). Rather than the rush of the auction at Sotheby’s, you find excitement in the direct approach, scooping up the entirety of something just before it peaks (or continues peaking).

Based on current Canadian art market value, 400 paintings from me, Brandy Saturley, would come to the sum of about $2.8 million dollars (minus the Goalie’s Mask painting) You bring the cash and I will deliver the paintings to your secure art storage facility, home, or business. You have a home worth $2.8 million just sitting in your portfolio? I could be persuaded on a trade. Just like real estate this art collection will continue to accrue in value in a less volatile marketplace.

Maybe you read the Financial Time’s, Globe and Mail, Robb Report, or the New York Times. Perhaps you spend your time perusing Larry’s List or Artsy. Have a new Tesla X Plaid? I would consider a trade for 30 paintings from the Iconic series of original artworks. The works in this collection are uniquely Canadian and would love to collaborate with all of the following brands; Lululemon, Canada Goose, Arcteryx, Hudson’s Bay Company, Fairmont Hotels, to name a few.

All I am interested in is continuing to make Art, continuing to push the boundaries of my work and continue this life as a contemporary fine artist. Continuing to travel to those places that feed the work, such as Churchill to record the polar bears or Fogo Island to capture the east coast of Canada. Have a vacation home on Maui? This is where I would love to spend six months of my year painting.

This collection spans two decades and not only includes the Iconic Canadian paintings I have become known for, it includes early work from travels across North America including; Las Vegas paintings, landscape paintings, wildlife paintings and pour paintings.

There are some spectacular and unexpected finds, deep in the collection. Make me an offer, Browse some of the recent work here.

Sincerely Yours,

Brandy Saturley (a.k.a The Iconic Canuck)

September 29, 2022

Queen Elizabeth II Paintings

Canadian Art, London Art Scene

Queen Elizabeth II Paintings: honouring The Queen in Art

Throughout my life there has always been a portrait of The Queen hanging near me. With Cornish grandparents and Canadian roots, Queen Elizabeth II has been a constant in my life. Growing up in Victoria, British Columbia and being born at The Royal Jubliee hospital the crown’s presence can be felt everywhere. In 2019 my art career took me to London, England and I spent the summer making art and studying at the Royal College of Art. During this visit I had time to really explore the monarchy and it’s relationship with the commonwealth countries and Canada. It was a time to explore my family roots and express my feelings through my art using a very contemporary expression. Over the years I have addressed and celebrated the United Kingdom and the monarchy, in my paintings. Sometimes poking fun, but always sincerely celebrating the influence of the monarchy on Canadians.

From a painting of The Queen wearing a toque with the Rocky Mountains in the distance, to the Union Jack flag, these five paintings feature expressions of an artist under the influence of the Commonwealth. Featuring collage and painted using acrylics on various substrates, these artworks celebrate what it means to be a Canadian with British roots.

In September 2022, Queen Elizabeth II passed after reigning for 70 years. As a moment of great sadness blanketed the world, I retreated to my studio to paint away the sadness and celebrate a great life.

Here are a few images of paintings from over the years that celebrate Queen Elizabeth II and the monarchy. All seven paintings feature the Union Jack flag.

End of An Era, 2022, Brandy Saturley – painting of Union Jack and Canadian flags at half mast.

Royal Gaze, 2022, Brandy Saturley – painting of Queen Elizabeth II wearing Diamond Diadem crown

When The Queen Came to Canada, acrylic, pennies and pence on Union Jack flag, 2012, Brandy Saturley

Remember Us, acrylic on canvas, 2014, Brandy Saturley (Union Jack & Canadian flags)

In my Splendorous Kingdom, acrylic, collage on canvas, 2014, Brandy Saturley (BC flag)

Brexit, acrylic on raw canvas, 2019, Brandy Saturley (Union Jack flag)

Splendor Sine Occasu, acrylic pour painting on canvas, 2007, Brandy Saturley (British Columbia flag)

See more iconic Canadian paintings by Canadian artist Brandy Saturley.

September 12, 2022

Lake Louise Paintings

Art For Sale

Lake Louise Paintings: Inspired by a Magical Location in The Rockies

Lake Louise is many things to many people. Tens of thousands of people every year are drawn to this place for its natural beauty, purity and amazing uplifting energy. Paintings of Lake Louise, I have created a few, it is hard not to be inspired by the natural beauty of this place. Like Stonehenge, it is one of the major vortex points or power spots on earth. In the winter the clear glacial ice attracts skaters of all kinds to this energizing vista. It is a magical place, and the quintessential Canadian Christmas Card. When you walk onto the frozen lake and walk, snowshoe, ski or skate down to the base of the glacier, you are reminded just how small we are in the face of the Canadian landscape. There is a silence, the echo of nature, you can hear the snow fall from the trees and their branches bend under the weight of the wet snow. You hear the laughter of tourists and the sounds of the snow crunching under your feet. You hear the swish of the skates, skis and the wind as it blows through the valley. In the summer months the tropical teal glacial lake offers canoe, kayakers and swimmers a place to dip into cool water. It is a place to gather, to marvel at and to hike around. Like the Bermuda triangle, the vortex created here slowly draws you in and you may never want to leave. Dreamy in Canada.

Here are six paintings of Lake Louise;

Poppies For Louise, 2011 Brandy Saturley

Poppies for Louise, 2013 Brandy Saturley

Vortex, 2021 Brandy Saturley

lake louise HBC stripes pop art painting

Ride My Wake, 2014 Brandy Saturley

Stare Time at Lake Louise, 2019 Brandy Saturley

Lake Louise Swish, 2019 Brandy Saturley

Imagine Lake Louise, 2022 Brandy Saturley

See more magical paintings by Canadian Visual Artist, Brandy Saturley.

May 3, 2022

Top 20 Canadian Artists On Instagram

Canadian Art

Top 20 Canadian Visual Artists to Follow on Instagram

They may not have 215 millions of followers like Justin Bieber, but these top 20 Canadian visual artists on Instagram have made a significant and lasting impression on and off Instagram. We happen to think this top 20 Instagram list is one for the art lovers, and not just lovers of Canadian Art. From Canadian quirk to social commentary, from landscapes, to portraits and humour to printmaking. From staged installations that are photographed, to the best realistic painters. From Canadian Pop Art to vibrant contemporary Indigenous artists. You should be following these 20 artists now, if you are not already hip to what they are putting out there in the Instaworld.

Douglas Coupland: never left Art school.

Scott Steele: realism based in Toronto.

Joe Coffey: realism painter in oils

Kent Monkman: Cree artist, Miss Chief Nation!

Jen Mann: Ceci n’est pas ma vie.

Shary Boyle: conceptual fantasies

Brandy Saturley: Obsessed with the iconography of Canada & in turn creating my own.

Andrew Valko: Canadian Visual Artist

Diana Thorneycroft: installation photography

Francis A Willey: haunting and feminine portrait photography

Dee Barsy: Ozaawigiizisikwe ndizhinikaaz.

Rande Cook: Contemporary artist, modern artist, modern indigenous.

Carollyne Yardley: Artist. Researcher. Speculative. Squirrealism.

Jeff Wilson: Vancouver-based Scottish painter.

Kim Dorland: Toronto.

Sean William Randall: Surrealism, flying cars and outer space.

Bruno Canadien: Dene (Deh Gáh Got’iné) Visual Artist, based in Treaty 7. Contemporary Indigenous Pop Art.

Nicole Sleeth: Vancouver Island.

Chris Cran: Canadian Pop Art

Drifted Creations: Making unique driftwood sculptures and enjoying the beach life on Vancouver Island!

While many people use Instagram these days to discover new artists, it’s great to see the art on and offline. Nice thing is, Art ALWAYS looks better in person, so if it looks great here, you can only imagine how it will take your breath away once it is in your home. Happy following, these Canadian visual artists will make your year! More great Canadian Art here.

March 30, 2022

What is a Canadian Artist?

Canadian Art

What is a Canadian Artist?

Simply put, a Canadian Artist is an Artist who makes Art in Canada. A Canadian Artist is an Artist born or living in Canada that makes distinctive art influenced by their cultural, natural, and even social surroundings. Canadian Art created by a Canadian Visual Artist can include paintings, photography, sculpture, fine craft, and cultural arts. From Art rooted in Indigenous culture and the first peoples of Canada, to more Contemporary themes; Canadian Art is vibrant and filled with emotion, pride and even our distinctive brand of Canadian humour. Our Art can be serious, and quirky at times.

The Canadian Artist as Painter

From the Group of Seven to Alex Colville , and abstraction to realism, there are no limits when it comes to the visual Arts in Canada.

There is a great lineage of painters in Canada. Emily Carr painted masterful and dramatic landscapes from representational works to more dramatic abstractions of British Columbia forests. Her signature palettes of deep greens, are recognized worldwide.

The indigenous and vivid narratives of Norval Morisseau, are dreamy landscapes and portraits with spiritual themes. Portraits from Prudence Heward and the Beaver Hall Group of Painters are filled with drama and emotion.

The pop art style painters bring the bold and the Canadian dry and wry humour to the canvas; with the distinctive army blue and red palettes of Charles Pachter to the advertising infused paintings and prints of Chris Cran, to the pop art outlined representational works of Canadian painter Brandy Saturley, the Canadian Pop artists put our distinctive Canadian culture on view for all to enjoy.

And then there are the paintings of Kent Monkman. Subversive, bold, unapologetic, and unforgiving, the work of Kent Monkman has left an unmistakable mark on contemporary Canadian art.

As of 2022 there are approximately 158, 100 professional artists in Canada, with 21,000 recognized as visual artists. In a country with a population of 37 million, this makes Canadian painters a rare breed. Acquiring a painting by a professional Canadian artist is a rare opportunity and a valuable object of beauty. More distinctive Canadian Paintings here.

March 29, 2022

HBC Point Blanket Paintings

Canadian Art

Ten Paintings referencing the iconic HBC Point Blanket

Originally used in trade with First Nations in Canada, the Hudson’s Bay point blanket is one that all Canadians recognize. With it’s distinctive HBC stripes of green, red, yellow and indigo, the blanket has become an icon of Canadiana. Known as the ‘point blanket’ for the black lines woven into the selvage of the blanket along the edge, these lines came to signify the size of the blanket. Genuine point blankets have become a luxury item and a sought after collectible, fetching prices in the thousands of dollars. The main determinants of value include age, size, colour, pattern rarity and condition. As a Canadian artist who is known for painting themes, symbols and icons of Canada; the HBC point blanket has made it’s way into my paintings over the years, helping to express visual stories about my Canadian experience, on canvas. Here are ten paintings that reference the iconic Hudson Bay stripes and point blanket:

Point blankets were bought by Indigenous Canadians and settler communities alike to use as bedding, clothing, room dividers and fabric for other items. Prior to the European blanket trade, many Indigenous nations wore hand-woven blankets made of animal hides and furs. Blankets played an important role in many Canadian Indigenous communities as all-purpose clothes and household items, as well as status symbols.

Ten paintings that reference the HBC point blanket and stripes. We see those stripes everywhere we look in Canada and around the world. I have one of these blankets on the couch in my studio. It serves as a reminder of our history, and the importance these blankets played. Like the landscape, there is something loved and familiar here, you cannot deny the visual importance that four little stripes hold on the Canadian consciousness.

See more iconic Canadian paintings.

August 5, 2021

Available Paintings Montreal Canadiens

Art For Sale

Painting Stories Influenced by Hockey History – Montreal Canadiens Paintings

What excites you? is it a great novel, a heartfelt documentary, an energetic work of art, or maybe an exciting game of hockey? I am excited about all of these things, and they have all found their way into my work as a painter. The Montreal Canadiens have a storied history, an artist could focus their entire oeuvre on these historical moments of hockey. Over the years I have painted over a dozen works influenced by the history of the Habs. Currently there are six paintings available, telling stories of the Montreal Canadiens, hockey and Canada. Six available paintings about the Montreal Canadiens and their effect on Canadian culture.

1. Habitant – 60×40 inches – acrylic painting on canvas – Brandy Saturley

2. Lovers in a Dangerous Time – 36×36 inches – acrylic painting on canvas – Brandy Saturley

3. Canadiens Gothic – 48×36 inches – acrylic painting on canvas – Brandy Saturley

4. Saint Kanata – 48×36 inches – acrylic painting on canvas – Brandy Saturley

5. The Goalie’s Mask Painting – 48×36 inches – acrylic painting on canvas – Brandy Saturley

6. Plante Rises – 36×60 inches – acrylic painting on canvas – Brandy Saturley

A decade ago I read a book called, ‘The Game’ by Ken Dryden, the rest is history. Six available paintings, celebrating the influence of the Montreal Canadiens in Canadian Art. From the blue, white and red to the punch line, and the goal tenders perspective to the fans. From Jacques Plante to the Target Mask, celebrating the Habs in Art.

See more paintings by Brandy Saturley.

Canadian Pop Art style paintings, visual stories on canvas.

June 7, 2021

NEW Contemporary Landscape Art

Art For Sale

New Contemporary Landscape Art – Capturing the Spirit

As I type this I am listing to Joni Mitchell sing Canadahhhhahhahhhh, intermixed with birdsong coming through the patio door window of my office. I have just finished a new painting, about the spirit of the landscape, something I have been thinking about here in my studio on Vancouver Island where we are surrounded by nature and ocean on all sides. New contemporary landscape art, that captures the spirit of the landscape.

For years now my narrative brand of painting under the persona of #ICONICCANUCK has explored the people, symbols, icons and landscapes of Canada. Over the years I have overheard my work referred to as ‘visual storytelling’ and narrative art. Some have told me the work begs for a story from the viewer. Whatever the case I try not to think about it too much, my intention really comes from my need to communicate, visually, as words have never been my strong suit. Painting, like writing, gives me time to process what it is that I am seeing and my thoughts on these things. I am becoming more and more connected to the work, and less connected to the words, in a verbal sense, writing comes fluidly for me and flows like paint.

I am a human tuning fork, buried into the earth, vibrating outward onto the canvas and the virtual page on this blog and I have a new painting about the spirit of the landscape.

This new painting features an Elk that I met on a trip through Jasper National Park, a hummingbird that sips outside my studio and a Blue Jay. Set against a colourful modern background of sky, mountains, and trees, this is; “Only the Blue Jay Knows”. This original acrylic and gouache painting on canvas measures three feet high by four feet wide, with colours of Yves Klein blue, neon pop art outlines, and gilded gold details. With this painting nature ‘reigns’ and the vivid hues make the painting vibrate with life, like music on canvas.

A few photos and video clip of this new contemporary painting and behind the scenes in the studio;

This painting is available to own, see the full painting with additional photos here.

Feeling the spirit of the landscape and the nature that surrounds.

Sincerely Yours,

Brandy Saturley a.k.a #iconiccanuck

May 31, 2021

Posts

Art in Banff, Canada – Willock & Sax Introduces Brandy Saturley

Top 10 Best Paintings 2022 – Art in Canada

Offering 400 Paintings – Buy My Art Collection

Queen Elizabeth II Paintings: honouring The Queen in Art

Lake Louise Paintings: Inspired by a Magical Location in The Rockies

Top 20 Canadian Visual Artists to Follow on Instagram

What is a Canadian Artist?

The Canadian Artist as Painter

Ten Paintings referencing the iconic HBC Point Blanket

Painting Stories Influenced by Hockey History – Montreal Canadiens Paintings

New Contemporary Landscape Art – Capturing the Spirit