West End Gallery

Give the enduring gift of original artwork this holiday season! Gallery artists have created unique and one-of-a-kind pieces to show that someone special just how treasured they are! This group exhibition showcases a variety of colours, techniques and inspiration to celebrate the season; landscapes, still lifes, abstracts, impressionistic, urban, and figurative styles are all represented. Participating painters include: Steven Armstrong, Sacha Barrette, Alain Bédard, Cameron Bird, Naomi Cairns, Sophie Carrier, Claudette Castonguay, Rod Charlesworth, Steve Coffey, David Graff, Greta Guzek, Madison Hart, Elena Henderson, Dana Irving, Paul Jorgensen, Mary Ann Laing, Maria Medina, Elka Nowicka, John Ogilvy, Paul Paquette, Robert Savignac, Jeannette Sirois, Peter Shostak, Blu Smith, Ryan Sobkovich, Peter Wyse and many more! Also on display are a beautiful selection of glassworks from: Tammy Hudgeon, Robert Leatherbarrow, Darren Petersen and Paull Rodrigue along with a whimsical selection of ceramics by Elaine Brewer-White.

Dana Irving is a Canadian landscape painter living in Vancouver, BC. At once whimsical and serene, Dana's paintings spark admiration and contemplation in the viewer, inviting them to guess at the stories that unfold in her unique landscapes. Her work has been compared to both Emily Carr and Dr. Seuss, and both hold in her incredibly creative approaches to painting the Canadian landscape. Dana's use of striking, saturated colour and smooth, seamless brushwork created a mesmerizing combination to entice reflection and celebration. Masterfully capturing the landscapes we hold dear, Dana's sense of wonder and awe for place is unmatched.

Jenna Robinson's solo art exhibition at the West End Gallery in Victoria, skillfully merges the unexpected combination of coastal arbutus and mountainous larch trees. Arbutus trees take us to the edge of land, where rock meets water, and larch trees stroll along the loftiest mountain slopes, where rock meets sky. Arbutus trees, with their contorted forms and tough wood, paradoxically posses bark as soft and smooth as paper. Conversely, larch trees bear the marks of time in their battered, gnarled, and twisted trunks, yet their needles offer a tactile elegance akin to cashmere among tree foliage. In spring, arbutus trees burst forth with vibrantly coloured bark, transitioning from deep crimson to radiant orange hues before shedding to reveal their pale yellow trunks. Throughout the spring and summer, larch trees are resplendent in green, though in autumn larch needles momentarily transform into a brilliant gold before falling to the forest floor for winter. Despite inhabiting seemingly contrasting worlds, larch and arbutus trees share profound similarities. Not only do they thrive in these seemingly inhospitable environments, but their most striking features are born of their enduring struggle and ultimate success. This exhibition holds personal significance for Robinson as it reflects her upbringing spent exploring the larch-draped mountains of the Rockies during the initial chapter of her life and her more recent years living seaside in Squamish, BC. Robinson's art is a bold testament to her realistic style, which flirts with elements of abstraction, amplifying contrast and saturating colours to create mesmerizing scenes where light weaves a tapestry of brilliant highlights and deep shadows. When she isn't painting or playing in the mountains, you can find her teaching elementary school part-time or exploring with her adventure buddy Wren.

Tammy Hudgeon presents a much anticipated collection of new glass sculptures! Having been represented at the West End Gallery for over 15 years, Tammy's work is known and loved by collectors throughout North America. Born on the Canadian Prairies, Tammy now lives on a small Gulf Island in the Salish Sea off British Columbia's west coast. Her unrestrained use of colour is truly inspired by nature. Her love of art, music, dance, colour and nature keeps her work joyful and full of "happy energy." Her glass celebrates her lifestyle in recurring themes: sea life, flowers, fruits and vegetables, people, music, animals and nature all captured in her signature fused glass creations. "This body of work celebrates and honours the animals and wild spaces while being comforted by the coziness of home. I have a deep love of being immersed in nature with the colourful critters and furry animals, open air, frothy seas and starry skies. I also loving snuggling up in my bohemian home where I’m contained and protected, a home filled with colour, texture and pattern. May we stay wild, even as we inhabit our “civilized” lives. With gratitude, Tammy xo"

Madison Hart presents her premiere exhibition in Victoria! Her dreamy and whimsical paintings invite the viewer to travel throughout each canvas and bring their own narrative to her charming paintings. Madison Hart began painting professionally after winning the Award of Excellence at the B.C. Festival of the Arts. Since then, her work has been featured in numerous galleries and publications across Canada. Every time I start a new painting, I am filled with excitement. I imagine new beginnings all around me... The sweet trills of songbirds, scented flowers and trees that wrap themselves in blossoms... The gigantic mountains stretching to the sky and the Salish Sea where the Orca's play; all of this and so much more.

With this latest collection of floral paintings, Ilinca Ghibu invites the viewer into a dreamlike world of gardens and flower markets, where every bloom seems to radiate with color and life. With her expressive brushstrokes and her floral imagination, the artist has created a series of images that blur the boundaries between reality and fantasy. Whether we are gazing up at a field of wildflowers, admiring a bouquet at a market stall, or floating on the surface of a pond, these paintings capture the essence of the artist’s imaginary world in all its beauty and complexity. Some works suggest an outdoor setting, with glimpses of sky and clouds peeking through the foliage, while others suggest an indoor space, with the soft glow of artificial light casting a warm and inviting ambiance. Throughout the collection, there is a sense of density and richness that evokes the vibrant chaos of a bustling flower market or a lush garden in full bloom. Small flowers are scattered throughout each composition, inviting us to explore every inch of the canvas. Yet despite this density, there is a lightness and airiness to the works that gives them a dreamy quality, as if we are seeing the world through the eyes of a dreamer. As an expressive floral painter, I am inspired by the universal and timeless character of flowers. In my paintings, I strive to capture their soft, whimsical, and romantic qualities, as well as the sense of nostalgia that they evoke. I use acrylic paint because of its versatility, which allows me to create delicate washes as well as build up heavy layers of paint. My painting process is unplanned and spontaneous, as I allow the brushstrokes and colors to guide me. I enjoy the back and forth of the painting process, constantly adjusting and refining the composition until a balance is reached. My floral compositions are often a little bit broken and imperfect, reflecting the ephemeral nature of the beautiful blooms. Through my expressive floral paintings, I invite the viewer to enter my imaginary world where the floral atmosphere transports him to a playful, ethereal universe, without reference and entirely free.