Salt Spring Island artist returns to Parkside
We are often asked about the captivating paintings that adorn Parkside's front and rear lobbies. Well, guests will soon be able to ask the artist in person.
Salt Spring Island painter Wesley Clark is featuring recent works of acrylic on canvas in Parkside's atrium during a free art show on Saturday and Sunday (Dec. 3 and 4) from 10am-6pm.
Selected themes will include landscape, fish and antiquity. Experienced in the local environmental scene, Wesley is well known for depicting wilderness areas around British Columbia.
Guests attending the show can receive special nightly rates at Parkside starting at $119.
About the artist:
Wesley was born in London, England and immigrated to Canada, when very young. His father was with the Royal Navy, serving on British sub chasers and destroyers in World War II, before joining the Canadian Forces. Wesley grew up in the woodsy suburb of Oakville, Ontario until 12 years old, then spent three years in Alberta before settling with his family in Vernon, British Columbia. After travelling extensively throughout Europe, Wes met and married his dental hygienist, Elaine.
He and Elaine spent one year backpacking around S.E.Asia, Australia, South Pacific, and Hawaii before moving to Victoria. Wesley is a graduate of the University of Victoria (BFA & M.ED), as well as a BC Certified High School Art Teacher. Wes has also established himself, on the West coast of Canada, as an important collectable artist in both the private and corporate sectors.
Today, Wesley’s artwork is diverse and multi-themed. His detailed yet highly expressive watercolors, for which he may be best known, are inspired by the natural wilderness of BC. These paintings have won him many awards and distinction.
Throughout his fine arts career, he has been involved in various environmental issues in and around BC and Vancouver Island, helping to raise public awareness through his remarkable wilderness images. These include expeditions to Carmanah, Tsitika and Kitlope river valleys on Vancouver Island and the central coast. Wesley’s latest works, while still very involved with environmental issues, are larger, acrylic and mixed media canvases that explore multicultural concepts. These new exciting and dynamic semi- abstracts are influenced by pre-historic, indigenous peoples, art making processes, artifacts and culture.