An Odd Agreement

An Odd Agreement
Nathalie St-Amant and Michael Henri Wright
Opening reception: Friday August 18, 5-7pm
Show is on August 18 - Sept 6

''An Odd Agreement’’ is a celebration of a surprising agreeable meeting in the painterly Canadian Expressionism style.


Nathalie St-Amant:
''As the night's blanket rolls in, I am cocooning in Michael's cabin on Wolf Beach, Clayoquot, surrounded by his belongings, his notes to himself keeping me company. 

In my 20’s, I lived a solitary life in Mike's cabin. Mike had been abducted by the life of fatherhood and urban lifestyle . We had briefly crossed paths before he left. The kin artist lifestyle in the wild helped us stay connected and encouraged our devotion to the artist life.

I went back every few years to retreat and paint: these month long pilgrimages helped shape my painter’s language and life, influenced by the playful and authentic work Mike would leave in the cabin."


Michael Henri Wright:
In 1974, after 10 years of service in the army and studying in Fine Arts at the University of Victoria, Michael moved into the heart of Clayoquot on Wolvesbeach, so named by the Ahousats. Here he painted earnestly over a fourty year period between school and a variety of jobs.

On this same beach, he built a 1910 era sail boat, featured in ‘’Wooden Boat’’ magazine.

Michael exhibited in Prince George, Hazleton, Victoria, and Tofino, selling to local and international collectors.

His painting genre developed from realism to expressionism, influenced by Van Gogh, Emily Carr, Richard Holgate, Turner, the Group of Seven, and many others. Michael’s painting process is spontaneous, thus allowing the accidental, a language he acquired from life on the West Coast.

Pride Celebration


Salt Spring Gallery would like to welcome the celebration of Pride goers of our lovely Island!

Bring your rainbow heart and drop by our gallery for your art fix. We offer a welcoming environment to all, and, as Salt Spring's oldest and only artist-run cooperative fine art gallery, we have the very best in fresh, local art.

Lots going on this month.

We have a new show opening on Friday July 28, reception at 5-7 pm: On the Lighter Side. A collection of paintings and whimsical sculpture by Carol James, one of our founding members. 

August 18 brings the opening reception for a phenomenal show by our own Nathalie St-Amant and Tofino artist Michael H. Wright. An Odd Agreement: two worlds meet in the wild. Not to be missed.

We are also pleased to announce two new members have joined our ranks: Shannon Wardroper and Amy Melious. 

Shannon is a textile-based artist whose love of nature is reflected in abstracted botanical imagery, motifs, and cultural references sewn, printed, and dyed into exquisite fibre sculptures, wall hangings, and installations. She has exhibited in the UK at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower show as well as the Museum of Garden History, London, and teaches fibre-based arts here on Salt Spring.

Amy is a lens-based artist who incorporates a wide range of techniques in her photographic art practice. She used a traditional darkroom for twenty years, then moved on to incorporate digital techniques into her process, as well as hand painting selected bodies of work with dry pastel, paints or encaustic.

Please join us in welcoming Shannon and Amy to the Salt Spring Gallery, a community hub for the arts since 2009.

Art by Olga Szkabarnicki




On the Lighter Side

On the Lighter Side
Exhibit by Carol James
Opening Reception Friday July 28th, 5-7pm
Show is on July 28th - August 16th

Carol James moved to Salt Spring in 2007. In 2009 she was one of the founding members of the Salt Spring Gallery of Art.

After retiring from a nursing career, Carol was able to pursue her  passionate career as an artist. Her first showing was at Syncrude’s “NextFest Art Show “ for new artists. Following this, she showed her work in Westlock’s community art shows, Harcourt House, Edmonton. She participated in  Edmonton’s 2006 Artwork, a renowned yearly festival of the arts. 

''The ideas behind my work vary with a vision for a surface, image, and/or thought. I experiment with glazes, wax finishes and mixed media. When I do something with metal, the metal has to be an important part of the composition. For example, the sheen of the metal plays well with images of ships giving the desired feel of movement on water. 

I like to add mystery and fun in a piece which gives the viewer pause to look again and again and to make the art their own."

Almost Unseen

Almost Unseen
Exhibit by member Cheryl Long
Opening Reception July 7th, 5-7pm
July 7th-26th, 2023

''Just at the edge of awareness is another world. A world almost unseen that allows only a shadow, a movement or a sound half-heard that is gone when I look again. These glimpses of something “not of this world” slide away into secret places in the landscape.

In this recent series, I continue  to allow myself to step through this “veil” and visit that which I’m almost aware of."

Cheryl is a member of the Salt Spring Gallery of Fine Art, and is primarily a landscape painter living on the Island

Live In Colour

Live in Colour

Live in Colour
residency + exhibition
Friday June 16th  – Wednesday July 5th  2023
Opening reception Friday June 16, 5-7pm

Residency - exhibition - competition - artist talks - 2 workshops 
Live in Colour features an exhibition of work from Gillian’s True Colours series, an exploration of colour as an embodiment of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual states of being. 

For those who want to explore a colour immersive experience, Gillian is offering activities as well as two workshops at the gallery, suitable for visual, literary and performing artists as well as aspiring creatives.

Meet the Artist
Jun 24 — 1-4PM

Artist Talk
Jun 29 — 7-9PM

Between the Lines: draw your art out — workshop
Jun 18 — 10AM-4PM

Paint Swatch Poetry — workshop
Jun 20 — 1-4PM or Jun 27 — 6-9PM

See poster and activities description below.

About Gillian McConnell
An interdisciplinary artist, Gillian is fascinated by the illusion of dichotomy, the presence of multiplicity and the truth of paradox—in politics, society, nature and people. She employs visual metaphor to create beautiful work that is also intellectually stimulating, emotionally moving, playfully provocative and spiritually uplifting.

Gillian attained a BFA Hons (major in printmaking and minor in art history) from Queens’s University at Kingston in 1980.  She has also studied textile, fashion and graphic design.  An award-winning artist, she has staged and curated numerous exhibitions.  Gillian has been teaching art since 2004.

Groovy Groves

Groovy Groves opening reception is Friday May 26th, 5-7pm. Show is on till June 14, 3pm.

Laila Jensen is a mixed media abstract artist. Her main interest is texture. She works with selective media: paper, metallic leaf, ink, ink pencils, pastes, gels, chalk pastels and charcoal. Abstracted trees and tree shapes have been a main theme in her work.

Her passion for the iconic shapes and themes from mid-century art and design started with the renovation of a mid-century house last year. She has always loved that cool ''Palm Springs'' vibe. Laila strives to relay a chic, joyful, ''groovy'' style with texture, shapes, and sharp edges.

Tea with Diana Dean and Book Signing

Please join us for afternoon tea with Diana Dean (currently exhibiting at the gallery until May 24th, 3pm) on May 17 2023, from 1:30 - 3:30 pm. This is a casual event where we can sit and chat with the artist in the serene presence of of her life’s work. We also have books of Diana’s sculpture and painting available.