Alan Hopper was born in England and has a degree in Town and Country Planning from the University of Durham. He worked as a town planner in both England and Canada, but decided to retire in 2001 from his position as Chief Municipal Planner for Saanich to pursue an early passion: painting. He has taken courses at the Victoria College of Art and studied with Glenn Howarth RCA, while painting full time.

Alan’s bright and colour-drenched Victoria and Saanich Peninsula waterfront series feature washes of pure pigments applied wet-in-wet. They were inspired by four decades of studying the environment, from Alan’s subtle regard for sense of place, and a desire to capture the context of both natural and manmade worlds.

The viewer is asked to look beyond superficial realism and appreciate the geometry of shapes and colours, for which the obvious is merely a hook. For under the surface of every apparent reality, lie singular structures of form and colour.

His paintings have been consistently accepted by juried shows over the last five years since he has been painting full time. His work as received a number of honourable mentions

In addition Alan has had a number of solo shows at different venues.

Represented by: Goward House, Saanich: The Brentwood Gallery, Central Saanich: Village Gallery, Sidney.

Victoria based painter Jim McFarland paints the world as he sees it. He has the beauty of southern Vancouver Island as his back yard. He can often be seen with his canvas set up on a hillside, beside the sea, or on a city street, painting the visions before him and talking to all who venture close to him. What could be better?

Jim received his training by attending art courses and by studying with noted artist Glenn Howarth.

The secret to painting is the ability to see. We see the world around us not with our eyes but in our mind. It is in our mind we create the world, as we know it. That is what makes our images unique and special to us. In his painting Jim is saying this is my world what do you think?

How to classify his paint style is unknown to him. It is just the way he paints. Most people would refer to his paintings as loose and colourful. When he is not outside painting he paints a variety of subjects including still life, flowers, figures, landscapes and portraits.

He has been in many group and individual shows at the local art galleries on Vancouver Island. His work has been accepted into juried art shows across British Columbia. He is especially fond of plein air contests. He has successfully competed in many.

Represented by: Goward House, Saanich; Morris Gallery, Victoria; Eclectic, Oak Bay; Old School House, Qualicum Beach; Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver.