Artist Biography

 

For much of the year, Alan works out of his home studio located near Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia. When autumn days get short, Alan heads for the Pacific coast, his vintage Boler trailer in tow…camera, sketchbook, oil paints and guitar onboard.

 

From a young age he has been involved with some form of the arts including sketching, sculpting, carving, playing guitar and creating beauty with unique wood millwork installations. Being colour-blind, he never gave much thought to oil painting, but when he tried it, he soon discovered his heart's calling and one of his foremost life passions.

 

His extensive body of work includes cultural icons and portraits of the Canadian Prairies, the American West, Southern California and Atlantic Canada. From trains to bison, motorcycles to dory men, ranchers to dancers, lighthouses to magic realism Volkswagen surfers, Alan's growing collection of canvases is a broad and varied portfolio. He enjoys Realism, but his spirit soars when he delves into the freedom that Surrealism and Magic Realism provide, pushing his creative process into new realms.

 

His many interests wend their way through his artwork: vintage VW's, motorcycles, sailboats, farm trucks…mermaids and cape islanders…fly fishermen on wide rivers…lithe women reaching for the heavens.

 

He's passionate about life and the art that he creates. When he isn't painting, Alan might be sailing on St. Margaret's Bay, restoring one of his vintage Volkswagen's, walking a beach with his metal detector, serenading the night sky in a Southern California desert with his guitar, exploring an abandoned gold mine, out on a road trip adventure somewhere or…well, with Alan, he might be up to just about anything!