FEATURED ARTIST   -  February 2005

Don Li-leger

Canadian artist Don Li-Leger has painted since childhood, focusing initially on the birds and animals of his native province of British Columbia.  In later years, extensive field trips to the orient and to wildlife sanctuaries throughout North America extended his vision – and the scope of his subject matter.

Garden Memories

 Don Li-Leger has experienced a rich and varied life. He traveled around the world in 1971 before studying plant ecology at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C. He then studied painting with Terry Frost at the Banff Centre School of Fine Art in 1975 and illustration with Frank Beebe, natural history artist with the B.C. Provincial Museum. In 1977, Don studied print-making at Okanagan College in Kelowna, B.C. where he received a Canadian Nature Artist Scholarship Award. While Don lived here, his paintings of birds and other nature themed pieces became very sought after by collectors.

He says of his Oriental Visions Series

"The paintings in the series grew out of my intensive involvement with monoprints, where I improvised and combined various imagery with broad areas of rolled-on saturated colour. Here, I have returned to painting, in my desire to integrate the spontaneity and liveliness of oriental brushwork that has long inspired and influenced me.

Using Chinese as well as Western bristle brushes, I apply acrylic paint and gels on canvas, often layering transparent colour or rice paper collage to achieve desired effects. As with much of my work, nature remains an underlying theme. In some paintings the calligraphy is taken from ancient Japanese and Chinese poems, and reflects my interest and studies in Asian painting, travels, and philosophy."

Garden Gateway	Wild Garden	Into the Light

His work has been featured in exhibitions throughout North America, including the prestigious Leigh-Yawkey Woodson traveling exhibit, and is represented in many private collections. Li-Leger works from the Crescent Beach, British Columbia studio/home he shares with his wife, Cora, also an artist, and their two young children. Li-Leger's original works may be seen at the Petley-Jones Gallery in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Bamboo Concerto II