The French Impressions Group Show invades West End Gallery this month.

Gallery artists create a group show based on the endless inspiration provided by colour, light, and landscape. Whether Quebec or France, that allusive je ne sais quoi is magically captured on canvas by these talented painters. Participating artists include: Aleksandra, Alain B茅dard, Claudette Castonguay, Ariane Dubois, Joanne Gauthier, Pierre Giroux, Jean-Gabriel Lambert, Raynald Leclerc, Annabelle Marquis, Guy Roy, Michael Rozenvain and Robert Savignac.

The French Impressions Group Show runs at West End to Feb. 22. Visit online at westendgalleryltd.com or in person at 1203 Broad St.

Brent Lynch leads you softly into his atmospheric painting through the transparency of water at The Avenue Gallery until Feb. 16.

A powerful landscape and figurative painter, Brent Lynch focuses on mood, light, composition and movement to convey his experience. Brent spent his early career producing a large body of work from illustrated books to record covers and was best known for his artistic event posters for regional, national and international events such as the ballet, opera and theatre as well as sporting events such as the Olympic Games.

Now focusing on painting, Brent is in demand to create murals/painting installations for institutions, public buildings, and private collections. Honoured with many prestigious communications and fine art awards, he was recently awarded $10,000 and the silver medal in an International Art Exhibition B次元官网网址楢ims for ArtB次元官网网址�. He is an SFCA, a sought after workshop instructor and participates in numerous gallery, solo and group shows nationally and abroad.

A murder of finely sculpted crows lands at The Avenue Gallery Feb. 17 to 23 courtesy artist Nicola Prinsen.

Prinsen, a Saltspring Island artist, has been sculpting for over 25 years. She first studied ceramics, then figurative and portrait sculpture. For the past five years, NicolaB次元官网网址檚 subject matter has been based on her surroundings, the island on which she lives. Forests, rural agriculture, the ocean, and the animals that live in this setting are NicolaB次元官网网址檚 focus. From otters to cows, crows to goats, in clay or bronze, Nicola explores the forms of these animals and undertakes a process of refinement by way of detailed studies and accurate depictions.

Visit The Avenue Gallery at 2184 Oak Bay Avenue or online at .

Prints of a Perfect Vintage are on display at Alcheringa Gallery to the end of the month.

From the personal collection of Roy Henry Vickers, these rare prints encapsulate the historical print tradition along the Northwest Coast. With works dating back to the early 1970B次元官网网址檚 the collection gives an intimate view of RoyB次元官网网址檚 personal relationships and unique aesthetic.

Featuring the work of Joe David, Robert Davidson, Ron Hamilton, Art Thompson and more.

Prints of a Perfect Vintage run to Feb. 28 at Alcheringa Gallery 621 Fort St. or online at .

Rivers Inlet takes centre stage with the work of Corrinne Wolcoski at Madrona Gallery through to next week.

WolcoskiB次元官网网址檚 latest collection focuses on the remote fjord, Rivers Inlet, north of Vancouver Island. Wolcoski has an endless fascination with the beauty and drama of the sky and how it interacts with the mountains and water: B次元官网网址淚nspired by the West Coast and its many incredible cloud formations, my paintings are a direct response to the silent beauty of light penetrating the darkness which brings a sense of calmness to all it envelops. Living in an urban setting with limited living and breathing room, art is my escape to a place of calm. My love of space and simplicity comes out in the images I create in my paintings.B次元官网网址�

Wolcoski has partnered with the Nature Conservancy of Canada for this exhibition, a non-profit organization who helped her gain access to the remote location, and she hopes that her depictions of the fjord will B次元官网网址渂ring an awareness to the public about its fragile state and the importance of protecting it for the future.B次元官网网址� As a part of this partnership, a portion of all sales will be donated to the Nature Conservancy, who have already conserved 1,130 acres of ecologically sensitive land in the Inlet. Wolcoski is on display to Feb 17 at Madrona.

History and Post War Canadian Art runs March 3 to 17 with an opening reception March. 3.

In this annual exhibition, Madrona Gallery is pleased to present a cross-section of important historic Canadian art from many of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 most influential painters. This exhibition will feature works by Members of the Group of Seven, Beaver Hall Group and west coast masters including Maxwell Bates, Ted Harrison, E.J. Hughes, Toni Onley, ,Gordon Smith, Takao Tanabe and other artists from across the country.

Visit online at or in person at 606 View St.

The Robert Bateman Centre continues to nurture new artists with its Advanced NatureSketch classes that introduce students to more formal art training, expanding their skills. In this program students work both from nature as well as from reference photos.

The cost of the program includes five weeks of instructional outings guided by a naturalist, sketching instruction, a special NatureSketch Club book, and all sketching materials. The program also includes a final exhibition where the studentsB次元官网网址� sketches are framed and hung on display at a local venue.

The program is appropriate for ages 8 and older for students who have been through our Junior NatureSketch Program and want to push themselves a little further and ages 13 to 18 for those who have not been through the program.

Visit The Robert Bateman Centre at 470 Belleville St. or online at to learn more.

editor@oakbaynews.com