Les Funk

Les began by expressing his creative talent through painting. He was inspired early on by his high school art teacher. The influence of Mr. Leon Manuel, a friend of some the Canadian Group of Seven, is evident in the stylized realism.

 Les’ love of nature is easily translated onto the canvas through colour and motion. His oil paintings depict a sense of flow and design in the movement of trees and clouds. Capturing scenes around Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, the interior of British Columbia or prairie scenes, these paintings express the natural beauty and unique qualities of these places. At times billowing clouds, rugged trees or rays of light cast across the sky are the subject of his paintings; at other times soft mists float over the waters endowing the paintings with a drama which suggests strong spiritual connections with nature. This appreciation for the gifts of nature he sees before him is reflected in a variety of ways, from quiet gratitude to bold wonder.

 Working in oil, as his major medium, Les has demonstrated a great degree of control allowing him to organize the painting, while at the same time letting it evolve into its own expression. Les has been encouraged to experiment with larger formats and has sought to make his work more widely available through limited edition Giclée prints.