“We are, first and foremost, painters. This is not fabric art, or silk-screen printing. The silk is our canvas.”

The Vancouver Island Silk Painters, formally the Silk Worm Club, was founded in January 2000 by Maureen Walker at Pioneer Silk Studio where members of the group were taught, challenged, but above all, allowed to keep their own style and artistic individuality. Each person, taught a new technique, would take it and do something different with it – thus exploiting the versatility of silk painting.

The group has been used to holding workshops and monthly meetings which include Show & Tell and a critiquing session. Members have a good grounding in the traditional outlining with resist technique, experience with contemporary use of layering colour and indirect painting, together with knowledge of design and composition. This is a very social, active group of enthusiastic and supportive artists, with diverse styles, subject matter and techniques, all willing to share their new ideas and experiments.

The Vancouver Island Silk Painters’ Annual Show, held at various venues around the island, is always well attended – the most often heard comment during opening receptions is “love the colour!” The aim of the shows is not only to attract and entertain viewers, but to educate people to a better understanding of painting on silk, an ancient art medium, which is being celebrated in a new century.

“The joy of silk painting is like no other.”