Don PortelanceDon Portelance was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia. He has juried exhibits, and led art conferences and workshops in Canada, the U.S.A. and Australia. Don has taken part in hundreds of solo and group exhibitions in China, Japan and Kora. He has received many awards, notably the first Tri-Cities "Excellence in the Arts Award", and the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce "Arts and Entertainment Personality of the Year". He founded Coquitlam Fine Arts Council, and was instrumental in establishing Place des Arts arts school. Throughout a lifetime of producing contemporary original paintings he has found himself drawn to two themes: One theme, based on observation, is usually inspired by, or produced while traveling locally and globally; a common theme is the desire to capture a quality of light and explore expressive realism. A 2nd theme is based on ideas, and often tends to be more abstract as he attempts to examine through symbols, the encounter of deeply held cultural beliefs with new scientific data related to those beliefs. For further information visit his website http: //portelancestudios.com Read More Read Less