1984-08-30 - Don Bergland: Qualicum Bay Studio

Don Bergland · 1984-08-30T00:00:00Z

A surviving photograph of Don Bergland’s Qualicum Bay studio on Vancouver Island in 1984. In September, 1984, Bergland moved himself and his family from Bowser to a studio in Qualicum Bay. Here he lived on twenty acres in a small converted barn. The photograph shows his studio which was a separate building with a studio on the top floor. The bottom floor was used for the storage of canvases, shipping crates, and finished paintings. During the 11 months he lived there, he created 50 paintings in the Exile style (paintings-478-528). This was a productive year for him. He established himself more firmly in Alberta with his galleries in Calgary and his very productive involvement with Gold Design Fine Arts also in Calgary. He also began a very interesting association with noted painter, John Michener. Together, they started producing and performing audio visual presentations of their artwork at various colleges, district councils, and galleries across Vancouver Island. They did a two-person show at Culpepper Gallery in Calgary along with various audio-visual presentations in the city. At the end of 1984, Bergland had made application to the University of British Columbia (UBC) for admission to a Masters Degree program in art education. In early 1985, he was informed that he had been accepted and also the winner of a University Graduate Fellowship, which covered all the expenses of the program. Bergland moved from this studio in August, 1985, to begin his graduate studies in art education at UBC.