Paintings

Sarah Amos has been painting professionally since 1981 and has participated in dozens of exhibitions and sold hundreds of her paintings. She has accomplished this while raising two children, looking after a household and managing her husband’s business. At this time she presents some paintings which are available from her studio.

 

Trapp Lake (watercolour) 11” x 15”

Trapp Lake is on the road along the Nicola Valley, between Spence’s Bridge and Kamloops. Amos drew the scene on an overcast day when the air was still and the reflections of the beautifully coloured hills showed a perfect recession in space. This watercolour is a study for a larger oil painting.  $950.

Alberta Foothills from Pincher Creek (oil on canvas) 24” x 30”

On a trip to Alberta in 2018 Amos sketched the east face of the Rockies and the highway running west across the foothills. Adding interest to this great Canadian landscape are the huge windmills for generating electric power and, on the left, a sequence of little buildings for grain storage. $1500.

Moraine Lake (watercolour) 15” x 22”

Moraine Lake is fourteen kilometres from Lake Louise in the spectacular Valley of the Ten Peaks. Early in May 2018 when the ice had just began to thaw she drew and painted on location making this study for a larger oil painting.  $600.

Golden Fields of Saanich (oil on canvas) 24” x 30”
On a quiet country road on the Saanich Peninsula the late summer heat gave the fields of cut grass a lovely golden colour. Harvest time brings fond memories to the artist from her farming background.   $1400.
 
Wind Farms and Clearcuts (oil on canvas) 24” x 36”
A flight across Canada inspired the artist to create her vision of the surface of our Mother Earth - a skin like velvet scraped bare in places for wood and power. Across the land, lakes like mirrors send back a changing view of the sky. $1400.
 
Little Creek in Quebec (watercolour) 22” x 28”
This is one of a series of paintings of a slow-moving stream as seen from a canoe. Though it could be anywhere, this creek flows into a lake two hours north of Ottawa.  $950.
 
Little Creek in Quebec (watercolour) 15” x 22”
Another in the series of views of Mother Earth seen from above. Though apparently a view of water, it also incorporates depictions of the land and the sky.  $750.
 
Red Sea Urchins (oil on canvas) 24” x 30”
The starburst forms of the red sea urchins make a beautiful punctuation amid the trailing fronds of green seaweed swaying in the gentle current. This view impressed itself upon the artist one day as she drifted in a kayak near the shore of Quadra Island.  $1800.
 
Gonzales Bay on a Misty Day (oil on canvas) 12” x 24”
One of the best destinations for a walk in south Oak Bay is the Gonzales Weather Station, and the reward for climbing up the hill is this spacious view of Gonzales Bay.  $850.
 
Gonzales Bay from the Weather Station (oil on canvas) 12” x 24”
A perfect juxtaposition of the natural shoreline and the happy residential neighbourhood of Fairfield, this view from Gonzales Hill has drawn the artist to return for repeated visits.  $850.
 
An Oak Bay Backyard in Winter (oil on canvas) 16” x 24”
It is a stroke of good luck many portions of the natural garry oak meadows have been preserved in south Oak Bay. A stand of seventeen garry oaks joins up with larger and older native trees, and the foreground is the bedrock worn by the glaciers in the last ice age.  $850.
 
Early Dawn, Oak Bay (oil on canvas) 18” x 24”
While living for a year in an apartment near the top floor of the only high-rise building in the Rockland neighbourhood the staggeringly beautiful views in every direction resulted in a series of paintings. This one shows Oak Bay Avenue in the first moments of a new day.  $850.
 
Freighter at Clover Point (oil on canvas) 16” x 20”
From the apartment in Rockland, Amos was able to watch ships at all times of day. This painting records a calm moment in the early hours when the water of the Strait of Juan de Fuca was as smooth as glass and a huge freighter seemed improbably close to the shore at Clover Point.  $850.
 
Thunder Clouds over Oak Bay (oil on canvas) 12” x 24”
From a high point of view the weather patterns which sweep over the waterfront at Oak Bay unfold with irresistible drama.  $850.
 
Oak Bay peachy dawn (oil on canvas) 12” x 24”
Artists often have a tendency to paint clear skies and sunny days, but for Amos the softer gentler tones of a day when there is some water vapor in the air yield a more enchanting colour scheme. $850.
 
The Old Water Tower, Victoria (oil on canvas) 24” x 36”
A huge weather pattern plays out on the evening sky. The Sooke Hills on the right and Harling Point on the left embrace the curve of Ross Bay in the foreground. Standing out boldy in the center is the water tower which used to provide water for the homes of the Rockland neighbourhood. It is surrounded by some of the mansions built many years ago.  $1800.
 
Big Peachy sunrise over Oak Bay (oil on canvas) 30” x 48”
Similar to some other smaller works, this painting depicts the spectacular view from her Rockland apartment. The focal point is Mount Baker and in the foreground are Chatham and Discovery Islands. The saffron and turquoise of the water of Oak Bay are of a perfectly matched tonality, creating the iridescent glow of the moment before sunrise.  $2800.
 
Fireworks, Canada Day (oil on canvas) 24” x 24”
The largest display of fireworks in Victoria’s annual calendar marks the end of a perfect day every year on July 1, Canada Day. Set off from a barge in the Inner Harbour to the delight of thousands of spectators, they can be seen in all their glory for miles around.  $950.
 
Strathcona Park from April Point (watercolour) 11” x 15”
Amos attended the Painters at Painter’s Lodge event at Campbell River for many years. She always made it a point to visit the sister resort, April Point Lodge, on Quadra Island. Owner Bob Wright agreed with her that the view of the mountains of Strathcona Park from April Point is the best view from either resort.   $650.
 
French Provincial Tulips (oil on canvas) 24” x 20”
Tulips really lend themselves to being painted. In this picture it’s not the tulips but the tablecloth which is “French Provincial”. It was purchased on an impulse one day in Paris and has appeared in a number of “French Provincial” paintings.  $950.
 
Red Lilies (oil on canvas) 12” x 12”
A burst of colour from the artist’s garden.  $650.
 
Tangled Garden (oil on canvas) 30” x 24”
These lilies were for a few days a striking focus of the artist’s garden. $950.
 
Morning Coffee at Yellow Point Lodge (oil on canvas) 16” x 20”
Yellow Point Lodge is a Vancouver Island tradition. With a splendid rocky waterfront and an atmosphere of tranquility, it is the ideal spot for a restful vacation.  From the main room of the lodge, comfortable chairs invite one to sit and let the hours pass by peacefully. $950.
 
 
Brian’s Garden (oil on canvas) 28” x 36”
When the artist was a young mother her range of subject matter was somewhat restricted. The irises were in her front garden, and the backdrop is a view over a fence into a neighbour’s backyard, where Muskoka chair provides a spot where one could relax and forget the cares of the day. $1200.
 
 
 
My Kitchen (oil on canvas) 22” x 28”
Early in her career, staying close to home with small children, Amos painted subjects which were right in front of her, and which she knew well. This rare early work, a view of a sunny kitchen, with useful and decorative objects here and there - a Moorcroft vase, a Clarice Cliff bowl, and rice cooker and a cooking pot large enough for soup for the whole family and some to spare.  $1200.
 
 
 
 
Still Life with Nasturtiums and Onions (oil on canvas) 20” x 24”
The rich golden tones of the onions, the homey oranges of nasturtiums are gathered around a lovely Wedgwood jug.  $850
 
 
 
 
Interlude I : Café (watercolour) 13 1/2” x 10”
Sarah Amos spent some months in Japan in 1981 and, on one of her last days there, made a small watercolour painting in a coffee shop. The original painting was later translated into an edition of silk screen prints which are available for $150 each.