Western landscapes are about to ride into Nadine’s Fine Art and Frames in downtown Vernon when local artist Mike Jell exhibits his paintings for the month of July.
Known locally for hosting the annual Art in the Garden exhibition with some of his colleagues at he and his wife Dianna’s perennial garden in the BX, Jell is a celebrated landscape and wildlife artist.
“He paints in oils and acrylics, and his landscapes, depicting the life of the cowboy, are rich in atmosphere and dust, as those of us living in the Okanagan see first hand,” said Nadine Wilson, owner/artist at Nadine’s. “His light touch when painting animals brings realism with his signature painterly style.”
Born in Maidstone, England, Jell spent most of his childhood in Zimbabwe, Southern Africa before moving to Eastern Canada in 1969.
Encouraged by his teachers to pursue his artistic talents, Jell attended Sheridan College of Art in Ontario, which he says gave him an excellent foundation to continue to develop and learn on his own.
Jell has since received many accolades and awards for his work.
His work not only hangs in the House of Commons in Ottawa and Queen’s Park in Toronto, his painting, Great Gray Owl, bestowed him with the honour of Artist of the Year from the Canadian Wildlife Federation in 2012. That same painting was also chosen as a finalist in the Southwest Art Magazine Jan., 2014 edition out of a field of 6,000 artists worldwide.
Jell has been juried into numerous Federation of Canadian Artists (FCA) shows. In 2012, the Thompson-Nicola-Shuswap chapter awarded him with a gold award for his painting Back to the Beginning.
“All these accomplishments don’t tell you who Mike Jell is,” said Wilson. “He is quiet and focused, a full-time artist who has spent a lifetime working towards this point. He is humble and modest but also successful and being recognized as an artist to collect in many countries around the world. He is regular contributor to Nadine’s Fine Art & Frames and we are thrilled that he will be our artist of the month for July.”
Nadine’s is holding an 11th anniversary open house July 8. The public can not only see Jell’s paintings, but the works of 35 other Okanagan artists. Call the gallery at (250) 542-8544 for more info.