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AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ARTIST
Bob Gunning is a Vancouver based Artist working in Oils on Canvas. "I have a great love of Gardening and Colour, and I find much of my inspiration in my own back yard". Bob is a realist and his paintings reflect a commitment to detail without letting it overwhelm the beauty that he seeks to convey.
"A number of years ago, as I was researching local totem poles and parks, I came across Gwaii Haanas National Park and the aboriginal totem poles at the village of Ninstints, This combined my interest in natural settings with a new fascination for the history and significance of Haida Gwaii" The result has been a large body of work that conveys the beauty and spirituality of the poles at Ninstints.
Most of the poles Bob has painted are mortuary poles, the actual burial places of the chiefs of the village. Unlike the memorial poles and house poles that were carved and are mostly lost, the mortuary poles were created from very large trees and were intended to resist the passage of time to give the chief glory and reverence for as long as possible. But, the pole also becomes the host of the chief's spirit. It the belief of the Haida that the spirit can only be released when the pole finally rots and returns to the earth. In that moment, the chief's spirit can also return to the earth and he completes the cycle of his life.
Bob is an active member of the Surrey Arts Council and the Langley Arts council. He has shown work in over a dozen shows, and is represented full time by the Kube Gallery in Ft. Langley.
This site is a reconstruction of the website and is laid out a little differently. As you browse the main titles, Totem poles, Joy of colour and Figurative, click on each of the images. That will give you a new page with the details of each painting.
If you would like to reach Bob, the email address is
Enjoy the site and drop Bob a note if you have any questions.