Tofino Artist Roy Henry Vickers

Roy Henry Vickers was born in June 1946 in the village of Greenville, in northern British Columbia. Roy has stayed on the northwest coast of BC ever since, residing at various times in Hazelton, Kitkatla, Tofino and Victoria. Roy’s love and respect of the magnificent natural beauty of this area is clearly evident in his art. His boldly colourful sunsets, subdued misty rivers and peaceful winter scenes reflect the essence of the west coast of Canada.

Roy’s father was a fisherman with the blood of three northwest coast First Nations — Tsimshian, Haida and Heiltsuk — flowing in his veins. Roy’s mother was a schoolteacher whose parents had immigrated to Canada from England. This unusual mixed heritage has had a strong influence on Roy’s art. Roy studied traditional First Nations art and design at the Gitanmaax School of Northwest Coast Indian Art in Hazelton.

Using these building blocks Roy created his personal style of expression — a harmonious fusion of traditional and contemporary, old and new, personal and universal.

In many of his pieces, Roy uses superimposed “shadow images” that add another layer of depth, history and myth to his clear, clean images. His signature Eagle Moon appears on many pieces as well.

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Roy’s art can be found at the Eagle Aerie Gallery, a traditional northwest coast longhouse Roy built in 1986 in the village of Tofino and online at www.royhenryvickers.com