iN PHOTOS: Okanagan landscape artists inspired by where they live

The Okanagan offers so much beautiful scenery it's no wonder that landscape paintings are in demand.

From orchards, waterfalls and vineyards to mountains and lakes, local artists paint what inspires and makes them feel most at home.

Hambleton Art Gallery, located at 1290 Ellis street in Kelowna, showcases 35 artists from British Columbia with 11 from the Okanagan.

“It's very inspiring to live here,” art gallery manager Megan Roberts says. “There's so much inspiration to make great works.”

While the Okanagan used to be mostly a farming community and art wasn’t really a focus, Jack Hambleton had a hankering for change and opened up the gallery to focus on fine art, bringing local artists together to show off their work.

Roberts says buyers typically choose to buy what they don’t see frequently so they can enjoy different aspects of the landscape.

She says people across Canada enjoy having a bit of the Okanagan in their home.

"People tend to like to have the view of the thing they don't have the view of. If somebody has a lake view, they tend to get an orchard painting or a vineyard, if they look at vineyards, they tend to get lake paintings,” Roberts says.

The art work is typically on the more expensive side due to the material and time put into each piece.

On the low end, paintings are sold for around $400, but others sell for over $15,000.

“They're a bit more of an investment in something, we kind of hope that the person who purchases is going to have it and enjoy it for the rest of their life," Roberts says.

"We really focus on that, with people connecting with the work, really enjoying it and loving the work that they have in their home.” 

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