Art Exhibition - Macmillan Art Centre - February 2026

Name: Art Exhibition - Macmillan Art Centre - February 2026
Start: 2026-02-02T10:00:00-08:00
Location: The MAC - McMillan Arts Centre

Schedule

Mon, 02 Feb, 2026 at 10:00 am

UTC-08:00

Location

The MAC - McMillan Arts Centre | Parksville, BC

Silver Skies & Coastal Light — Art Exhibition by Jolene Aarbo
📍 MacMillan Arts Centre, Parksville, BC
🗓 February 1–28
🎉 Opening Reception: February 7 | 1:00–4:00 PM
🎨 Meet the Artist | All are welcome
Join Parksville-based artist Jolene Aarbo for a month-long exhibition at the MacMillan Arts Centre, featuring a collection of pastel, acrylic, and oil paintings inspired by the landscapes, wildlife, and light of Vancouver Island’s West Coast.
An opening reception will be held on Friday, February 7 from 1–4 PM, offering guests the opportunity to meet the artist and view the work in person.
MACMILLAN ART CENTRE
133 McMillan Street, Parksville
Visit joleneaarboartist.com to see more of my work
ARTIST STATEMENT
My work is based on close observation of the natural world, with a strong focus on light and bold colour. Working primarily in pastels, I am drawn to West Coast landscapes and animal subjects for their strong sense of place, structure, and visual rhythm.
I am particularly interested in how light shapes colour — from expansive coastal skies to reflective water and sunlit landforms. I use confident, saturated colour and tonal contrast to create depth, atmosphere, and movement. Rather than relying on fine detail, I focus on simplified shapes and layered colour to emphasize clarity and visual impact.
In addition to landscapes, I create animal and pet portraits that aim to capture character through posture, expression, and light. Each subject is approached with careful attention to tone and colour relationships, allowing personality to emerge naturally within the composition.
Pastel is central to my process due to its immediacy and versatility. The medium allows for strong colour saturation while maintaining softness and luminosity, making it ideal for expressing light and atmosphere. Through my work, I strive to create paintings that feel balanced, visually engaging, and grounded in observation and technique.
BIOGRAPHY
Jolene Aarbo is a Parksville, BC–based artist working in pastel, acrylic, and oil. Her bold, impressionistic style emphasizes colour, light, and movement, drawing inspiration from the landscapes and wildlife of Vancouver Island.
With a background in design and visual communication, Jolene brings a strong sense of composition and structure to her paintings. She earned a Degree in Design from the Alberta College of Art and spent many years working as a Production Manager and Art Director before returning to fine art full-time.
Her work includes West Coast landscapes, animal subjects, and commissioned pet portraits. Jolene is a resident artist at the Old School House in Qualicum and her work is held in private collections. She continues to exhibit regularly while working from her studio in Parksville, BC.