Contemporary Views of
Wilderness and Ancient Pathways
Wilderness and Wildcrafted Art and Décor Antiques and Archeological Reproductions.
At the Wildcraft Lodge we create unique one-of-kind art forms using natural materials gathered from nature. We create collectibles, décor and feature environments for homes, businesses and resorts that can be described within Canadiana, Mountain, Western and Southwest design themes. We create unique Bas Relief feature walls as well as primitive and archeological reproductions in order to recreate ancient and mystical themes.
If you are interested in details or purchasing art displayed on this page, please email Don Elzer directly at donelzer@uniserve.com or the Discovery Centre at 250.547.9812. You can purchase by credit card or debit card or by cheque and even installments if you like; email or phone me to make an offer, or to discuss payment options and shipping.
Thanks for your consideration!
Sincerely,
Don Elzer
Second Growth
When the Group of Seven were painting Canada’s eastern forests they became steadfast in their belief that the west was “unpaintable” the landscape here was so rich, and thick that it appeared to be a wall of green and without dimension. But Emily Carr changed all of this. Anyone who has spent time in our rainforests can understand Carr’s compositions and the colours and shapes within colours and shapes.
This painting by Don Elzer is called “Second Growth” and it appeared on the very first Wildcraft Forest tea labels. It’s unframed and is a mixed media painting of acrylic, pastel and graphite on rag paper.
Three Cottonwoods
This is a small painting by Don Elzer called “Three Cottonwoods”. These trees are located along the Upper Shuswap River. It’s a mixed media work on a quality rag paper
Clearcut
This is a Giclee print of a painting Don Elzer calls “Clearcut” which was painted from a ridge above where he lives in the Monashee Foothills. These prints are unframed.
Cleir Lake
This is a painting of Cleir Lake, which is north of Creighton Valley Road in the Monashee Foothills. Travellers pass by this lake on the way up to the Camel’s Hump also known as Coyote Sleeping. At first glance this lake looks like a large pond and is a bit uneventful - but in fact it represents the edge of an ancient inland sea.
“This lake and ridge should be protected within a provincial park, instead it is being abused by logging and resource extraction.”
Don Elzer did this painting on site, but today most of the trees surrounding this lake in the painting are gone, destroyed by an industrial clear-cut. Don Elzer had kept this painting to tell this story – but now its time to release it.
Spirit Hawk
Continuing with the theme of “Canadiana” this work is part of Don Elzer’s Hudson’s Bay Company Point Blanket Series. This time a hawk is perched in the foreground of a west coast village.
Mysterious American Bundle
This work by Don Elzer is called the “Mysterious American Bundle” and is a mixed media painting on panel. The work is quite large at over 4’ wide and about 5.5’ high. Beginning in 1995, the artist began a series of paintings revolving around the Hudson’s Bay Company Point Blanket. To date there have been about a dozen works created within this series.
“I began to place my animal characters in posed settings that included the HBC Blanket as well as other iconic or peculiar images. Beginning in 1788, the Hudson’s Bay Company bought much of the continent from the First Nations people using these blankets as currency for trade. Very few of us know about this part of our history, and how the blanket was used as an instrument for carrying out certain atrocities that remain to this day. The white 16-point blanket continues to be a Canadian icon still celebrated by the Hudson’s Bay Company”.
Upper Shuswap River
This is a painting by Don Elzer was painted on-site where there was a calm meandering spot along the Upper Shuswap River. It’s mixed media painting on board.
“It’s was a very hot day during the summer around noon, the Sun and the heat had combined with the landscape to create this other-worldly glare that danced outside of the shadows like a mirage - it was quite magical. I sat in the shade for hours enjoying these moments and observing and feeling the quiet of the place.”
This Bas Relief is called “Coming of the Deer People” it is part of a continuing theme that Don Elzer is working with that links to ancient stories transformed into Neo-Gothic compositions. This is quite large at about 4.5’x 4’wide.
During the early 1990’s Don Elzer began to refine some of his ideas about his ancestral roots and their relationship with indigenous cultures.
"I then began to translate those ideas within my artistic endeavors. Many of the compositions I created became mixed media sculptures made from objects I gathered from the forest. These art forms I explained as being “wildcrafted”. I began to create two-thirds Bas Relief sculpture made from clay that I dug straight out of the ground. This is one such work, it measures about 4 feet high and is called “Coyote Madonna”. It’s based on an idea that asks the question: What would North America look like today if Judean Christianity would have merged with First Nations spirituality at First Contact?”.
"What would our visual icons look like today? I continue to be following this quest because it leads to endless possibilities."
Okanagan Lake – North End
Don Elzer used to paint from the beaches in the Okanagan. It was a way to capture the most evident Okanagan landscape, and then try to sell work to tourists who where most interested in…the traditional Okanagan landscape.
“I was painting in oils back then and the heat and Sun caused many visionary experiences that I now believe were from solvent fumes mixed with Sun stroke. I thought all of those paintings had been sold, until I found one buried here in the attic.”
This painting is a scene from the north end of Okanagan Lake and it has been placed in a nostalgic gold leaf French Colonial frame.
Bear Valley Sheds
These two old sheds were on the edge of Bear Valley Road at the start of the old hayfield. Most people cursed them in the wintertime because they were too close to the road, eventually the road was widened and the relic buildings succumbed to a different idea of road management. The stories that old buildings tell remain a rich subject matter for Don Elzer.
“Their mysteries are always kept best on a quiet, foggy day in winter – like a castle in a Celtic bog.”
Echo Lake in Autumn
This is a mixed media painting on panel is by Don Elzer. He painted this work on site and it represents the west end of Echo Lake in the Monashee a spectacular display of autumn colours within Echo Lake Provincial Park.
Black Holes
This painting by Don Elzer is called “Black Holes” and represents a theme that has continued to evolve and had led to the artist to create his signature “white moose”.
“In the 1990’s I started to place animal images within a “cliché” stage setting. Sometimes the settings were simply challenging a composition or a pictographic idea; sometimes I challenged the idea of “Canada” and all that is “Canadian.”
This painting is a mixed media image on panel.
Cherryville Barn
This painting by Don Elzer is called the “Cherryville Barn”.
“I have landscapes that I have painted on site and it’s interesting to observe how the landscape or buildings change over time. Half of this barn has been torn away and replaced with a white quonset.”
Rite of Passage
This painting called Rite of Passage is a newer work that represents an emerging transition that is taking place in Don Elzer’s work. This transition began around 2004 when he began to incorporate entire handwritten stories and statements within his paintings. This painting contains thousands of words that serve as a dimension within the background of the painting. This is a montage that seeks to link a mysterious story with elements of British Columbia history.
Please make an offer on the work found on this page. If you are interested in details or making a purchase, please email me directly at donelzer@uniserve.com or call me at the Discovery Centre at 250.547.9812.
You can purchase by credit card if you like; email or phone me to make an offer, discuss payment options and shipping.
Thanks for your help!
Sincerely,
Don Elzer
Sold:
$750 cdn
Unframed
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The WildCraft Forest is an Ecomuseum and Interpretive Forest, which includes a Sculpture Trail. We're located on Highway 6 in the Monashee Region of British Columbia just on the edge of the North Okanagan, one hour from Kelowna and 30 minutes from Vernon.
For Guided Tours call us at 250-547-9812
Wildcraft Forest
Lightning Peaks Trailhead
This painting is called, “The Lightning Peaks Trailhead” and it is a mixed media work. The Lightning Peaks area represents the summit of the Upper Granby River watershed. This remote area of southern British Columbia is pristine but still has within it the edges that separate old growth forests from industrial logging operations. This painting depicts one of those edges. “Industrialization is evident even in the most remote places. Once extraction takes place, it becomes quiet again and only a few will venture past the turmoil into what is still pristine. Then the extraction is no longer about timber or rock; but a fleeting moment within the spirit of a place.”
The Golden Tree
This barn in Cherryville, BC is in the presence of a rich forest, which presents a burst of color within the autumn months. The golden tree is presented to the viewer by this red barn, which is then framed by the dense green colours of the forest, which seem crowded with spirits conversing under an evening sky.
Monashee Moon Series
This mixed media series seeks to express the wonder that the Full Moon captures within a wilderness nighttime landscape. The composition is set within a mountainous area called “The Pinnacles” which are a series of peaks within the Monashee Mountain Range of British Columbia.
“There is a certain kind of quiet and solitude that the night provides the landscape. It’s a chance for life to rest. The softness of darkness provides a place to hide. A Full Moon offers us a glimpse into the energies that exist within the darkness. The night is full of life; in fact the Earth is recharging herself so that she can become ready to receive the Sun.”
Oyama Hills
This painting seeks to capture a morning light that casts a variety of soft hues over the foothills above Oyama on the east side of the Okanagan Valley. This view represents an opportunity to see the Okanagan grasslands without the signs of human habitation.
SOLD
