ABOUT

Then 12-year-old W. Allan Hancock received a paint-by-numbers kit in 1980. It was a gift from his grandparents. Allan latched on, but it wasn't to the templated scene inside the kit. He latched onto just the paints, which he used for creations all his own. His choice of subject-matter was the wildlife that he had held in awe for as long as he could remember.

Art had always been - and remains - his great calling. His parents remember a little boy sprawled out on the floor, drawing and colouring for hours on end. In high school, it was art-related classes which earned him a place (his only place!) on the Honour Roll. In university, though, art-related studies were unfulfilling, a sure sign that the formal, academic side of art wasn't in his wheelhouse.

On the practical side, Allan gained his first career foothold in art by accepting a job with a greeting card company in 1989. He painted watercolours of wildlife, 9-to-5 in a commercial studio space. It was glorious, but the company folded a few years later. Allan turned to full-time shift work at Robin Hood Flour Mill where he had previously worked summers. During that period, he was painting part-time and achieving sales at a Saskatoon gallery. He also succeeded in having pieces selected for limited edition prints released by Ducks Unlimited Canada and other organizations.

Satisfaction with the Robin Hood job dwindled as public interest in his artwork increased, so in 1995 Allan decided to forsake the steady paycheque and to pursue art full-time. He sold his house and car and moved to Vancouver Island, pulled by its abundance of art festivals and wildlife. He reasoned that down the road, he would rather say "I gave it my best shot" than regret the path not taken.

He has never looked back. In forging his own unique approach over the years, Allan feels gratitude for many fellow artists. Especially important in his childhood were Glen Loates and Leon Parson, the latter featured in his grandfather’s Field & Stream magazines. During his youth, Robert Bateman, Fenwick Lansdowne, Roger Tory Peterson and George McLean figured large. In adulthood, it was Ray Harris Ching and Gustave Caillebotte.

Through it all, gratitude rings daily in his heart. He is honoured and grateful that people purchase his work and embrace it in their lives; that the Royal Canadian Mint has featured his work on multiple coins; that his work was chosen for the book cover of Witness: Selected Poems by award-winning Canadian author/poet Patrick Lane, and for prominent inclusion in the book Amazing Animals by Margriet Ruurs; that Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado of Japan has one of his paintings in her collection; and for much, much else. He is grateful each day for the love and bedrock support of his wife Taryn and their children Ezra and Sage and for the home they have made together on Salt Spring Island. He was grateful and humbled to receive a postcard in 2011 from the great Robert Bateman himself expressing admiration and stating: "You have a very strong  and unique style – easily recognized yet accurate and full of vitality.” 

Through it all, Allan has richly experienced the worlds inhabited by the creatures he paints: the lakes, rivers and woodlands of Ontario, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. Frequent family moves during his childhood and youth enabled countless field trips into the outdoors. The natural world became imprinted on his heart early, and deeply.

That's not to say that the human world is absent from his work. Window casings, doorways, weathered siding, rusted metal fixtures, and other objects appear with regularity. As a mature artist, Allan deploys these man-made elements with great care for design purposes. But it's not just stagecraft. These details are also echoes reverberating from his outdoor immersions which have included poking around abandoned homesteads and old barns or venturing by canoe to Grey Owl’s cabin. He is keenly aware of the footprint of humanity on nature and the complex inter-weaving of the two.

Go back to that paint-by-numbers kit of long ago. Talk about a quintessentially human artifact. Each of its components is man-made and it prescribes a 2D Lego-like construction. Yet inside the mechanistic humanness of the kit is a portal to the natural world: the paints themselves, with their infinite potential. The paints, as applied to a surface, by brushes guided by the hand and a mind and a heart steeped in nature, give nature a powerful voice. Here is the human world expressing nature in a way that never occurred to her over billions of years until artists came along to show her the way.

The 12-year-old Allan likely wouldn't have articulated it this way. On receiving his grandparents' gift, his reaction was probably: "Cool, I can make a raccoon from this!" He already had a clear compass direction at that time, and he knew where his creativity wanted to go. It was always like this, and has been ever since. It's a joyful journey.

Curriculum Vitae:

Born:

1968, Timmins, Ontario, Canada

Education:

Bachelor of Arts Degree, English Major, University of Saskatchewan
”Making Art Your Business,” University of Calgary
Certificate, Canadian Picture Framers School

Exhibitions:

2020 Small Works, White Rock Gallery, White Rock, BC, Canada
2019 Small Works, White Rock Gallery, White Rock, BC, Canada
2019 Timeless: Phil Buytendorp, W. Allan Hancock, William Liao, Renato Muccillo, Alan Wylie, White Rock Gallery, White Rock, BC, Canada
2018 Small Works, White Rock Gallery, White Rock, BC, Canada
2017 Small Works, White Rock Gallery, White Rock, BC, Canada
2017 Online Show, White Rock Gallery, White Rock, BC, Canada
2017 Full Spectrum: W. Allan Hancock, Laura Harris, Renato Muccillo, Graeme Shaw, White Rock Gallery, White Rock, BC, Canada
2016 Small Works, White Rock Gallery, White Rock, BC, Canada
2015 Small Works, White Rock Gallery, White Rock, BC, Canada
2015 Painters At Painter's, Painter's Lodge, Campbell River, BC, Canada
2015 Masterworks In Miniature, Gallery One, Mentor, OH, USA
2014 Small Works, White Rock Gallery, White Rock, BC, Canada
2014 Fields & Feathers: W. Allan Hancock, Webster Galleries, Calgary, AB, Canada
2014 Painters At Painter's, Painter's Lodge, Campbell River, BC, Canada
2014 Masterworks In Miniature, Gallery One, Mentor, OH, USA
2013 BirdLife International World Congress, Ottawa, ON, Canada
2013 Painters At Painter's, Painter's Lodge, Campbell River, BC, Canada
2013 Masterworks In Miniature, Gallery One, Mentor, OH, USA
2012 Art For An Oil-free Coast, Touring Exhibition, British Columbia, Canada
2012 Visions: Two Artist’s Views of the West, Peninsula Gallery, Sidney, BC, Canada
2012 Demos In The Garden, Birthplace Of BC Gallery, Fort Langley, BC, Canada
2012 Painters At Painter's, Painter's Lodge, Campbell River, BC, Canada
2012 Masterworks In Miniature, Gallery One, Mentor, OH, USA
2011 25th Birthday Show, Peninsula Gallery, Sidney, BC, Canada
2011 Meowza, Webster Galleries, Calgary, AB, Canada
2011 Wildlife Habitat Canada Stamp Launch, Bass Pro Show, Calgary, AB, Canada
2011 Demos In The Garden, Birthplace Of BC Gallery, Fort Langley, BC, Canada
2011 Painters At Painter's, Painter's Lodge, Campbell River, BC, Canada
2011 Highlights, Peninsula Gallery, Sidney, BC, Canada
2011 Robert Bateman Get To Know Launch (Guest Artist), Ottawa, ON, Canada
2011 Amazing Animals: Official Launch, ArtSpring, Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada
2011 Masterworks In Miniature, Gallery One, Mentor, OH, USA
2011 Bald Eagle Festival (Guest Artist), Campbell River, BC, Canada
2011 Year of the Rabbit, Birthplace Of BC Gallery, Fort Langley, BC, Canada
2010  24th Birthday Show, Peninsula Gallery, Sidney, BC, Canada
2010  Amazing Animals: One Man Show, Peninsula Gallery, Sidney, BC, Canada
2010  Painters At Painter's, Painter's Lodge, Campbell River, BC, Canada
2009  Painters At Painter's, Painter's Lodge, Campbell River, BC, Canada
2008  22nd Birthday Show, Peninsula Gallery, Sidney, BC, Canada
2008  Highlights, Peninsula Gallery, Sidney, BC, Canada
2008  Painters At Painter's, Painter's Lodge, Campbell River, BC, Canada
2008  Birds Of A Feather, Birthplace Of BC Gallery, Fort Langley, BC, Canada
2008 Masterworks In Miniature, Gallery One, Mentor, OH, USA
2007 21st Birthday Show, Peninsula Gallery, Sidney, BC, Canada
2007 At Waters Edge, Peninsula Gallery, Sidney, BC, Canada
2007 Painters At Painter's, Painter's Lodge, Campbell River, BC, Canada
2007 Masterworks In Miniature, Gallery One, Mentor, USA
2006 Painters At Painter’s, Painter’s Lodge, Campbell River, Canada
2006 One Part Passion, Peninsula Gallery, Sidney, Canada
2005 Painters At Painter’s, Painter’s Lodge, Campbell River, Canada
2004 Painters At Painter’s, Painter’s Lodge, Campbell River, Canada
2004 Wildlife Habitat Canada Exhibition, Gallery Rousseau, Montreal, Canada
2003 17th Birthday Show, Peninsula Gallery, Sidney, Canada
2003 On The Edge, Peninsula Gallery, Sidney, Canada
2003 Masterworks In Miniature, Gallery One, Mentor, USA
2002 Animal Art In The Park, Algonquin Park, Canada
2002 Reflections of Nature (Feature Artist), Saskatoon, Canada
2002 ARTessential Show, Calgary, Canada
2002 Essence Of The Sea Touring Exhibition, British Columbia, Canada
2001 Animal Art In The Park, Algonquin Park, Canada
2001 Trumpeter Swan Festival, Courtenay, Canada
2000 Animal Art In The Park, Algonquin Park, Canada
2000 Trumpeter Swan Festival, Courtenay, Canada
1999 Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada
1999 Pacific Rim Art Exposition, Seattle, USA
1998 Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada
1998 Pacific Rim Wildlife Art Show, Seattle, USA
1998 Saskatchewan Wetland Conservation Corp., Saskatoon, Canada
1998 Trumpeter Swan Festival, Courtenay, Canada
1997 Reflections of Nature, Saskatoon, Canada
1994 Wetlands and Waterfowl National Touring Exhibition, Canada
1991 Natural History Exhibition, Saskatoon, Canada

Collections:

Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado, Japan
Royal Canadian Mint, Ottawa, Canada
Ducks Unlimited Canada, Oak Hammock Marsh, Canada
Sherman Hines Museum, Halifax, Canada
Government of Saskatchewan, Dept. of Natural Resources, Regina, Canada
The Dodo House, East Sussex, England

Awards & Achievements:

2021 Canadian Wildlife Portraits: The Caribou $350 Pure Gold Coin, Royal Canadian Mint
2020 Canadian Wildlife Portraits: The Grizzly Bear $350 Pure Gold Coin, Royal Canadian Mint
2020 Protecting Canada's Oceans $20 Silver Coin, Royal Canadian Mint
2019 Golden Reflections - Predator & Prey: Snowy Owl & Greater White-fronted Geese $30 Gold-plated Silver Coin, Royal Canadian Mint
2019 Golden Reflections - Predator & Prey: Wolves & Elk $30 Gold-plated Silver Coin, Royal Canadian Mint
2019 Golden Reflections - Predator & Prey: Orca & Sea Lions $30 Gold-plated Silver Coin, Royal Canadian Mint
2019 Canadian Fauna: Sea Otter $20 Silver Coin, Royal Canadian Mint
2019 Canadian Fauna: Red Fox $20 Silver Coin, Royal Canadian Mint
2019 Canadian Fauna: Polar Bear $20 Silver Coin, Royal Canadian Mint
2019 The Valiant One: Bald Eagle $20 Silver Coin, Royal Canadian Mint
2017 Master's Club Series Coin #4: The Grizzly Bear $20 Silver Coin, Royal Canadian Mint
2015 Canadian Wildlife Habitat Conservation Stamp
2014 Salmon Conservation Stamp
2011 Canadian Wildlife Habitat Conservation Stamp
2010 Room # 425 dedicated as "W. Allan Hancock Room," Painter's Lodge Resort, Campbell River, Canada
2009 British Columbia Ducks Unlimited Artist of the Year
2007 Ducks Unlimited Canada Art Print Portfolio
2006 British Columbia Ducks Unlimited Artist of the Year
2006 Ducks Unlimited Canada Art Print Portfolio
2005 Canadian Wildlife Habitat Conservation Stamp
2004 British Columbia Ducks Unlimited Sponsor Artist
2003 Alberta Ducks Unlimited Artist of the Year
2003 Prince Edward Island Conservation Stamp
2002 “Best New Reproduction” ARTessential Show, Calgary, Canada
2001 Saskatchewan Conservation Stamp
2000 British Columbia Ducks Unlimited Artist of the Year
1999 “1st Place Remarque” Pacific Rim Art Exposition, Seattle, USA
1999 British Columbia Ducks Unlimited Provincial Art Print
1998 North West Territories Conservation Stamp & Print
1998 Ducks Unlimited Canada Art Print Portfolio
1996 Ducks Unlimited Canada Artist of the Year (Waterfowl Art Award)
1994-5 Ducks Unlimited Central Canada Sponsor Artist
1993 Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation Artist of the Year
1993 Ducks Unlimited Canada Supplemental Artist
1991 Saskatchewan Abilities Council Easter Seal Print Artist

Publications:

Fishbowl Magazine, January 2021
BC Outdoors Magazine: Sport Fishing, March/April 2014
The Pointing Dog Journal, March/April 2013
Canada’s Raincoast At Risk, Raincoast Conservation Foundation, 2012
Island Arts Magazine, Spring 2011, Feature Artist
Open Book Toronto, March 16, 2011, “Ten Questions with Margriet Ruurs & W. Allan Hancock”
Amazing Animals, by Margriet Ruurs & W. Allan Hancock, Tundra Books, 2011
Witness: Selected Poems, by Patrick Lane, Harbour Publishing, 2010 (cover artwork)
Victoria Times Colonist, September 25, 2010, “Artist left his comfort zone for book” by Robert Amos
Wildlife Art Magazine, September/October 1999, “Viewpoint”
Conservator Magazine, Volume 17 Number 3, 1996, by Nancy Baron
Art Impressions Magazine, Winter 1993, “Forever Free” by C. Gardner

Representation:

White Rock Gallery, White Rock, BC, Canada (604) 538-4452
Canada House Gallery, Banff, AB, Canada (403) 762-3757
Gallery 8, Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada (250) 537-8822