Location
Ucluelet
Biography
Genre
Painter
Medium
Acrylic, Animals, Birds, Nature
Short Biography
Shannon McWhinney is a visual artist based in Ucluelet, British Columbia. Inspired by West Coast wildlife and coastal landscapes, she captures movement, light, and character through layered brushwork and colour ranging from subtle to bold. Her animal subjects often gaze toward the viewer, inviting a personal connection with the natural world.
Biography
Shannon McWhinney West Coast wildlife, colour, movement, and moments of connection Shannon McWhinney is a visual artist based in Ucluelet, British Columbia, whose expressive paintings celebrate the wildlife and coastal landscapes of Canada’s West Coast. Inspired by encounters at home, while kayaking, paddleboarding, exploring forest trails and beaches, she captures the movement and character of coastal wildlife through expressive colour—from subtle tones to bold hues—layered brushwork, and intuitive mark-making. Her animal subjects often gaze outward, inviting a sense of personal connection between the viewer and the wildlife she portrays. Her work explores light, reflections, and the fleeting connections between people and the natural world. McWhinney has exhibited her work on Vancouver Island and in the Okanagan, with shows in Ucluelet, Tofino, Port Alberni, Nanaimo, and Parksville. Exhibition highlights include a solo show at the Wickaninnish Inn’s Henry Nolla Gallery in summer 2025 and a September 2026 exhibition with fellow artist Peggy Arnett at the McMillan Arts Centre in Parksville. Her work has also been displayed at Reflecting Spirit Gallery in Ucluelet, Black Rock Resort, the Bayside Resort and the Pacific Art Market in Nanaimo, and she regularly participates in Pacific Rim Arts Society exhibitions. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Bachelor of Education and brings more than 27 years of art-teaching experience to her practice.
TAGS
Wildlife art, West Coast art, Coastal landscapes, Nature-inspired art, Expressive painting, Layered brushwork, Colour, Light and reflections, Wildlife connection, Ucluelet artist, Vancouver Island artist, Otters, Herons, Bears, Deer, Seals, Raccoons, Eagles, Seagulls, Wildlife
