NICOLA TIBBETTS SMOKY SUMMERS
NICOLA TIBBETTS: SMOKY SUMMERS
In Nicola Tibbetts’ Smoky Summers, the landscapes we think we know are rendered through the soft veil of smoke – a filter that is no longer temporary, but emblematic of a broader ecological shift. These quiet, expansive oil paintings speak to the visceral and visual impact of climate change on the West Coast of Canada. They are not overtly didactic or alarmist; rather, they are quietly devastating in their familiarity. The scenes Tibbetts depicts – recreational lakes, basketball courts, mountain ranges – are recognizable to many who live in British Columbia. But beneath their calm surfaces lies a shared, unsettling truth: summer is not what it used to be.
The title of the exhibition, Smoky Summers, evokes both nostalgia and disruption. Where summer once meant blue skies, carefree days, and a reliable rhythm of warmth and recreation, it now increasingly signals evacuation alerts, smoke advisories, and the dread of escalating wildfire conditions. In her artist statement, Tibbetts reflects on the changing character of summer: “Wildfires, a new summer reality, and the smoke that envelops the landscape is inescapable.” The work emerges from lived experience – both personal and collective – offering a visual archive of summers marked by crisis yet tinged with beauty and resilience.
Tibbetts’ painterly sensibility is rooted in realism, but her images are more than mere representations; they are emotionally charged records of presence and absence. In Donut Dip, for instance, the lake becomes a mirror of stillness and uncertainty. The playful floating devices – a pink flamingo, a donut ring – hover on the surface, almost absurd against the pale smoky sky. The bathers in the distance are dwarfed by the vastness of water and atmosphere, their movements minimal, almost cautious. What at first glance appears idyllic slowly reveals a haunting quietness. In Waterbomber at Sproat Lake and Birkenhead Pink Smoke Plane, Tibbetts introduces direct references to the suppression of wildfire. The presence of firefighting aircraft slicing through the air adds a tension to the otherwise serene landscapes. These paintings place viewers at a distance – neither in danger nor entirely safe – underscoring the paradox of bearing witness. The choice to include these aircraft within expansive, near-monochromatic environments emphasizes their role as both saviour and signal: visible markers of both threat and response. Their presence points to the scale of the challenge while acknowledging the human effort to protect land, life, and community, even if it’s often too late.
Throughout Smoky Summers , Tibbetts’ invites viewers to contemplate the emotional toll of this ecological transformation. Her compositions are carefully structured, often with a foregrounded element – such as the canoe in Canoe and Buoy or the basketball hoop in Tennis Court – that anchors the viewer and draws them into the depth of the scene. These elements act as both markers of human presence and metaphors for fragility. In Tennis Court, for example, a pair of deer wander through a recreational space, their presence both serene and unsettling. The tension between natural and constructed environments is palpable but never forced. Tibbetts allows the viewer to linger in the ambiguity.
What makes Tibbetts’ work particularly resonant is her refusal to polarize. The landscapes are not offered as warnings nor romanticized escape; instead, they exist in a liminal space between observation and mourning. This is particularly significant within the context of the 2023 wildfire season – British Columbia’s most destructive on record. As Tibbetts notes, “For 28 days in 2023, B.C. was under a provincial state of emergency.” The sense of loss
ARTIST STATEMENT
Our experience of summer has changed and slowly our conception of it as well. Wildfires, a new summer reality, and the smoke that envelops the landscape is inescapable. In times where fire, flood, and other climate events make our relationship to nature impossible to ignore, a spirit of flexibility, gentleness, hope, generosity and cooperation become even more important as we collectively grieve and seek out alternative relationships with land and water.
The 2023 wildfire season was the most destructive in British Columbia’s recorded history. Tens of thousands of people were forced to evacuate. Hundreds of homes and structures were lost or damaged and the impacts to cultural values, ecology, infrastructure and local economies were devastating. Indirect economic impacts to agriculture and tourism combined with unquantifiable impacts to people’s health and wellbeing must also be taken into account. For 28 days in 2023, B.C. was under a provincial state of emergency.
The imagery and reference material come from all over BC and reflect many communities’ reality as they experience living, working and playing here. These paintings document our smoky summers, the beauty, tranquility and stillness that the blanket of smoke lends the landscape alongside paintings of more active burning and subsequent devastation to the landscape.
Nicola Tibbetts
Tennis Court, 2024, oil on panel, 20 x 24 in
Canoe with Trees, 2024, oil on panel, 18 x 24 in
Donut Dip, 2024, oil on panel, 24 x 36 in
Waterbomber on Sproat Lake, 2024, oil on panel, 24 x 48 in
NICOLA TIBBETTS
www.nicolatibbetts.com nvtibbetts@gmail.com
EDUCATION
CURRICULUM VITAE
2010 MFA Fine and Media Arts; Nova Scotia College of Art & Design University, Halifax, NS
2008 BFA Studio Arts; Concordia University, Graduate with Distinction, Montreal, QC
EXHIBITIONS RECORD
SOLO
2025 Smoky Summers, Station House Gallery, Williams Lake, BC
2025 Smoky Summers, Vernon Public Art Gallery, Vernon, BC
2018 New Work, Vancouver Art Gallery Art Rentals and Sales
2017 Arctic Sojourn, Gallery 2, Grand Forks, BC
Arctic Sojourn, Vernon Public Art Gallery, Vernon, BC
2016 Arctic Sojourn, Deer Lake Gallery, Burnaby, BC
2014 Food Behaving Strangely, Amelia Douglas Gallery, New Westminster, BC
2013 Ball of Life, Port Moody Arts Centre, Port Moody, BC
2012 Progress, Capilano University Art Gallery, North Vancouver, BC
GROUP
2021 Carry-on!, Holiday Art Market, Centre A, Vancouver BC
2019 Iqaluit/Vancouver, Queen Elizabeth Theatre,Vancouver, BC -
2016 Land and Sea, Kariton Art Gallery, Abbotsford Arts Council, Abbotsford, BC
Art Instructors Exhibition, West Vancouver Memorial Library, West Vancouver, BC
My Richmond, Richmond City Hall Gallery, Richmond, BC
Chali Rosso Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2014 Dedicated Drawing Club, Kwantlen University Library, Surrey, BC
ExtraOrdinary, CityScape, North Vancouver Arts Council, North Vancouver, BC
Dedicated Drawing Club, Capilano University Library, North Vancouver, BC
Grit and Gristle, Make Studios, Vancouver, BC
2013 Cabinet of Curiosity, Port Moody Arts Centre, Port Moody, BC
Wiki Show, Station Gallery, Whitby, ON -
Socius, Macdonald Island Gallery, Fort McMurray, AB
+1, Capilano University Art Gallery, North Vancouver, BC
2009 Fresh Paint, New Construction, Art Mur, Montreal, QC
2008 START2008, Studio 21, Halifax, NS
Harry Potter and the Phantasmagoric Discourse, Art Matters, C-Blu, Montreal, QC
To Some Extent, Mile End Gallery, Montreal, QC
AWARDS/SCHOLARSHIPS
2014 Capilano University - Group PD Grant
2008 Nova Scotia College of Art and Design - Entrance Fellowship
2008/2009 British Columbia Arts Council - Senior Visual Arts Scholarship
2008 BMO 1st Art! - Invitational Student Art Competition Nominee Award
2008 Concordia University - FASA Special Project Grant
REVIEWS AND ARTICLES
2014 Fairchild TV News. Interview by Cindy Wang
2014 Sad Mag, on-line edition. Interview by Hannah Bellamy, 2014 Sad Mag, Back Cover, Issue 15
2014 The Other Press, New Art Exhibit Presents Food for Thought by Cheryl Minns, vol. 40, issue
2013 Capilano Courier, The Business of Art by Andy Rice, vol. 46, issue 18, p. 14-15
2009 La Presse, La bonne affaire de la semaine. Blog by Lortie, Marie-Claude
2008 Chronicle Herald, stART Exhibition features top students from across Canada.14, p. 6
CATALOGUES
2017 Arctic Sojourn by Vernon Public Art Gallery
2014 Dedicated Drawing Club, Artist’s Book with Toni Latour
This publication was produced in conjunction with the exhibition: Nicola Tibbetts: Smoky Summers, May 22 - July 16, 2025
Production: Vernon Public Art Gallery
Front cover image: Birkenhead Pink Smoke Plane, 2024, oil on panel, 18 x 24 in
ISBN: 978-1-927407-89-9
copyright © 2025, Vernon Public Art Gallery
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the Vernon Public Art Gallery. Requests for permission to use these images should be addressed in writing to the Vernon Public Art Gallery, 3228 31st Avenue, Vernon BC, V1T 2H3, Canada.
Telephone: 250.545.3173 - website: www.vernonpublicartgallery.com
The Vernon Public Art Gallery is a registered not-for-profit society. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee/RDNO, the Province of BC’s Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch, British Columbia Arts Council, the Government of Canada, corporate donors, sponsors, general donations and memberships. Charitable Organization # 108113358RR
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