There is a story behind these paintings that is less than pleasant.  Nevertheless I will share it with you for I feel it is important.  After I completed my degree in Montreal I moved back to Vancouver to be close to me family. I managed to survive off the sales of my paintings for two years. (Place Montreal Trust Gallery, Dave Penland, Maria Theresa and Sieghard Gera, among others) where purchasing my work.  

After two years of surviving off private sales I built up the coverage to approach the galleries in Vancouver.  I put a portfolio together of my best work, and approached every gallery I knew that existed in the city and was rejected.  I returned to my studio not too broken. Having just received money from sales in Montreal... I went down to Granville Island and purchased a lot of art materials.  Like a tornado painted in my studio for a month solid. I left the house twice: once to buy food, another to restock up on paint.  I worked 17 - 18 hours a day, and managed to complete 26 or so paintings.  

I made a selection of my best work and re-approached  all the galleries... only to be rejected again.

Then I approached Open Art Gallery. It was run by Deberoah.  It was a gallery that you had to pay $100 per month to show your work, but the commission on sales was less.  So I started showing my work there. In the first month I sold a the painting Twins. oil on canvas. And Deborah said that she was receiving a lot a positive response from my work, and recommended a solo exhibition.  

The solo show was fairly successful. Four paintings sold. At the end of the show I went to the gallery to collect my percentage of the sales. But then I was told that I owned her money. This did not seem right. So I listened to what she had to say. Asked her for documents and contracts, listened, and went home to review things.  I called and contacted several people: Mark (chartered accountant), Mathew (hons. in Engineering), my mother (legal secretary), sister, Erika, and Alex (computer consultant). I gave them the contract, the sales figures, and all relevant details and documents. Not wishing to jump the gun and avoid making any irrational decisions.  It was clear that I was owed a considerable amount of money. So I called Deborah the next day... who still insisted that I owed her money. So the next day Mathew helped me remove all my work from the gallery.

A week later one of my agent Dina had a friend who was a lawyer and started to take legal action.  A month later I sold fourteen paintings in three days and left the country to be with Erika in London. In the end Deborah paid me two installments equaling a sum total approximately of $110. I do not know how you can owe a gallery owner money when you have only been in been showing with them for three months, and you sell three paintings and one drawing.  

Unfortunately something similar to this happen to me again in London.