Capital Unitarian Universalist Congregation

Robert Amos will speak with us today about painter and subject of his three most recent books, E J Hughes (1913-2007). E.J Hughes was an extraordinary observer of life and believed that his painting was an act of worship itself.

In this community, Robert Amos is well known for his weekly column On Art which ran in the Victoria Times Colonist newspaper for 32 years. During that time he interviewed many of Victoria’s finest artists, and his documentation is being acquired by the Special Collections of the University of Victoria. Since 1989, eight books of his paintings and writings about Victoria have been published.

In 2010 Amos became the official biographer of E. J. Hughes, one of Canada’s most highly-regarded painters. Since that time he has published three books on Hughes: E. J. Hughes Paints Vancouver Island (2017), E. J. Hughes Paints British Columbia (2018), and now The E. J. Hughes Book of Boats. These volumes have been a constant feature of the B. C. Bestsellers’ List and the first one was a finalist for the B. C Book Prize and the Butler/City of Victoria Book Award.

As an artist Robert Amos has become known as “the man who paints Victoria”, and his paintings of the city have entered the permanent collections of the City of Victoria, the Municipality of Oak Bay, the University of Victoria and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. Most important to him are the commissioned paintings he creates of some of our most interesting homes and gardens. Working in close collaboration with his clients, he creates these “heirlooms of the future”, which are images rich in evocative context and telling detail which become unforgettable gifts and superb presentations to celebrate landmarks in the life of a family or corporation.

When not at work painting or writing, Amos enjoys studying the literature of James Joyce and gardening at his Oak Bay home. You can discover more about his activities at www.robertamos.com

For Zoom link please contact Amanda tarling@shaw.ca