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Jack Vander Wal

In 1940 German armed forces invaded Holland the the threatening Nazi regime became an everyday reality for tens of thousands of people including Jack Vander Wal, who was then 16 years old. He had been born in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands, in 1924 and spent his youth in a dominating commercial environment however, his interests were with the arts, particularly poetry and painting.

During the past forty years Vander Wal has complusively painted, first in his spare time and later full time. He immigrated to Alberta in 1952 and then in 1976 to an isolated residence in Nova Scotia. He supported a family and raised five children while working as a farm worker and later in the field of plant genetics. Throughout this time he continued to paint whenever he could. Haunted by the trama of the war, Jack’s expression was deeply rooted in the sadness and horror of death and destruction. in 1983 his work took a new direction, as his inspiration came from his natural surroundings. “Art became my healer”, he stated. “The prime nourishment for my soul became my natural surroundings, resonating the love of its Creator-the Light from the timeless and spaceless, which is the standard and origin of what is authentic and aesthetic.”

At the age of 77 , he continues to paint everyday with a passion that often leaves him speechless with exhaustion. “In my life, I have produced a large body of work, reflecting not only the times I have lived in but also the development and maturing growth of a soul.”

Jack Vander Wal’s paintings are found in the collections of the Canada Council Art Bank, the Art Bank of Alberta, the Government of Alberta, the Art Bank of Nova Scotia, Petro-Canada, Teleglobe Canada and others.