Summer – Provence

George Bates

George W. Bates was born in London, England. He came to North America in 1954, living in Toronto and Los Angeles before settling in Vancouver, Canada, in 1956. His approach to painting draws from both the realist and impressionist traditions. His influences include British impressionist, Alfred Sisley, as well as the great marine painters Montague Dawson and Norman Wilkinson. Bates also learned much from his friend of thirty years, Edwin C. Lockey.

Bates was a Charter Member of the Canadian Society of Marine Artists and was elected Senior Member of the Federation of Canadian Artists in 1983. Married, with three children, Bates resided in West Vancouver. His favored subjects are the places he constantly revisits, and has come to know best through his art: The Pacific Northwest, California, and the American Southwest, but also the street scenes and landscapes of Europe, especially France and his first homeland, Britain.