Snuggled up to the base of Sugarloaf mountain in the heart of Nanaimo’s “Sherwood Forest,” Michael Tickner’s new studio is surrounded by many of the same elements so often found in his paintings: craggy-topped mountains, a view of a blue-grey sea, swathes of green in the evergreens and shrubs.

The London, England-born Tickner and his wife made the move to the Island three years ago after spending nearly three decades in Lions Bay on the mainland; he moved into his new artistic digs at the beginning of last year.

“We knew we loved it here,” he says. “Many Augusts, we used to tour the Island. Being over here, it’s like living in Vancouver in the ‘70s.” The move came as Tickner was nearing the 45th year in his artistic career, an...