With over 30,000 working artists, British Columbia has the largest percentage of its labour force in the arts, well above the Canadian provincial average.The Gulf Islands hold a particular allure for the artist, many of whom come for a visit and remain there for the rest of their lives. An excerpt from a 1955 issue of National Geographic sheds some light on this phenomenon:

“The calm leisurely atmosphere of the islands works its charm upon people from all walks of life. The person in worn clothing whom the newcomer mistakes for a beachcomber or country bumpkin as often as not prove to be a famous scientist, novelist, admiral, politician, or other notable… The sympathetic outsider may find himself being initiated into what may be one of the last truly civilized ways of life remaining in English-speaking North America.

Once that happens, it is unlikely that he will ever want to leave.”