Gordon Parnell was born and raised on Hornby Island, but spent the better part of the last 40 years living in Baja California. Where he indulged in developing software, founding a public company, riding off-road motorcycles and learning to create sculptures.

Gordon’s first job back in Canada was a real adventure working on a cattle ranch near Keremeos.

Having survived the cattle, Gordon now lives on Texada Island, located just 28Km across the sea from his childhood playground immortalised in a song by John McLachlan, titled Shingle Spit Song. Gordon at the corner of Parnell and Shingle Spit roads.

Untouched by formal arts training, Gordon developed a clear style and personal methodology for making highly expressive abstract sculptures.

His first 100+ sculptures (2012+) were made from beach debris (shells, bone, and wood). Twenty of these sea shell sculptures are on display in the Estero Beach Museum (Museo Del Estero) in Ensenada, BC, Mexico.

The ideas expressed in the sea shell sculptures were eventually expressed in paper (LA Times) in the form of people-sized paper sculptures; the first one being almost three meters long and weighing 30+ kilos. Over several years nineteen of these people-sized sculptures were created.

It was a revelation when in 2020, Gordon switched to making (smaller) table-top sculptures. A tenth the size of a people-sized sculpture; he could now create ten times more sculptures in the same amount of time, and did.

As of June 2026, there are about 30+ sculptures at Gordon’s studio on Texada island, BC

Artist Statement:
To paraphrase Yogi Berra, “You can learn a lot about sculpture just by making them.”

Saludos, Gordon