Arts and Entertainment

From Romania to Erin: Engineer and artist Victor Gligor shares his journey

August 20, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

Victor Gligor and his family came to B.C. from Romania in 1992 and lived there for 31 years. When he retired, he and his wife moved to Toronto to be near their son, a lawyer who had studied at the University of Ottawa.

They now live in nearby Erin. Although Gligor has retired, he is still a P.Eng. Electrical Engineer, with over 30 years of experience in Romania, Germany and Canada. A member of Garibaldi Art Club in Maple Ridge and of the Federation of Canadian Artists, as well as Headwaters Arts, Gligor remains actively involved in his life as an artist.

Gligor said painting has been his hobby for many years and has been important to him since he was very young. Discovering early on his own talent for painting, he enrolled himself in the School of Art in his hometown, while he was living in Romania.

While living as an artist was his dream, Gligor did pursue his education as an engineer. For a year now, as a member of Headwaters Arts, he has participated in most shows at the Headwaters Arts Gallery.

In his biography online, Gligor writes that he “never lost his passion for painting and the nature of the landscapes sealed in his soul, the spiritual values that emerge into his artwork. His love for gardening, flowers, forests and wild nature, combined with his inclination for science and engineering were very beneficial in Victor’s case, bringing him rewards and satisfaction on both fields.”

While Gligor enjoyed reflecting the cityscapes of ancient places in Europe, his firmest inclination is to bring landscapes to his palettes. Coming to British Columbia as his first introduction to Canada was a marvel of forests and mountains.

Yet, once he and his wife settled here with the very fine landscapes in neighbouring Caledon, he has been happy to have this countryside as his model. The elegant birch trees, clustering as they do, the rolling farms with the solitary homes and barns, the streams rushing over rocks to crash into a river’s tributary are included, as he sometimes seems to be following the trails of en plein air painters decades ago.

“I am most inspired by the surrounding area,” he said. “the side of water, of a lake; inspired by Ontario, travelling as much as I can but I have plenty of views in this surrounding area.”

Gligor and his wife are very busy with their family, their grandkids, as Gligor affectionately calls them.

“Art is a hobby for me. When I feel my creative energy is at the level of my canvas, I am happy to paint. We are also gardening and very involved with our grandkids, our family activities.”

As a member of the Federation of Canadian Artists, his paintings are shown in shows in cities all around Ontario.

Most of all, he is very happy to have found such a fine group of artists at Headwaters. “All the walls are covered with paintings,” he pronounced about the Alton Mill’s Art in Abundance show, which concludes Sept. 13. “I am trying to teach my grandkids about art, but they have their other interests.”

He expressed his feelings about individuals’ talent, saying, “Every person has talent. It is not just about painting – there is music as well. It is up to you to find it.

“You never know what is in your soul – you just need to get it out.”

Emphasizing, he added, “It is never too late. Talent is sitting there forever and you never knew it until you get it out and get to know the right people. You need a little encouragement to do that.”

There are great opportunities to develop, and that has to be encouraged, he maintains.

“As parents and grandparents, it is our obligation to help to encourage the next generation to trust their abilities for the whole society,” he said.

His praise for the Alton was fulsome: “Alton is a gem and great people.”

He was deeply impressed with the Caledon Music Festival Concert under the cover at the Alton Mill, saying “the concert after the show was wonderful.”

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