As a contemporary landscape painter born and raised in the prairies, I have a deep appreciation and connection to the Canadian landscape. It all started in the 70’s as a kid hanging out in the forests of Millcreek Ravine in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. That’s where my love of nature began.
I find peace and beauty in the natural world I explore. In this busy world filled with opportunities to be distracted, I feel calm and awe when I’m outside. Taking time to live in the moment and becoming acutely aware of what’s around me fuels my creativity and inspire my paintings.
Landscapes fascinate me because they are in constant flux: the clouds move and morph, light continually changes, colours diminish and intensify, and seasons change. I try to capture the constant flux of this natural playground.
The perfect medium for my impatience is acrylic. It’s fast drying, forgiving nature allows me to paint spontaneously and quickly. I begin intuitively, with layers of glazes—building up rich, translucent colour.
Dripping and lifting colour and scratching or using tools to create interesting marks is part of this underpainting too. Then it’s a push and pull of opaques and glazes to find the subject.
I delight in negative painting and usually paint my background last. I want the viewer to see hints of my first layers and explore up close passages that look abstract.
I am a member of the Federation of Canadian Artists and coordinate the exhibitions for our local chapter.