June 4th, not surprisingly...is a momentous day for someone very special in my life. It's Grace's 8th birthday today, and I'm sorry that I'm not there with her but instead - thinking about her future and the future of my grandchildren and their grandchildren by examining what we have to lose in the battle between government, big oil and the human beings and creatures that inhabit this earth.
The verdant valleys that lay at the bottom of majestic snow-capped peaks that line the sides of the Yellowhead highway #16 westward towards Prince Rupert...have taken my breath away today. The smell of the air is different here. It's newer - fresher, filled with spirit and the life-breath of the trees. The life-breath of this planet. I get it. I get why we need to look at this land with different eyes, and protect it. I've never seen anything like it. Pristine...beautiful. There are no words for this place...and there are fewer people to see it.
Nothing quite so exciting than starting your trip by getting this close to a bear. I had a great day on the road, experiencing every form of weather from snow to sunshine. In one day, I spotted two black bears, a huge male elk, bighorn sheep, deer, loons, bald eagles. It's made me realize once again, how privileged I am to live in this part of the world, and that so much is right in my own backyard.
There are many things one thinks about in a painting. Often, it's how to handle your chosen medium and how to best reveal the light in a three dimensional form on a two dimensional surface.
I'm very excited to be doing a workshop as part of my residency in Gwaii Haanas. If you're on island, come join us!
In Canada, we are currently under the thumbs of one of the least "artist-friendly" governments since Confederation. There's a reason for that. Artists are not afraid of speaking out, acting as catalysts for change, observing change in the larger society and finding unique and expressive ways to shine light into dark corners of corrupt governments. That frightens those in power - it always has. They are frightened of what they do not understand.
Neel de Wit-Wibaut is a painter who splits her time between Calgary and a remote location in the Alberta foothills. Devoted to her work, she has been painting faithfully for decades. Her paintings express her deep appreciation of nature and invite the viewer to join her in a reflection on light. Working primarily in oils on wood, her subjects are inspired moments of illumination—sunlight, moonlight and the colors in shadows. This retrospective is a tribute to Neel’s remarkable career and an homage to the Alberta foothills where she has lived for more than half her life.
If you are in Canmore on Thursday, May 3rd, you must take the time to attend this talk by independent curator and writer, Mary-Beth Laviolette. Mary-Beth will be doing an…
Here are a couple of beautiful videos made by Parks Canada of the Gwaii Haanas Marine Park. I will be there this June, as Artist in Residence.
