Natural History
GROWING UP WITH NATURE
I grew up across the street from a large forest and only two blocks from Burnaby Lake Park. As a child, these were my playgrounds. During my summers, I fondly remember family camping trips to various provincial and federal parks throughout British Columbia and parts of Alberta, Canada. My first job out of high school was working as a surveyor for a logging company, and later after attending art school, where I also studied anthropology and archaeology, I took an archaeology field school course and ended up working as an archaeologist/field artist for four years. Today I live 10-minutes from mountains, forests, streams, and lakes. Travel down my street, turn north at any number of forested roadways and you can suddenly find yourself in an untamed, rugged wilderness.
I grew up across the street from a large forest and only two blocks from Burnaby Lake Park. As a child, these were my playgrounds. During my summers, I fondly remember family camping trips to various provincial and federal parks throughout British Columbia and parts of Alberta, Canada. My first job out of high school was working as a surveyor for a logging company, and later after attending art school, where I also studied anthropology and archaeology, I took an archaeology field school course and ended up working as an archaeologist/field artist for four years. Today I live 10-minutes from mountains, forests, streams, and lakes. Travel down my street, turn north at any number of forested roadways and you can suddenly find yourself in an untamed, rugged wilderness.
My artwork is an extension of my lifelong passion of the exploration of natural history, its beautiful landscapes, fauna, insects, and animals. I hope people will appreciate and even be inspired to go out and explore nature because of the natural beauty I present in my unique art.
• Click on the image to enlarge •
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Fire Red Rose (8Wx11L). My mother used to grow roses in our front yard. Her rose bushes were a gift from my father to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. Her rose plants lasted over 25 years until the last one died just a prior to my father's passing, something I found somewhat ironic. I always remember seeing and being impressed with the red roses in particular as these roses were so intensely red. They always reminded me of fire.
(medium: acrylic paint & black ink on watercolour paper). |
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Wild Pink Rose (8Wx11L). Growing up in Burnaby, I lived only two blocks from Burnaby Lake Park. Along the North-West corner of the park, near Sperling Avenue, there is a section where wild roses grow in large numbers. During early summer, the air was thick with the perfumed scent from these roses. This formed a strong childhood memory that has never left me. It was a like piece of heaven on earth.
(medium: acrylic paint & black ink on watercolour paper). |
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Deer Lake Trail No.2 (10Wx13L). I grew up near Deer Lake and Burnaby Lake. Both locations share a similar landscape, a forested marshland that evokes many childhood memories for me and reminds me of the ancient fens of Europe. I will often walk around Deer Lake when I find myself in Burnaby with some time to spare. There are many potential paintings to be found in this park.
(medium: acrylic paint & black ink on watercolour paper). |
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Forested Lake (Rolley Lake) (11Wx14L). I find myself lost in the beauty of this park with its lake, the mountains backdrop, the numerous streams that feed the lake, and a well maintained pathway that circles its shoreline. I first came to this lake when I was 14 years old. I see many potential paintings waiting to be rendered while walking around Rolley Lake. I plan to do this as soon as time permits. (medium: acrylic paint & black ink on illustration board).
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Gold Creek (12Wx16L). I first hiked along Gold Creek when I was 7 years old. It is a beautiful, memorable location surrounded by mountains and trees. During the 1858 Gold Rush, it was thought the creek may prove to be gold bearing, so it was named appropriately although gold was never found here. Gold Creek is in Golden Ears Provincial Park, BC, Canada, and flows into equally beautiful Alouette Lake.
(medium: acrylic paint & black ink on illustration board). |
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Blue Mountain Trail (11Wx14L). As soon as I saw this portion of the trail, I knew I would paint it. I rushed home and started painting immediately. It was a warm day but because of the shade provided by the trees, made the air cool under their canopy. The Blue Mountain trail (at Dewdney Trunk Road along 272nd) was a main spur of the world's largest logging railway system in its day.
(medium: acrylic paint & black ink on watercolour paper). |
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Deer Lake Trail (Burnaby) (5.75Wx8.5L). This is one of a series of 4 pieces I recently rendered depicting scenes along the Deer Lake trail, which follows around the lake's entirety, crossing its marshlands via an elevated wooden boardwalk, and traversing through meadows on a well graveled footpath. It is a wonderful place to walk, offering much potential for my future painting works.
(medium: acrylic paint & black ink on watercolour paper). |
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Hayward Lake Railway Trail No.7 (5.75Wx8.5L). This is one of a series of pieces I recently rendered along the Hayward Lake railway trail, a trail which roughly follows the edge of Hayward Lake. The number of potential paintings in this park is amazing. The railway line that once ran beside this lake was once part the world's largest logging railway system.
(medium: acrylic paint & black ink on watercolour paper). |
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Hayward Lake Railway Trail No.1 (5.75Wx8.5L). This is one of a series of pieces I recently rendered of the Hayward Lake railway trail, which is just 100 yards from the entrance to Hayward Lake large off-leash dog beach. As soon as I came across the dynamics of the design of this scene, I knew I had to paint it. I find trees can be a powerful subject to paint in their own right
(medium: acrylic paint & black ink on watercolour paper). |
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Mushrooms No.1 (5.75Wx8.5L). This is one of two paintings I rendered of local wild mushrooms. Suprisingly, I didn't have to drive very far to find a the subject mushrooms for these paintings. This one was in my backyard and the others was found in a park across the street from where I live. The abundance of wild mushrooms, and their variety, in my area is quite astounding providing you are looking during the right season.
(medium: acrylic paint & black ink on watercolour paper). |
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Three Sisters (version1) (8Wx10.5L). This pieces is one of a series of paintings I have rendered depicting various lakes within a short car drive from from where I live. I hiked around this lake several times while making sketches and taking photographs during a late summer evening. This painting was rendered in a post-impressionist style.
(medium: acrylic paint on illustration board). |
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At Dusk (18Wx24L). This painting depicts a park not far from where I live. I was there the moment the sun was starting to set and it left such an impression on me that I decided to paint what I had seen. On the strength of this painting, and a couple other pieces, I was allowed a solo art show that ended up a collection of 30 new paintings under the title, An Eye On Nature: ART SHOW in February 2020.
(medium: acrylic paint on canvas) |
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Fraser River (18Wx24L). This painting depicts a park along Fraser Dyke Road near Harris Road in Pitt Meadows, BC, Canada. I was standing at the river's edge at sunset looking westward and this is what I saw. This painting was part of my 30-piece solo art show under the title, An Eye On Nature: ART SHOW in February 2020.
(medium: acrylic paint on canvas) |
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