Canada
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Wednesday, November 17th, 2021
Bluebells, Rowley, Alberta, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
Viper’s Bugloss
Tuesday, August 3rd, 2021
Viper’s Bugloss – Echium vulgare – beside Highway 15 near Franktown, ON – this is the second version, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper. The earlier version done in 2010 was probably my first success with soft pastels. I didn’t try them again until last year.
So cheerful and beautiful with pink buds and blue-violet flowers along tall stems, it’s tempting to pick them for wildflower bouquets, but the plant has tiny spines along the stem and leaves that are very irritating to the skin, so are best enjoyed left where they are, growing en masse in summer fields beside the highways in eastern Ontario.
I was curious about the name… according to the Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism edited by Michael Stuart (c. 1979, 1987 ISBN 0-9999-48911), they were formerly one of the most respected plants used for the treatment of viper’s snake bite venom.
Stony Swamp
Sunday, June 27th, 2021
Stony Swamp, Ottawa ON, Canada – 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on 90 lb WC paper. Framed size 27H x 33W inches, white wood frame, crackle finish.
Vancouver Island Blues
Sunday, May 30th, 2021
Vancouver Island Blues, lodgepole pine at Nimkish Lake BC, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper. Blues because of the main colors, but also because I’m a little blue that crossing the border into Canada is still so complicated. Hopefully by the end of the year most restrictions will have been lifted!
Summer Breeze – Paper Birch Stand
Wednesday, May 26th, 2021
Summer Breeze, Paper Birch Stand near Campbell River, BC – 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper… limited color palette.
Sugar Maple Leaves
Monday, February 22nd, 2021
Sugar Maple Leaves, Napanee ON Canada, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper. Framed size 27H x 33W”.
Native to eastern Canada and the US., sugar maple trees (Acer saccharum) are the showiest variety during Autumn, with colder nights producing deeper red colors. They are also the primary source of maple syrup, as well as hardwood lumber used for furniture and flooring. The sugar maple leaf is the central emblem on the Canadian flag.
MFA’s ‘Oh The Places I Would Go’
Saturday, February 20th, 2021
Queenstown Peaks, New Zealand – 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper and Lake Louise, (Alberta, Canada) 16 x 20 inches acrylics on canvas 
are on view at the Maryland Federation of Art (MFA) online exhibition, ‘Oh the Places I Would Go’ Jan 22 – Feb. 26, 2021.
The prospectus suggests, “Oh the places we would go if we weren’t in quarantine. Or maybe, oh the places we will go once the world is safer. MFA’s fifth People’s Choice exhibition is all about the special places that we can’t be right now and places we’re dreaming of.”
Kananaskis Valley, AB Canada
Sunday, January 10th, 2021
Kananaskis Valley near Banff, Alberta Canada – 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper. Framed size 27H x 33W inches, white wood frame, crackle finish.
Prairie Dogs, Drumheller, AB
Wednesday, January 6th, 2021
Prairie Dogs, also called gophers, the Badlands Hoodoos near Drumheller, Alberta Canada. 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper. Framed size 27H x 33W inches.
The geography in this area of Alberta is incredible, and the gophers are so very much a part of prairie ecology. They are cute to be sure, but they dig their homes in fields and are a nuisance to farmers whose horses and cattle can trip and break their ankles and legs.
You know Spring has finally arrived when the roads and highways are littered with gopher roadkill. In Torrington, Alberta, one lady has found a creative way to manage that. You must visit The World-Famous Gopher Hole Museum located in the middle of nowhere, in a small prairie hamlet where there is not even a gas station, barely noticeable along a seemingly endless dusty gravel road. Gophers are stuffed, sporting handmade costumes and placed in small cubicles displaying historic scenes. Completely bizarre, but actually very well done and absolutely worth the trip.
Ouimet Canyon, ON Canada
Saturday, January 2nd, 2021
Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada – 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
According to written information about this amazing place, the 100 metre deep (330 ft), 150 M (490 ft) wide gorge formed a billion years ago, when earth split due to advancing glaciers, then most likely the tremendous amounts of water released during their retreat, and erosion of the slabs by wind and rain.
It was a rainy day, so the park was tourist-free, and I was able to experience the park alone. In a meditative state of mind, foggy atmosphere enhanced the sense of mystery. I imagined the violent forces that created this wonder, and within the scale of a few small moments, tried to comprehend how much time a billion years is.
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