Black Pool bLUE POOL
In north-central Alberta where I live, the prairie begins its transition to boreal forest. The land begins to roll and bunch and crease. Hundreds of sloughs and lakes dot the landscape. Stands of trees surround and emerge from these bodies of water. In sunlight, the water reflects intense blue skies. In the shadow of a cloud or hill, the same water can look almost black. The tangle of trees form windows through which we see peeks of sky or open fields.
To the artist’s eye, this landscape offers ‘pools’ of blue and black that become major elements in these highly abstracted paintings. White birch and aspen trunks are showcased by the intense colors that surround them.
Returning to my Alberta roots after many years in Boston, New York City and Vancouver, these paintings offer a more mature artistic response to the landscape that has inspired me since childhood. In their essence, these bright bold paintings and collages reflect the dynamic summer landscape of Alberta.
