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About the Gros Morne Experience:
I was one of the original three artists to pilot this Artist-in-
Residence Program. I spent three weeks in the remote warden cabins
of Arm Pond and Harding's Pond, independent, only to paint, photograph
and write.
I chose the fall to go into the back country to places I hadn't
previously been. I had hiked many of the trails in the Park before.
I've always been astounded by the grandeur of the sea front that
allows all travelers to experience the view from the comfort of
their cars and board walks.
A small window of good weather allowed me to fly in, then the cloud
ceiling fell and I was there in the obscured landscape during pouring
rain and near zero visibility.
As time went on, my strange environment became home. Familiar sounds
and smells oriented me and the fishing loon woke me up and serenaded
me to sleep.
I sat by the brook in front of the cabin for long days and painted;
the water explaining itself to me, the trees unraveling themselves
and the rocks becoming as individuals, each with enormous character.
A long time alone strips away the many chattering voices and demands
of the modern world and what is left is who you are, whether you
like it or not.
The paintings I made and photographs I took are testimonies to
the time I spent there and I did not draw upon them for later work.
These are the physical fragments or souvenirs of the trip, what
is important is what the experience does to you.
I did not begin with an idea, the end product was as surprising
to me as it may be to you the viewer.
It is rare these days to be given the opportunity to experience
the world in such an elemental way. It is important that these wild
places are protected because as time goes on, there will be less
of them just when we’ll need them the most.
Selected Exhibitions, Accomplishments,
Awards:
· Juried exhibition, Royal Canadian Academy of Art Millennium Celebration,
Stratford Arts Space, Stratford, ON 2000
· Master Printer West Baffin Island Co-op, Cape Dorset Nunavut,
NWT 1998
· Artists in the Arctic Program, Memorial Universities of Newfoundland
and Labrador, St.John's NF 1990
· "Land and Sea", touring show 8 venues in Ireland
1995
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