Waterton Park Paintings

Waterton Park: Mountain and Prairie, 2010

In Waterton, the Great Plain Prairies meet with the northern Rockies creating a stunning contrast of gold and violet during the autumn months. Waterton Park contains some of the oldest mountains in the Rockies.

Waterton Park: Lake and Mountains, 2010

Waterton Parks was actually named after its chain of lakes. Though it is the smallest national park in the Canadian Rockies, it contains a vast assortment of ecosystems and wildlife.

Waterton Park: Haystacks 2010

Waterton Park is located in Southwest Alberta. Driving from Calgary to Waterton in late August/early September is truly spectacular. You see the golden rolling prairie and green farmland flanked by purple mountains.

For more information on Waterton Park, visit Parks Canada.

Visual Rhythm

One of my favourite ways to teach students about visual rhythm is to have them look (and listen to) Romare Bearden’s The Block.

We discuss how pattern makes visual rhythm and students create a collage style block of their own.

One of the reasons I enjoy this so much is the integration of sound (music), art, and poetry - students write rhythmic, onomatopoeia poems describing their art. But a second reason is as an artist I am drawn to the organic patterns of landscapes as well as the geometric patterns of cityscapes.

So on this Alberta-Blue sky day, I headed downtown to find inspiration in the patterns of Calgary. Is Calgary remotely similar to Bearden’s Harlem? Not really. But if there is one thing I teach my students, it is that everyone's block is a little different, and that uniqueness is something to be valued. So here is some southern Alberta urban rhythm, beautiful in its own right...

If you can’t beat them....

(and let’s face it, who in the history of the earth has ever beaten mother nature)...then suit up.

I am not a terribly fast learner, but during my first winter here in Alberta, I realized that the days of looking out the window at the cold grey world surrounding you and waiting for spring from the comfort of your living room were over.

Gone were the Mississippi winters of my youth which consisted of about three months of grey rainy weather and an occasional ice storm which made headlines across the state. For a short time everyone hibernated indoors and before you could say “Easter Sunday” the daffodils were blooming, the azaleas emerging and winter was a distant memory. However my geographical location has since shifted and so has my mindset. In a place where approximately 9 months out of the year resemble winter, waiting inside was not an option.

So today as I sat lethargically looking outside at the whitish gray landscape, I know I only had one choice – suit up. I pulled on the wool socks, the second pair of wool socks, the thermal underwear, lined ski-pants, tee-shirt, second tee-shirt, sweat shirt, down vest, down coat, gloves, hat, scarves, and went for a walk. No daffodils in sight, but Alberta winters do have a beauty of their own...