Location: The Old Man River

The Old Man runs east from the Great Divide of the Rocky Mountains past the Porcupine Hills out onto the expanse of the plains and eventually into the South Saskatchewan River and the Hudson Bay.

There is a very deep sense of history and connection for me here. Although working on location has always been essential for me, the interplay of sensory memories plays a vital role during the development of work on return to the studio.

These works have been underway since November of 2004. I have made numerous trips and stops on the Old Man and have explored the headwaters well back into Kananaskis Country.

Weather and the seasons, especially early summer and late fall, bring dramatic changes to the visual relationships. Emotional responses and interpretations evolve as water levels rise and drop and dramatic temperature changes envelop the region, inspiring new imagery on every visit. 

I move work back and forth from location to studios both in Crowsnest Pass, Alberta and Genoa Bay, British Columbia.

I often use considerable cutting and separating of imagery for the purpose of story telling. This positive and negative interplay is an important use of my language elements that have appeared more and more in the last two decades.