As a kid, artwork was encouraged by my mom, who was artistic herself. We had crayons, paints, pencils, coloured pencils, felt, fabric, pastels, scrap paper and it was also a time when art had a strong presence in schools. I loved art. I was raised on a grain farm in Saskatchewan. I had horses in a 160 acre summer pasture and every day would walk to get them and at that time I learned to observe my landscapes - I'd watch and listen to the water and land birds, listen to how wind rushed through the grasses, watch the light dance on surfaces...sniffing everything as I went along; the fur of my dog - the nose of my horse and all of the scents of the land. In hindsight, I think these were building blocks of observation.

But then I entered university and completed a science degree and travelled, built a career and moved to the west coast, where I explored all of my surroundings with hiking, scuba diving, biking and even rock climbing for a time. During that time, I was employed by West Vancouver Parks as a Horticulturist. Still, I observed.

Arts were still present, but in the background or silently lurking, and when I semi retired in 2015, I thought I'd try my hand at painting. And I haven't stopped since.

I sometimes doubt myself as a true artist, but what is that anyway? We are all artists if we dig deep and wish to try it in whatever form that appeals to us.

I paint in oils mostly these days, but sometimes go back to acrylic where I started and who knows, some day may gravitate to other media.

Currently I am a member of the North Shore Artists Guild and an Active member of the Federation of Canadian Artists. I am very blessed to have been able to work and participate in workshops with many local professionals who I am greatly indebted to for their help and encouragement.