Canada
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Tuesday, January 4th, 2022
Prairie Storm, July in Cochrane, Alberta, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper. Framed size 27H x 33W”.
Sarsparilla Trail
Saturday, November 20th, 2021
Sarsparilla Trail, Ottawa, ON Canada, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
Bluebells
Wednesday, November 17th, 2021
Bluebells, Rowley, Alberta, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
Viper’s Bugloss
Tuesday, August 3rd, 2021
Viper’s Bugloss – Echium vulgare – beside Highway 15 near Franktown, ON – this is the second version, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper. The earlier version done in 2010 was probably my first success with soft pastels. I didn’t try them again until last year.
So cheerful and beautiful with pink buds and blue-violet flowers along tall stems, it’s tempting to pick them for wildflower bouquets, but the plant has tiny spines along the stem and leaves that are very irritating to the skin, so are best enjoyed left where they are, growing en masse in summer fields beside the highways in eastern Ontario.
I was curious about the name… according to the Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism edited by Michael Stuart (c. 1979, 1987 ISBN 0-9999-48911), they were formerly one of the most respected plants used for the treatment of viper’s snake bite venom.
Stony Swamp
Sunday, June 27th, 2021
Stony Swamp, Ottawa ON, Canada – 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on 90 lb WC paper. Framed size 27H x 33W inches, white wood frame, crackle finish.
Vancouver Island Blues
Sunday, May 30th, 2021
Vancouver Island Blues, lodgepole pine at Nimkish Lake BC, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper. Blues because of the main colors, but also because I’m a little blue that crossing the border into Canada is still so complicated. Hopefully by the end of the year most restrictions will have been lifted!
Paper Birch Stand
Wednesday, May 26th, 2021
Paper Birch Stand near Campbell River, BC – 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper… limited color palette.
Sugar Maple Leaves
Monday, February 22nd, 2021
Sugar Maple Leaves, Napanee ON Canada, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper. Framed size 27H x 33W”.
Native to eastern Canada and the US., sugar maple trees (Acer saccharum) are the showiest variety during Autumn, with colder nights producing deeper red colors. They are also the primary source of maple syrup, as well as hardwood lumber used for furniture and flooring. The sugar maple leaf is the central emblem on the Canadian flag.
MFA’s ‘Oh The Places I Would Go’
Saturday, February 20th, 2021
Queenstown Peaks, New Zealand – 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper and Lake Louise, (Alberta, Canada) 16 x 20 inches acrylics on canvas 
are on view at the Maryland Federation of Art (MFA) online exhibition, ‘Oh the Places I Would Go’ Jan 22 – Feb. 26, 2021.
The prospectus suggests, “Oh the places we would go if we weren’t in quarantine. Or maybe, oh the places we will go once the world is safer. MFA’s fifth People’s Choice exhibition is all about the special places that we can’t be right now and places we’re dreaming of.”
Kananaskis Valley, AB Canada
Sunday, January 10th, 2021
Kananaskis Valley near Banff, Alberta Canada – 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper. Framed size 27H x 33W inches, white wood frame, crackle finish.