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.

Prairie Dogs, the Badlands Hoodoos near Drumheller, Alberta Canada. 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper. Framed size 27H x 33W inches.

The Canadian Badlands in Alberta and Saskatchewan are recognized for having unusual mudstone and sandstone landscape formations, and also for having the largest deposits of dinosaur bones in the world. The geography in Horseshoe Canyon, Alberta is ancient and incredible, and the prairie dogs – Albertans call them “gophers” – are an influential  part of prairie ecology, having extensive impact on vegetation and animal life. They live in colonies of up to several thousand, burrowing in networks of tunnels where other ground-dwelling creatures move in, and rain water is reserved and redirected.
They are cute to be sure, but they are sometimes a nuisance to farmers whose horses and cattle can trip in the holes. Pest control programs during the 1900’s meant their numbers have declined, which had an impact on the grasslands they helped sustain. As their own highways became populated with humans and cars, particularly during Springtime they are a road hazard.

In Torrington, Alberta, one lady has found a creative way to utilize the unfortunate casualties. You must visit The World-Famous Gopher Hole Museum located in the middle of nowhere, in a small hamlet where there is not even a gas station, along a seemingly endless dusty gravel road about an hour Northwest of Drumheller. Gophers are stuffed, sporting handmade costumes and placed in small cubicles displaying historic scenes. Completely bizarre, but actually very well done and absolutely worth the conversation-provoking side-trip if you are planning to visit Drumheller and the Tyrell Dinosaur Museum.

Feeding Cockatoos, Apollo Bay, along the Great Ocean Road, Australia – 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on 90 lb watercolor paper.

Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada – 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper

According to written information about this amazing place, the 100 metre deep (330 ft), 150 M (490 ft) wide gorge formed a billion years ago, when earth split due to advancing glaciers, then most likely the tremendous amounts of water released during their retreat, and erosion of the slabs by wind and rain.

It was a rainy day, so the park was tourist-free, and I was able to experience the park alone. In a meditative state of mind, foggy atmosphere enhanced the sense of mystery. I imagined the violent forces that created this wonder, and within the scale of a few small moments, tried to comprehend how much time a billion years is.

Campfire Smoke, Yosemite National Park CA, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper.

Framed size 27H x 33W inches, white wood frame, crackle finish.

Wyoming Rockscape, Bighorn National Forest, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on watercolor paper

Shepperd’s Dell Falls, East Historic Columbia River, Corbett, Oregon – 24H x 18W inches soft pastels on paper. Interesting that a change as trivial as flipping the format to portrait threw me off my game for a bit, and it took a while to adapt.

Two pieces will be showing at the Landscapes of the Mind exhibition at the First Floor Gallery, Santa Clarita city hall December 2020 through March 19, 2021. Here is the link to the virtual exhibition (work shown is not to scale). My two pieces, The Campsite and Winter Forest: Dogwood, both watercolors, are located just to the right as you enter, behind the central walls.

The Sound of Silence – 2009, 36H x 24W x 2D acrylics on canvas, trim frame

Five pieces were accepted into the J. Mane Gallery online exhibition Abstracts 2020 showing through December. All are available for sale, listed on the left sidebar.

Birch – 2012, 12H x 16W inches watercolors and Multnomah Falls – 2017, 18 x 24 inches watercolors

Queen Anne’s Lace – 2018, 14H x 20W watercolors and Spring Garden Mix – 2013, 18H x 24 oil pastels

Summer Leaves, Trask River, Oregon – 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper