BEAUTIFUL HOME IN THE FOREST - DEER LAKE

I remember telling myself, "What a charming little house peeking through the trees...but there's just so much foliage around! I need to simplify. Thank god for ovals and triangles!" As I worked on this a bit more, the sketch started to re-shape itself and with it, the story behind this painting . It evolved into something bigger, something more than just being a house in the woods but a home in the forest. 

The space that we decide to claim as our home is the same space other creatures call theirs. They have been here first, we just don’t see them. Hidden in this painting is a bear, a coyote, an owl, a squirrel and a bird. Do you see them? They are all around.

This will be exhibited at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts as part of the Vancouver Urban Sketching Burnaby Exhibition for the Culture Days Event on Sept 26th. The preliminary sketch, concept sketch and value study will be presented along with this original painting to show how this came to be. If you have some free time on the weekend, drop by and get your fill of art, inspiration, color and community!