Favorite Landscape Themes

A recurrent theme in my landscapes are scenes of old and abandoned structures in the Northwest that represent poignant memories of the past. These include derelict farm buildings, boats, canneries, quays, coal mines, metal mines, quarries, saw mills and grain elevators. I like to paint the many buildings and towns associated with such industries including mining,fishing, farming/ranching and logging that have seen better days. The towns are disappearing, victims to the vagaries of markets, economics, technology and depletion of resources. I find that towns serving these industries can be grouped into four categories:

• towns that are still alive but owe their present existence to other industries.They have a permanent population and some of the original buildings.
• partly ghost towns that have many of the former commercial and private buildings still standing but are unoccupied. The rest of the town is inhabited and is carrying on a normal life.
• true ghost towns that are completely deserted.Some still have buildings lining the streets.

Tourism and gambling have meant a resurgence in many ghost towns throughout the West.

Other Themes

The Northwest presents great opportunities for the landscape artist. I like to capture the rolling prairies with their deep gullies, winding dusty roads and gorgeous sunsets, northern woods, steep river banks with yellow poplars in the fall, white capped mountains with blue-green moraine lakes, orchards of the Okanagan Valley,mountain streams, and scenery of the Pacific Coast.

Foothills Farm watercolor	Barkerville #1 watercolor	Northern Saskatchewan #1 watercolor	Alberta Farm watercolor
BC Waterfront mixed media	Abandoned Farm at Sunset watercolor	Tugboats #1 watercolor	Tugboats #2 mixed media
Ogunquit, Maine watermedia

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