My third and final design for the 10ft by 25ft mural I am creating for the town of Nakusp.  This toad invites you to nestle into the forest undergrowth, and breathe in the fresh fragrance of wild ginger. Some chanterelle mushrooms have pushed their way through the soft moss, and a few morning dew drops still cling to the top. As usual, a hungry slug slowly moves in for a meal. All is peaceful, and energetically alive and connected.

This  18"X48" acrylic painting of a western toad went through quite a few changes  before I settled on  my final design.  I got up at 5:30am one morning and took a bunch of photos in my neighborhood of Crescent Bay in Nakusp of the sunrise.  Since toads are nocturnal, I painted him enjoying a bit of morning warmth before he headed off to hide under a rock somewhere.  The morning star hangs delicately in the sky, so I call this piece " Sunrise Toad"

On November 3rd  at the Langham Gallery in Kaslo, I presented an artist talk explaining some  of my ideas and inspiration for my exhibition, "Grounded".  This body of work began in 2012, and I continue to enjoy drawing in charcoal and discovering new images that speak to me.  Many thanks to my attentive audience and to the Langham Gallery staff, it was a lovely opening with refreshments and live music by Jan Van Gold.  The exhibiton continues until Dec 15th.

I would like to announce there will be a closing reception and artist talk for my current exhibition "Grounded" at Gallery 2 in Grand Forks from 1pm - 3pm Saturday April 8th.  Everyone is welcome!

Artist Statement (opening paragraph)
This exhibition of drawings explores the subject of being grounded.  I explore, by examining the ground of ordinary objects, that which allows us to move outside the ordinary.  I focus on visualizing weight, repetition and pattern, and work to capture something special in the subject matter.  I try to bind the ordinary to the extraordinary without losing ground, without forgetting what grounds us everyday.  It was out of facing this challenge I came to understand that in humble and simple objects we can realize something mysterious, something larger, perhaps even something heroic.

I am so excited to be chosen for a solo art exhibition with Light, Space & Time Online Gallery!  John Math has done a beautiful job putting together a You Tube video  showing an overview of my mixed media assemblage art works, sent out 70 world wide press releases, and gave me a feature page on the gallery's website.  So far the traffic to my artist website has tripled!  If you are interested in this type of promotion (and who wouldn't be) I would recommend checking  this gallery out, they are very respectful and professional.
www.lightspacetime.com