It has been quite an intense summer, here in Calgary. As many of you know, the June floods in and around Calgary affected my family and friends. As a result, I have been helping to clean up homes, provide a listening ear, and make art for several flood-related fundraisers.
My mother and father-in-laws’ home and garden were flooded in High River. Through the decimation, I was amazed to see that Dawns’ poppies remained standing. The red flowers inspired me and I created a series of poppy paintings in response to the flood. I donated one of these pieces to ‘ArtRise,’ a fundraiser put on by the Art Gallery of Calgary, Calgary AB.
http://www.artgallerycalgary.org/fundraisers/artrise
My sister also had a baby during the flood; little Violet was born on June 22, 2013. The little one came into the world on an intense day; her spirit has been feisty, strong and full ever since, as she has had to undergo a number of surgeries since birth. I have enclosed two paintings that I did in honor of Violet Grace Oriold.
This summer, a gallery in Edmonton, called the Front Gallery, picked up my work. Aaron and I packed the truck with several of my recent urban landscape paintings and drove up to Edmonton to meet with Rachel, the gallery director. We shared an amazing lunch, and left Rachel with a number of new pieces. For more information about the Front Gallery, please visit the following link:
http://thefrontgallery.com/thefrontgall/the-artists/
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