British Columbia

Kamloops Undergrowth painting (acrylic on canvas)

There is little that grounds me more than to lie flat on my stomach amongst a bed of lush undergrowth. With dirt beneath my nails, grasses tickling my cheeks and a wealth of curious insects exploring my person, I enjoy – ever so immensely – the disconnect it provides from life’s somber distractions.

It’s a romantic pastime, until the red ants find their way into my shorts.

I worked on a farm this autumn in Kamloops, British Columbia. Buttercups were never far from view, and, after taking several shots through the weeds, I took to my canvas.

It’s with the trees that I am truly comfortable

How filled I was with rum and whiskey and how sad I felt – as we made our way along the moonlit pavements of Victoria – to see five grand deer stepping hesitantly across the concrete. Indeed, with my blood so heavily infected with liquor, the sorrow of the sight brought me close to tears. The city isn’t good for them – the deer – just as it isn’t for me. But we persist, for one reason or another, against our yearnings.

One day I hope for my instincts and my actions to immaculately align; one day I want to see these very five deer deep in the Island forest.