From the Pacific to the Arctic Ocean, visual stories from Tsawwassen BC to Tuktuyaaqtuuq NTW.
In August of 2022 my son, puppy and myself set out on our second road trip to the Arctic Ocean. We almost didn’t go as his dad had just been diagnosed with ALS and we were devastated. But at his dad’s insistence that we not change our plans or how we lived our lives we packed up the truck and reluctantly went on our way. It was not an easy decision and parts of our journey were so darn sad we almost turned around and came home numerous times. However, being immersed in nature for that long has a healing effect like no other. By the end of our month long adventure I had made well over 50 plein air pieces and we had taken thousands of photographs, had numerous stories to go with them and our hearts were full and ready to deal with whatever lay ahead.
Over the course of the 18 months after our journey I processed photos (and emotions), sorted through all the plein air pieces and filled my studio wall with studies for larger paintings. This collection is the result of this labour of love and learning to let go. It tells the story of our journey up Canada’s only road to the Arctic through the landscapes that nurtured us.
I’ve organized them, along with a selection plein air pieces, roughly into geographic order from the Pacific to the Arctic Ocean. I hope you enjoy the journey as much as we did.
In memory of Neil Emms 1974 to 2024, thank you for encouraging us to go.
