Preview image #1 (Watercolour | 54 x 40.5" framed)

Belgium's irresistible city of Brugge (Bruges) has a rich history of trade and an affluent merchant class who built lavish houses on a maze of canals and cobblestone streets; a medieval labyrinth in which to wander and wonder. One is lured down endless passageways by the enchantment of light, conversations, music and aromas spilling from restaurants, cocktail bars, lobbies. Late at night, there is a moment when most reasonable people have gone home and businesses are preparing to close but lights are still on, revealing elegant & inviting interiors. Another passageway invites the wanderer to keep discovering new processions of ancient houses, another canal, another square, maybe another café open for a nightcap. Warm amber light and red brick contrasts with midnight blue sky and deep shadows, café chairs cast serpentine shadows on table tops after a fleeting rain shower.

"Tangled Shore" (Watercolour | 24 x 24" framed)

Almost a year ago we were canoeing in Wells Gray Provincial Park, B.C. and incredibly fortunate to have an entire week of perfect weather, 30° and clear every day. Sunsets were calm and cooler, a welcome respite from the day's heat. The setting sun burns through tangled forest and is reflected in glassy water, a sandy shoreline beckons feet for a cool stroll, an evening swim. A quintessentially Canadian summer!

Watercolour, 14 × 21” (25 x 32" framed"

The "Pont Del Bisbe" is a Neo-Gothic bridge in Barcelona's Gothic Quarter and was high on my list of priorities when visiting there. It is a replica of the famed Bridge of Sighs in Venice and a focal point of the quarter. I walked by it each morning and evening, admiring it in different light conditions, distances and angles. To me it is most alluring at night, rain wetting the ancient cobblestones adding specular highlights. Two historic palaces are joined by an intricate span of stone tracery and wooden beams dramatically lit by street lamps. Doors and windows of the palaces invite passersby inside with warm light and music spilling into the street, while the street itself gently arcs into darkness toward the central square.

Watercolour | 14.5 × 14.5 (26 × 26” framed)

I am constantly astounded that we can grow grapes at latitude 53 here in Edmonton. This fall we harvested 80 lbs from our small back yard. Though we don't have to put up preserves out of necessity as our grandparents did, the sustaining joy these gifts from the garden offer through winter with their vibrant taste and colour feels necessary.