Here is a series of paintings you probably wouldn't expect from a primarily landscape artist. You might be wondering what prompted this series... let me explain from the very beginning.
It all started on a rainy day, jumping in puddles with my kids. I was watching a puddle, the raindrops kissing the water and dispersing... carrying the colours of what was underneath them along the surface of the water. It was mesmerizing to watch, so I just stared, absorbing the movement. Later in the studio, I experimented with capturing that motion. It took years to really unfold what drew me initially to that moment... and along those years I picked up other ideas. Everywhere in Canada I went, I looked at the rocks under my feet. From Lake Superior to the Rocky Mountains, the colours, especially when accentuated by being under water were surprising and exciting to me. All of these experiences combined to the start of a series that married my love of rocks and raindrops.
Beyond the visual, I began to see more in the ripples of the raindrops. I saw that they represented our larger world in a way that very few other things do. One tiny raindrop lands in a puddle, the ripple collides with other ripples, changing direction, changing eachother. In my life, some of my favourite people, some still in my life, some not, have collided into my circle, and changed the course of my life, who I am now, and how I see the world in front of me, my outlook and my fate. Every raindrop ripple/person in my life has formed the personality and outlook that I have today. Sometimes with everything going on in the world right now, I feel helpless, like what can a little artist in the woods in the middle of nowhere do to change anything? But then I think of raindrops... just my one tiny raindrop, my authentic and honest self landing in this world, this giant puddle... will travel outwards, effecting the people around me and the people I know, and hopefully if there are enough of these good vibe raindrops, it will affect our collective consciousness and the world will be a happier and more beautiful place.
Beyond that, I think of music. Every start to my studio day is a cup of good coffee and music. Music is my catalyst, the caffeine to my creativity. Art is so connected. We inspire each other. For music, for all of the songwriters and performers out there, I am so grateful. Where would we be without music? The soundtrack to so many memories is a song. You can hear a song and be instantly transported to another place and time. Similarly I can touch my brush to any of my paintings and remember what song I was listening to for each section of a painting. It's magic, it's time-travel! So these raindrops also remind me of the reach of music, how the sound waves travel, and the song collides and affects each of us, changing us, and moving on and on.
It all boils down to this... we do affect each other, and I hope these pieces bring awareness to how we are all connected, we are all one.
The Raindrop Series is now complete. I had in mind to do a certain number of pieces in this series, each one representing one aspect of the story, some are so active in their movement, some "dance", some represent the refreshment of spirit, some are "pre-collision" isolated but each reaching out. I completed the very last one, "The Last of the Raindrops" in 2024 and celebrated the end of the series with a limited edition print of it. There will be no new ones created, but I am fortunate right now to sit in my studio surrounded by the last remaining originals of this series. Contact me for a an appointment to see them here in my Keewatin Studio.
