Forgotten Places
The sites for the series Forgotten Places can be locations in the forest surrounding my studio, or isolated woodlots hemmed in by farm fields. Some of the woodlots have been long-ignored and contain remnants of old-growth. In these unobserved corners of our shared landscape, human control is diminished. The paintings are layered, chaotic and dense, revelling in the vitality of these places.
Forgotten Ravine 2024 acrylic on canvas 72”x120”
2024 exhibition Forgotten Places at Lonsdale Gallery Toronto
Feral Apple Trees Overgrown 2024 acrylic on canvas 72"x120"
Apple trees were brought to Ontario by 19th-century colonists. Many trees escaped cultivation and a feral population merged with the local forest ecosystem. Today the arrival of new plant species like European buckthorn and Tatarian honeysuckle have again shifted the dynamic of the forest.
2024 exhibition Forgotten Places at Lonsdale Gallery Toronto
Chaos and Light 2020 acrylic on canvas 76”×116”
In recent years the forest has transformed due to the arrival of the emerald ash-borer beetle. The expansion of the beetle’s habitat is a direct result of climate change. Within a few seasons, all the mature white ash trees died and began to fall. The canopy became more open and the forest interior became brighter, warmer and drier.
2021 exhibition: Terroir at Lonsdale Gallery Toronto
Rockside Woods, Tangle 28-Sept-2022 2022 acrylic on canvas. 30”x30”
Rockside Woods, Forest Pool 21-July-2023 2023 acrylic on canvas 24”x40”
Rockside Woods, Shoreline 12-May-2022 2022 acrylic on canvas 20”x24”
Rockside Woods, Forest Pool 14-June-2019 2019 acrylic on plywood 18”x18”
Rockside Woods, Spruce Grove at Dusk 28-March-2019 2019 acrylic on canvas 24”x24”
Rockside Woods, Early Spring 6-April-2019 2019 acrylic on canvas 48”x48”
Ravine 2 2024 watercolour and pastel 11”×15”
Ravine 3 2024 watercolour and pastel 11”×15”
Rockside Woods 25-Nov-2022 2024 watercolour with acrylic and pastel 11”×15”
Rockside Woods 10-March-2023 2023 watercolour with acrylic and pastel 11”×15”
Flooded Forest 2019 watercolour and pastel 11”×15”
Rockside Woods 17-Oct-2017 2017 acrylic and graphite on paper 30”×30” Private collection
Rockside Woods, Forest Sky 14-May-2015 2015 acrylic on canvas 36"x48"
Rockside Woods, Tangle 5-Jan-2014 2014 acrylic on plywood 20"x20"
Rockside Woods 5-Feb-2012 2012 acrylic on canvas 30”×30”
Rockside Woods 7-Feb-2018 2018 acrylic on canvas 60”×54”
Muskoka Forest 28-July-2013 2013 acrylic on canvas 54”×36”
Muskoka, Pine Forest 15-Aug-2013 2013 acrylic on plywood 30”x30”
Remnant of an Ancient Wildness 2011 acrylic on plywood 84”x120”
The painting site is a small quarry-pit on the Niagara Escarpment, excavated in the 1800s and later abandoned. Over time it has become re-wilded, with mature hardwoods and large fallen tree trunks populating the formerly cleared ground. The forest is gradually returning to a state of old-growth.
2016 exhibition: 20 Years at Lonsdale Gallery, Toronto ON
Edge of Tranquility 11-May-2011 2011 acrylic and collage on canvas 72"x120" Private collection
Exquisite Entropy 2010 acrylic on canvas 82”x108”
Rockside Woods 15-Sept-2009 2009 acrylic on fiberglass 84”x120” Private collection