There was a large fire two years ago that tore through the shoulders around Gun Lake, BC. Smoke and flames lapped the shores while people desperately waited for winds to shift or rain to come. The scars on the landscape remain, but a renewed life has emerged in its place.

I took the opportunity to dive back into this painting over the Spring, wanting to deepen the layers and breathe some new life into the piece. The painting originally began one weekend on the lake during a period I desperately needed a pause and reset (Thank you Lucinda for the ‘artist residency’). The artwork provided a similar respite the second go around when I was looking for a creative way back into the studio this Spring.

I wanted to work with that ashy quality in the palette - to find the liveliness of gray, tan, and soot. While dramatic and devastating, the revitalizing quality a burn can provide after the chalkiness of the charcoal has fallen away felt like a life metaphor through color to explore.

This painting has been perched in my studio as a quiet reminder for some time now, but I feel it’s time to share it. <3

Acrylic on Canvas :: 12" x 24” x 1.5” :: 2026