This is one of the paintings available for sale at the Friends of Hall-Brooke Annual Art Show. 

I began work on this painting in Nyack, New York where I painted with a group of fellow plein aire painters. What a great place to create! We worked in a little gazebo in the middle of the park where cyclists and passersby asked us questions. I sold one of my paintings on the spot. We picnicked on blankets in the park. I completed the painting later, in my loft studio.

One thing I like about this painting is the way it reflects the sunny breeziness of the summer day.

When  my parents first moved to British Columbia, my father came across some beautiful flowers he'd never seen before. Never had he seen these enormous exotic blooms. Eagerly, he gathered a bouquet and presented them to my mother. In a just a few minutes, the house stank like skunks. Twenty years later, my mom still likes to tell the story.

So skunk cabbages always held a warm place in my heart. Then, in 2000 and 2001, I enjoyed the most idyllic commute a body could imagine. I hiked up Lynn Valley Canyon every day to a part-time teaching job. On this hike one day, I sketched these beautiful skunk cabbages. The painting turned out mediocre, and I put it in storage. After I moved to Connecticut, I took my things out of storage. I was about to paint over the skunk cabbage painting and use the canvas for another painting, but the story and the memory of the hike inspired a re-do, and this painting resulted. Now one of my favorite paintings, it just recently sold into a private collection. I will make giclees available soon.

The sketch for this painting came from Vancouver's Stanley Park. The power of the enormous nature and the dripping humidity of the dense Vancouver forest played their effects in this piece.