Gros Morne

The works you see here are part of my ongoing examination and celebration of the dramatic geology and geomorphology found in Gros Morne National Park, on the west coast of Newfoundland. The images represent some of the most iconic landscapes within the Park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of what its environment reveals about plate tectonics and continental drift.

Some of the Gros Morne paintings are part of my Nocturne series. In addition to being landscape paintings, these works are also about the poetry of the night and the mysteries of the cosmos. The Nocturne paintings speak of how our vision and perceptions change at night. In the darkness, textures of vegetation and geology are obscured, and the land is reduced to a black silhouette, like a flat cut-out against the starlit sky. So in these works, the delineation of detail is minimal, sketchy, like mere thoughts. Still, the dark profiles of these iconic landscapes are immediately recognizable by their contours: Tablelands, Gros Morne Mountain, Western Brook Gorge, Trout River Pond.

In darkness, when the details of our “daily world” are indistinct or hidden, our focus shifts upward, to celestial phenomena: the constellations of the Northern Hemisphere, what we can see of our galaxy and others, the wonders of nebulae, meteors, the aurora borealis. On a clear night, it is possible to sense the infinity of the cosmos.

In these works, the stars extend across the
picture plane, playing both formal and
conceptual roles. Formally, they unify the
compositions, top to bottom, edge to edge.
Conceptually, the land, sea, and sky all share
the same elements and energy, and I underscore this idea of cosmic unity by scattering stars on both background and foreground, over both sky and land.
As above, so below.

To inquire about purchasing one of these
works, or for further information, please
contact me.