The Douglas Trail was constructed in the fall of 1858. This was the first public works project on the mainland. It was initiated by Governor Douglas to ensure food and freight could be transported to the goldfields inland.
I grew up in Seton Portage, B.C., where my grandfather homesteaded in 1900. Two of my three brothers are living; I am the youngest and only member born in Williams Lake. I have one daughter, who lives in New Brunswick.
Most of my days were spent painting at my grandmother's kitchen table. At age ten, school and ballet training in Vancouver began; but Summers were spent overlooking the peaceful, and blue, Seton Lake. In 1950, my high school art teacher gave me an award for art and recommended me to the Vancouver School of Art. It was not considered a valid career for me so my year was not completed, and my banking career began.
Beginning in 1963, I struggled to paint in oil the Cariboo and its history. After twenty-five years, I returned to Vancouver, solitary studies and part-time banking kept every day full for five years. Inspiration came from classical dance, archaeology, horses, mythology and pottery. History of tribal people provided endless subjects; their worship of Mother Earth inspired me to use earth materials as well as acrylics and oils. Birken, in B.C.'s Coastal Mountains and not far from the Portage, became home in 1984. Watercolours were a new experience, as were wild flowers; I find watercolour transparency suited to flowers.
I have made four trips to Europe in recent years to study classical painting and history; travelling to places like Norway, Spain and Italy continues to inspire my work.
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