News

Spawning — a triptych: Going home, Spawning, Dying

Oil on three canvases framed together
Total size: 44” x 12” (112 cm x 30.5 cm)

The first canvas depicts the voyage from the deep ocean to river headwaters, the second the laying of eggs and coupling. The third shows the parents dying. Their decaying flesh provides food for the newly hatched salmon fry.

From 1940 to 1984 the Vancouver Sun ran a free fishing Derby on the Fraser river. Over 7,000 people participated. No more! Not enough fish. In 1990 the expected run was 40 million fish. Only 24 million showed up. In 1991 just 700 fish returned to spawn. Dominant years do occur every 4 years and 2016 is supposed to be dominant year. But there is NO FISHING allowed as of Aug 11th.

The cause of this decline is unknown: over-fishing? global warming? farm fishing of Atlantic salmon? pollution by plastics? Shouldn’t we do everything we can to not lose this resource, do anything in the hope of fixing this?

Welcome to my new website. My old site was static and I couldn’t change or add to it. This one is flexible. I invite you to subscribe so that I may keep you informed about open studios, exhibitions, and new work. Many thanks to my friend Zsuzsi for helping me set this up.