Quiet Ground: An Artist Residency in Golden, BC

Earlier this spring, I packed up my paints, loaded the car, and headed west to Golden, British Columbia for a two-week self-directed artist residency.

My goal was simple: create space to paint.

Like many artists, much of my creative life exists alongside family responsibilities, appointments, schedules, and the countless details that come with everyday life. This residency was an opportunity to step away from those routines and immerse myself fully in the work.

Working from my mountain studio in the Blaeberry Valley, I spent my days observing the shifting weather, the layers of mist moving through the mountains, and the quiet beauty of the landscape surrounding me. Some days unfolded exactly as planned. Others did not.

Weather cancelled hikes and plein air sessions. A planned life drawing session began at a different time than expected. A grizzly bear in the area disrupted another painting excursion. Even so, those unexpected moments became part of the experience.

What emerged from those two weeks was a collection of fourteen paintings inspired by the mist-covered mountains of the Columbia Shuswap region, which will be released summer/fall of 2026. 

The collection, Quiet Ground, explores the feeling of finding stillness amid uncertainty. It reflects those moments when the world seems to slow down just enough for us to reconnect with ourselves, with nature, and with what truly matters.

These paintings are not intended to be exact representations of a place. Instead, they are reflections of an experience—of standing quietly among the mountains, watching clouds drift through the valleys, and feeling both small and deeply connected at the same time.

Creating this body of work reminded me why I paint.

Not for perfection.

Not for productivity.

But for those rare moments of presence that art can create.

And perhaps that is what quiet ground really is.