This summer unfolded across two very different landscapes — the coast and forests of Maine and the western Canadian Rockies.
What stayed with me most was the feeling of being immersed in landscapes shaped by powerful forces — water, fire, growth, erosion, regeneration. Colors, forms, and observations accumulated along the way, then resurfaced once I returned to the studio.
These are some of the things I brought back.
Maine / Acadia
Jordan Pond, Acadia National Park, Maine
Gardens of Mount Desert Island, Maine — Thuya Garden and Asticou Azalea Garden
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden, Maine
Atlantic coast, Acadia National Park, Maine
Western Canadian Rockies
Moraine Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta (Photo Credit: Jonathan Block)
Burned forest and new growth, Jasper National Park
Johnston Canyon, Banff National Park
Johnston Canyon, Banff National Park
Spirit Island, Maligne Lake, Jasper National Park
Moraine Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta (Photo Credit: Jonathan Block)
Back in the Studio
Emerald Lake, Yoho National Park, British Columbia
Glacial color studies, back in the studio
Moraine Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta
Worktable, notebook, metal leaf, and color palette studies
Acadia Hydrangea, plein air sketchbook field study, Frenchman Bay, Maine, July 2026
Currently reading: Robert Macfarlane, Is a River Alive?
What I brought back was more than a new palette — it was a deeper awareness of the forces moving underneath what we see.