2011 – The Year of Snow & Beaches

With 2011 drawing to a close, and 2012 on the horizon, I’d like to wish you a very Happy New Year. This past year has been a roller coaster of sorts for me, with many highs and lows and a couple of loops thrown in for good measure.  I think it would be fair to say that this has been a very full year for me, with some doors closing and others opening.  And in this one year alone, I’ve never made so many trips in my life in such a short span of time.  Planes, trains, buses, cars, ferries.  It was a year of what feels like non-stop travel.  Let’s see…we started this year off with a trip to Banff via Calgary, for a residency at The Banff Centre. The New Year, the beautiful Rocky Mountains, lots of snow, lots of art, and awesome friends.

Banff – Jan/Feb 2011

A couple of days after returning from Banff, I was off on a short business trip in Las Vegas for a couple of days.  Being in a place of so much fakery and artificiality in the middle of the desert after being in the beauty of nature in Banff was quite the shock to my system. And then I returned to a snowy Vancouver for a month or so.

Kitsilano Beach, Vancouver

Not long after, I traveled out to Montreal to see the city & visit friends…  I didn’t take too many photos….

On the train from Montreal to Toronto

And I took the train from Montreal to Toronto, the first of two visits this year. Art + Friends = The Best.

A visit to Niagara Falls

After a bit of a cold trip out east, it was nice to come back to a relatively warm Vancouver. Ahh, home.

Kits Beach, the start of summer

And it wasn’t long before I was in Honolulu, Hawaii in July for an important family reunion.  I remembered stepping off the plane and the smell of the humid air brought back a flood of memories from past family trips.

Ocean blue

And within weeks, I was flying off to Los Angeles for a much needed vacation. The first time in I don’t know how long that I didn’t check my phone or e-mail in 5 days.  Possibly one of the best vacations I’ve had.  Rest & relaxation.

Palm trees in Santa Monica

Then back to Vancouver for the summer, with a nice break to the Sunshine Coast.

A sunset on the Sunshine Coast

Before jetting off to Chicago via Edmonton and taking a bus to Saugatuck, Michigan for my Ox-Bow Residency. Beautiful woods, more art, and more friends.

Ox-Bow – October sunset reflected in the lagoon

Then back to Chicago for a few days before flying home to Vancouver.

I'm in there somewhere

And within a month, I was off to Toronto again for the Kingston Prize exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum.

I hung out with the Kingston Town Crier.

Which brings me to the present, the last day of 2011. It was quite the year, and I can’t wait to see what 2012 has in store. 2011, you were a handful but I loved you. It was nice knowing you. 2012, hello, it’s nice to meet you. I have a feeling we’re going to be good friends.

Wishing you a very Happy New Year!