Sometimes you have to look back in order to see where you are going. “Evolving into Deep Time” reveals how my art has evolved from studying and painting landforms to a more complete understanding of the complex geology of our province.

in 1987 I left Newfoundland to pursue a Fine Arts degree in St. Catharines, Ontario. My artwork gravitated to memories from my childhood and my thoughts of the past were my anchor for the present. Geography courses were my electives and I found inspiration in learning about the geographical processes that shaped the land, particularly coastal processes. I looked towards my home province to relate to these concepts and applied them to the Newfoundland landscape.

After completing the program I moved back home and found employment at the Queen Elizabeth II Library. My interest in the geography of the province grew and the library was my source for academic texts, published reports and maps. My landform studies became stories of the Newfoundland landscape and I learned how glaciers shaped our land and the sea shaped our coastline. However, the interaction of the sea and land drew me to find the stories on beaches and I concentrated on the variety of colour and texture in the rocks. I became more and more interested in the formation of the rocks and I looked at the cliffs and outcrops that surrounded the beaches. Geology maps, reports and field journals of past geologists became travel guides as I set out on my own geologic journeys to find unique rock formations.

The stories of the rocks span an immense time period that often leaves me in awe. Over a period of 30 years my research, journeys and visual interpretation of the unique geology of Newfoundland and Labrador has evolved to see beyond the beach and into Deep Time.