Birch Bark Paintings

I started painting on birch bark about 11 years ago, after finding myself in a campground with a pile of bark and my son’s little watercolour set. The day before, we had stumbled upon a logging site. Having grown up in Montreal I’d never seen anything like this before. Piles of felled trees lined the road and strips of birch bark were scattered everywhere.

There was something about the way the bark was lying on the ground that filled me with sadness. The way it had been discarded because it had no value. The whole scene, hidden from the road by only a thin row of trees, felt awful.

I began picking up pieces of bark and when my son asked what I planned to do with them, I didn’t know yet. The next day, sitting beside that pile of bark, I reached for his watercolours and started experimenting. I’ve loved painting on birch bark ever since.

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