My first spring on the West Coast after moving from the prairies was an unforgettable experience. Wandering through Vancouver’s streets, I found myself in a state of perpetual wonder, captivated by the vibrant transformation of the landscape. Day by day, it felt as though a cosmic artist wielding a giant paintbrush was filling in the skeletal shapes of winter with bursts of life and colour.

Then came April and May, when rhododendrons and azaleas began to unfurl their astonishing hues—coral, pink, fuchsia, fiery orange, yellow, and lilac. I was utterly spellbound, stopping in my tracks to marvel at their beauty, repeating “Wow! Wow! Wow!”, at each new plant.

The sensory overload of those moments has been translated into the abstract emotional landscapes of “Perennial Magic” and “Seasonal Enchantment” (the companion piece to this one). What started as visual astonishment in 1989 has grown into a seasonal magic that inspires awe year after year. My deepest hope is to never grow accustomed to this spectacular display and to preserve that initial breathless “Wow!” forever in both memory and paint