A daytrip to Alaska...Whitehorse to Skagway!

"Nature has neither kernel nor shell; she is everything at once."

~Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

I have enjoyed a few excursions during my time here in Whitehorse. One such morning I decided to drive to Alaska for the day. I knew that the trip to Skagway, AK was about two hours each way, and apparently one of the most beautiful drives in the area (which is saying a lot).

I grabbed my passport and left Whitehorse at 8:30am, intending to stop and take photos along the way, arrive in Skagway before lunch, hike and head back by the end of the afternoon.

I noticed how arid, or semi-arid Fairbanks was two years ago when I visited there and explored around Denali National Park, visiting Bus 142 on Stampede Trail in the process. I couldn't manage to stay hydrated it seemed. I was constantly drinking water and yet it seemed like a losing battle. Whitehorse is no exception. The air is quite thin, dry and crisp as compared to the soft, temperate climate that you encounter along the coasts. I know it is simple science that makes it so, but the contrast was extremely evident as I drove from Whitehorse to the coastal Alaskan town of Skagway that day.

heading south down the Alaska Highway

If you wish to see the route I took to Skagway, here is a link.

I stopped and took some photos of the world's smallest desert, The Carcross Dunes. Its size is only 1 square mile if you can believe it!

It was so bizarre to see sand juxtaposed with snow in such a way...certainly I had never seen anything like it before. It was quite cold and windy, particularly with the gain in elevation, so grabbed my toque and continued on towards Skagway.

Eventually you take a turn and leave the Alaska Highway, heading southwest on the South Klondike Highway. There was no one on the roads as usual, even on a Saturday. I only passed the occasional car and when I stopped to get out and take the odd photo, I would stand and listen to nothing but the wind and feel a lovely heaviness in that moment, feel the gravity of where I stood and tried to process it all.

There was still a lot of ice on the lakes near Whitehorse

Eventually I crossed the border into northwestern British Columbia. The highway passes through B.C. and then on to Alaska. But the borders, the latitude and longitude, were irrelevant in the face of so much beauty all around. Such grandeur made labels and statistics seem pale and unimportant by comparison.

The mountains and their monochromatic quality reminded me of a

scene that Ansel Adams might enjoy

The snow accumulates as I pass through Northwestern British Columbia

I continued on and as I made my way onwards and upwards, my increased elevation turned the precipitation into snow. It was quite amazing...to leave the sun and brilliance of Whitehorse and to now be an hour away and in a fog of blowing snow..quite surreal. At one point I stopped to shoot some photos of the blowing snow near the top of what seemed like a pass and, to my surprise, a family in a truck next to me took out skis and began cross country skiing...on May 1st no less!

Eventually I crested the top of the pass and began to head down towards the coast. I passed a rather bizarre sign that I tried not to think too much about:

I passed through U.S. customs without any issue. The border guard, all decked out in uniform, was pleasant and bid me on my way. Slowly but surely the snow began to dissipate as I neared the coast...the trees awoke as the snow receded, and by the time I rolled into Skagway there was greenery and lush vegetation everywhere.

Skagway is a popular destination for cruise ships and people beginning to hike the historic 53km Chilkoot Trail. The Chilkoot trail is rich in history as it was one of the main routes that intrepid men and women hiked during the Klondike Gold Rush. I would like to hike this trail within the next five years if possible. It sounds like an amazing adventure. There are still old stoves and other possessions that were to cumbersome to carry, now long abandoned and left by the side of the trail.

Skagway is home to about 500 people, yet the town was quiet in the drizzle of rain that was falling. I wandered about but most of the tourist shops and even the visitor centre were all closed. It appears that tourist season doesn't start in earnest until Mid-May up here. That was fine, as I didn't want to fall in step with the throngs that would inevitably descend here and in other popular spots in Alaska and the Yukon. I prefer to visit and explore places in off-season, when residents are more relaxed and life beats at more of its regular rhythm. Stopping in at the ferry terminal to track down a map of local trails, a friendly ticket issuer passed me a map and told me where the trailhead was. As I turned to leave he said rather nonchalantly "make sure you watch out for bears". I was slightly unnerved as I was on my own yet appreciated his advice and made my way to the beginning of the trail system.

I was going to attempt a longer trail with a higher elevation gain and more challenge, but after encountering a fair bit of snow on the first leg of the trail I opted for a lower route. I had never hiked on my own in earnest before, and certainly not in Alaska. Nevertheless I made lots of noise, stayed alert and enjoyed the solitude as I ambled up the steep slopes that levelled off and followed my chosen route.

Skagway, as seen from the beginning of the trail

My path wound up sharply for the first while.

After awhile I came to the lake I had been seeking and stopped to listen and observe everything around me. I was pleased that the trail was fairly well marked, yet it was still easy to take a wrong turn up there. Everywhere I could feel the earth waking up and enjoying the rain. I put my jacket back on as it was quite cool out. I loved the feel of of rain and didn't use my hood once. I can see why many women in northern climes don't wear much if any make-up. Who would want to up here when everything else is so natural and unaffected?

The lake was quiet, so still, with a thin layer of ice receding near its far shores.

I eventually found my way back down to the beginning of the trail and headed back to Whitehorse. I left the temperate rainy forests for the ice and snow of the pass, then back down to Whitehorse, a fabulous day of amazing sights seen, adventures had and peace felt. I will never forget it.

“Keep your love of nature, for that is the true way to understand art more and more.” ~Vincent Van Gogh

Looking Ahead...

The Kennicott Glacier in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.

"One must work and dare if one really wants to live."~Van Gogh

This post is way overdue! I seem to focus this blog on travel adventure and art happenings of note, however I have not traveled for a few months. Fortunately I have had time to complete more paintings and, most excitedly, made plans for new adventures in 2010!

One particularly exciting piece of news to share is that I have I will be involved with the creation of two books in the next two years. One will be a pictorial book about Christopher McCandless and his 2 year odyssey that he embarked on back in 1990-1992. Chris took many photographs on his journey and I have begun to do paintings based on some of these photographs, as well as a large painting of the belt that he crafted beautifully out of leather. I will post updates on this project as they arise. I am thrilled to be involved in something so close to my heart. I am grateful to Chris' parents Walt and Billie, dear friends who have included me in this exciting project! Here are some paintings that I have completed based on Chris' photos thus far:

"Chris' Canoe, Near Golfo", oil on canvas, 18"x24"

"Chris' Pack, Stampede Trail", Oil On Panel, 24"x30"

"Diary Of A Supertramp(study)", Oil On Panel, 8"x10"

"Pilgrim's Dinner", Oil On Panel, 18"x24"

As a corollary of the pictorial book about Chris, the paintings that I produce will be exhibited as a group, probably also happening in 2010 or 2011. The location has yet to be determined but in all likelihood it will be held at Abbozzo Gallery in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Ideally I would like for the exhibition to travel, because Chris was an explorer through and through. Stay tuned for details surrounding the exhibition and book!

The Newfoundland Portraits exhibition was a huge success in November 2009. Many friends and supporters came out to the show...I will never forget it! As for current artistic projects I am continuing to work on individual figurative paintings, commissions and work for galleries. There never seems to be enough hours in the day but it is wonderful! Please check out my website for new paintings from the show and out of the studio! I am also listing songs, posting paintings and offering daily tips on art and creating paintings on my Twitter profile here.

Adventure travel and travel in general, along with art, are my two favorite things. 2010 brings with it many opportunities to explore the world, meet new friends and create some paintings based on these experiences. The second book that I will produce will be a travel/art book based on explorations of Alaska, British Columbia, Newfoundland, The Yukon, Arizona, France and New York City...and that is just so far! This book will come out in 2011 or 2012. I will this blog updated with travel journalling and the status of this project.

With the onset of the colder weather it is easy to go inward, into a period of emotional and physical hibernation. In addition, the holiday season brings with it its own set of emotions, bittersweet ones sometimes! During this time I think it is particularly important to be easy on ourselves, to open our hearts and minds to others, and to care for ourselves as holidays can be very stressful. Our society is so often linear, rushing from A to B as quickly as possible..when perhaps we could circle back around to A and rest their for awhile.

As a painter I am always wondering how I can improve, but for the most part I simply do what I do and not overanalyze how and why I do it. If you dissect something too much, eventually you will have nothing...it is best to keep it as whole as possible and preserve its integrity and beauty as it is...although I blog about my paintings and their creation, ultimately it is up to you, dear readers and viewers, to glean from them what you will :)

I wish you and yours a Happy Holiday season and a prosperous New Year!!

Best wishes!

Heather

“To a true artist only that face is beautiful which, quite apart from its exterior, shines with the truth within the soul.”~Mahatma Gandhi

Following Your Heart

Cape Freels, Newfoundland 

"I wanted movement, and not a calm course of existence. I wanted excitement and danger and the chance to sacrifice myself for my love. I felt in myself a superabundance of energy which found no outlet in our quiet life." ~Leo Tolstoy, Family Happiness

In the past week I have received a couple of emails from fellow artists who have been out of the creative loop for awhile. These individuals wrote about wanting to implement change in their lives, about wanting to change the course of their existence by pursuing their love of art. They questioned how I managed to stay on course, how I coped with the financial ups and down and what kept my spirit afloat during the inevitable ebbs that come with the job. 

These emails fill my heart with happiness. To help someone by encouraging them or inspiring change is a large part of why I am a painter. Money is necessary and sharing your vision on canvas is imperative, but supporting and helping other people constitutes a currency that far outweighs money in terms of value to the human spirit. I am so happy that these folks felt compelled to write and share their stories. I thank them for that and hope my words might help them. I do not pretend to know the answers to any of their questions, because really everything is relative to our own situation...I can only share what my own experience has yielded.

I wonder if perhaps during this time of financial uncertainty, a rapidly changing world, and an overall tentativeness, this period of reduced activity, fewer jobs and a wait-and-see outlook encourages people to return inward, re-examine what makes them happy and perhaps lights a long dormant fire within them in the form of creative pursuits. However, transitioning from a job with regular pay, possibly benefits and relative stability, to one of uncertainty, sporadic payment, but unbelievable fulfillment is surely intimidating if not downright frightening. I can understand that. So why do it? The answer is inside of each of us, and it is unique to each of us too. But it is there, screaming out or quietly waiting, that voice is within us, that courage to take the leap is there. Will we listen to it? It is patient I believe, and we will answer it when the time is right.

 Gulkana Glacier

So how do you do it? How do you follow your passion and become a full-time painter/writer/poet? Here's a little list of elements that have worked for me:

Discipline. Follow regular work hours, or, if you need more flexibility, figure out how many hours you want to work a week and then implement that timeline into your week accordingly. I cannot paint for eight hours a day unless I absolutely have to, so I stretch my paintings hours out over a six to seven day work week. It is not a bother, because I am doing what I love to do. Therefore it really doesn't feel like work, which is the beautiful part of it. 

Develop a body of work. Have a solid group of paintings that you can submit to galleries, something cohesive and strong that you can stand behind and say "this is what I do". Galleries probably want to see a minimum of twelve recent paintings, but you are wise to have up to twenty paintings prepared. Then you are able to go about submitting packages to galleries for representation. You can look at Abbozzo Gallery and Loch Gallery, my two main galleries, for an idea of what sort of artistic diversity and quality they are looking for. 

Promote yourself. Your galleries will promote you but you can also promote yourself through your own mailing list with email newsletters/updates, as well as blogging, your own website (you can look at mine as an example), printed samples, advertising in books for artists, any number of options are available to you. I must say that I believe a website is mandatory in this day and age. If someone googles you and wants to see your work, your website, along with your gallery's website should come up for people to find you.

Network . This is a relatively new one for me, and I suppose technically we could group it under Promotion but I am going to give it its own spot here on the list. As a friend of mine says, emailing is fine, but nothing beats interacting with a person one on one, making a connection, leaving an impression. Many artists balk at the idea of leaving their studios to do this, but it is healthy to do and a crucial way to get out there and meet other creatives, spread the word about your work, and build relationships that can help you down the road. Everything and everyone truly is connected, and we can all help one another and support one another by sharing wisdom, tools of the trade, critiques and general social events that bring us together. 

Learn To Save/Budget. This one is really important. Of course your situation may be very different from mine, but if I want to take one soul-enriching journey each year, and afford to live, I need to be careful with money. Having a cushion for the slower periods is so very important. Learn to budget and watch your money as carefully as you can. Sometimes it amazes me when I receive money that it has come from something that I love to do. I still have that rush of amazement from time to time. I wish money did not enter into the equation, but it is a reality, and to support yourself with things you have created out of excitement and enthusiasm is priceless. 

See this 300 year old tree on Salt Spring Island, BC? It only knows how to do one thing: grow and thrive. You should do the same. Truly there is no where to go but up.

So that list contains a few of the most important variables that go into becoming self-sufficient as an artist. There are many other ingredients that are not included, but perhaps  these might ease your transition a bit. When the world seems poised to come crashing down on you, when the full swell of panic hits you in the chest from time to time when you ponder your uncertain future, walk into that fear. You never know what will happen, but with hard work, discipline, direction, and most of all passion for what you do, uncertainty is something to rejoice in and walk towards. Follow your heart. It will not lead you astray. You won't look back or, if you do, you will be to see how far you've come.    

"One must work and dare if one really wants to live." ~Vincent Van Gogh

Here is some information on my Newfoundland Exhibition in November of 2009. I hope to see you there!

Newfoundland Portraits

November 5-22nd, 2009

Abbozzo Gallery, Oakville, Ontario

Opening Reception November 6th, 7-10pm