"The prairie grain elevator once dominated the western landscape and fondly recalled by those who once knew these monumental structures as a landmark that beckoned like a friendly beacon to travelers making their way along highways and prairie roads. Crop dusters and many other small planes often marked their skyward flights by these unfailing prairie sentinels. They truly were landmarks of the nation. However their time had come and were replaced by more modern structures to service the grain industry. Some however have remained standing but no longer as a functional elevator. I personally have a special fondness for these once proud structures as I was raised, you could say, in the shadow of these massive giants, my father being a Canadian Pacific Railway agent and our station dwelling in many cases being only a few yards in proximity from the elevators. As kids growing up around these structures we could play baseball between them as they provided a great backstop to hammer the ball around without much danger of losing it. It was no doubt inevitable that these gigantic structures would one day fall to the unrelenting march of modern technology since many of these were built in the early 1900's and even earlier. I felt compelled to paint a series of these which I have entitled, "the Vanishing Prairie". Some years ago I traveled extensively throughout southern Alberta photographing what I could of these standing structures and now it was time for me to record many of these on canvas. As you ponder these reminders of times past in my paintings you are seeing a bit of Canadian history that has all but vanished from the prairie landscape, never again to reappear."

All paintings purchased from this show will receive a hard cover catalogue book, signed by the artist! To view the online version of the book, click here