St. George's School

1999, watercolour, 30" x 20"

A prestigious private school in Vancouver, B.C., St. George's Junior School is a former convent situated on a park-like property whose trees screen the view of it from the road. I wanted to paint a portion of it in a way that showed the relationship of the building to its landscape, rather than just paint an architectural detail. The challenge was to modify and position the trees so that the school was actually visible. I chose an autumn palette to enliven what would otherwise have been a duet of green and grey.

 Crofton House School

1998, watercolour, 22" x 18"

For its centenary, Vancouver's most prestigious private girls' school commissioned an image of the school's inner courtyard and printed it as a poster by Benwell-Atkins, which was sold during the school's anniversary celebrations. During the outdoor unveiling ceremony, a gust of wind blew the framed painting off its easel, breaking the glass!

University of British Columbia Campus

1997, watercolour, 35" x 22"

Commissioned for UBC President Dr. David Strangway's President's Circle - donors who had given more than $250,000 to the University of British Columbia - this image is a large "sketchbook page" of people, buildings and landscapes on the campus in the springtime. It was printed as a high-quality reproduction by Hazeldine Press of Vancouver, autographed and numbered, and given to the members of the President's Circle.

 Bamberton Town Centre

1992, watercolour, 40" x 25"

Although done a long time ago, I include this image because the circumstances under which it was created were unique. Oft-reproduced since, this is the imaginary town centre for the community of Bamberton on Vancouver Island, a highly controversial attempt by Trust for Sustainable Development of Victoria to build an environmentally sensitive, high-density "neo-traditional" city. I worked as the concept artist for the project.