I have been painting for the last twenty years. The subjects of my paintings have included the forests and lakes of Prince Albert National Park, birds, mammals, fish, farm animals, flowers, gardens, still life, and babies. I am now painting grassland landscapes.

I was born and raised on the edge of the wide-open prairie. As a child, I spent much of my time wandering the hills, coulees and rivers near Moose Jaw. For most of my adult life I have lived in or near the boreal forest. Once again, however, I find myself wandering across the prairie.

My lifelong interest in nature and wildlands was wetted during my childhood and in the many years I have spend working in the field with my husband Michael, who works as a conservation biologist. Michael's work has allowed me the privilege of observing starlit nights on the lake trout spawning reefs of Crean Lake, moose swimming across the rivers with their calves, elk bulls bugling in the rut, and wolves howling into the darkness. Here in Grasslands, I have immersed myself in another landscape, a starkly beautiful and compelling one that is filled with cairns and tipi rings, rattlesnakes and antelope, meadow larks and burrowing owls.

I paint as an expression of my reverence for the natural world and for the beauty found in everyday things. In my life and work I strive to never take the land or its creatures for granted or allow the beauty of the Earth to become commonplace.

Apart from painting, I have worked as a primary teacher. I am also an artisan chocolatier and use organic, fair-trade chocolate. I make wedding cakes, I knit, and I write poems. I have raised two children and at the moment, I have four grandchildren.

Colleen Watson
Red Calf Studio
113 Railway Avenue East
P.O. Box 65
Val Marie, SK S0N 2T0
306-298-2219

redcalfstudio@gmail.com
www.redcalfstudio.ca