My family took me up to Vancouver BC for my birthday a few weeks ago - what a fabulous gift! We took the Amtrak Cascades up, which was a relaxing way to go, especially with two kids. We stayed downtown at the Pacific Palisades and spent the next two days walking, busing, or sky training around the city. I recommend visiting a city two weeks before they host the Olympics - very festive but without the crowd.

Vancouver Art Gallery from Robson Square.

The first thing I did was drag my family to the Vancouver Art Gallery. I was so excited to be able to see some of Emily Carr’s work in person! Emily Carr was a Canadian artist who lived and worked in the early 20th century. I think this quote from her biography sums her up nicely:

“Her life is irrevocably connected with the Canadian West, the place where she was born and where she chose to spend her life, with only a few brief interruptions. Her independence as a woman when domesticity was expected, her resolve to travel frequently and unaccompanied to isolated First Nations villages, and her devotion to art despite the obstacles, distractions and criticism, remain inspirational.”

I forget how wonderful it is to see works in real life! I’m always astounded by their size and depth and pull.

"Tree Trunk", Emily Carr (Photo: Trevor Mills) © Vancouver Art Gallery, all rights reserved

I’m sure anyone who has seen my work would understand why I love this so much. Look at that tree! How it ripples and twists, dark yet vibrant! Wow.

"Forest, British Columbia, 1931 - 1932", Emily Carr (Photo: Trevor Mills) © Vancouver Art Gallery, all rights reserved

Oh, to follow that path! This painting is amazing… at 51 inches high you just feel like you can step into this world. I went to college on the northern California coast and lived among the giant redwoods for five years. I see her Forest and I know it, the damp and the dark and the mystery. I love how the treetops are not clear cut (ha ha), how the branches come from every which way.

"Above the Gravel Pit, 1937", Emily Carr (Photo: Trevor Mills) © Vancouver Art Gallery, all rights reserved

Look at that sky! It is like rippling glass.

"Above the Trees", Emily Carr (Photo: Trevor Mills) © Vancouver Art Gallery, all rights reserved

I love looking up towards the sky through a grove of trees, and I always wish I could capture that on paper. Emily Carr does it here, though this little image doesn’t do it justice. I love the movement in this piece, and the stunningly bold colors.

I had a great time in Vancouver, and I can’t wait to go back in a non-soggy month and for a longer period of time. We got just a taste of the great trees on a brief visit to Stanley Park.

Stanley Park, late afternoon.