Alice Park-Spurr

In March of 1980, my husband and I decided to quit our jobs at Hewlett Packard based in California, packed our belongings, and moved to Canada to experience a new kind of life. Upon arrival in Canada we settled in a remote location of the Southern Lakes district of the Yukon Territory and began building our own log home in the wilderness. For many years we spent the winters in the south working for our “bread and butter”, and spent the summer months from March to October building our cabin homestead.

As the years went by, the building projects were less demanding. During this period I was searching for something new in my life. I knew I wanted to express my experiences of the wilderness life in some way, but didn’t know how. This was the beginning of my interest in learning to paint. I held my first paintbrush in 1988 as a hobby, but it only took one semester of painting and drawing classes for me to become engrossed in art. I then pursued art school in 1990 as a full time student and earned both BFA and MFA degrees with high distinctions at the California College of the Arts.

I have been working professionally as a painter since I finished my art degrees in 1995.  My main source of images comes from a multitude of memories and visions of the north that I have experienced from living in the wilderness for many years. They are created in a poetic, mysterious, and dreamlike atmosphere. The colour, the long and short hours of sunlight, the serene winter scene, the unexpected encounters with wild animals, and the ever-changing weather conditions are etched into my mind. I find myself naturally falling into this dream world derived of nature.  I begin to experience all its fantasies and create a poetic, mysterious, and dreamlike atmosphere.

Painting is my way of practicing Zen in an artist’s way.  It is my way of meditation with arms, eyes, body, and mind.  When I begin to paint, I have no idea of what the result will be.  I am always starting as a beginner.  Gradually I put my whole soul into making art, completely and thoroughly, and I express my true nature in my painting.  I like to observe things slowly and thoughtfully as Zen practice requires a great deal of patience and discipline.  Through patience and discipline, I develop my visual language and master my craftsmanship. A deeper understanding of self develops.

I work mainly in oil and watercolours. I have recently added acrylics in my art and continue to experiment with it to become familiar with the medium.

I have had numerous solo and group exhibitions across Canada and the USA.  My works are in public and private collections throughout Canada, the USA and Europe.