A DAY IN MY LIFE

I’m in the habit of setting off in the morning for an hour’s hike through the forest near my house and studio. I note the sinewy sprawl of Vine Maples, the bark pattern of the Cottonwoods.

Then there is the stream – perhaps it is rushing, or perhaps it has faded into its bed of stones. Occasionally I hear and see a Barred Owl, or come across a sprinting deer, or even, as happened recently, a pair of gamboling bear cubs.

I like to think that this ritual of forest immersion sharpens ear and eye. To those who are receptive, the splendor of nature colonizes the imagination. In any event, whether the artist is a denizen of the urban jungle or lives on the fringe of the Canadian wilderness, there is a path to follow and a trail to blaze.

Arnold October 2016