This balsamroot landscape grasslands meadow area is found just west of the town of Oliver, on Fairview Road below McIntyre Bluff. The beautiful balsamroot flower, with its sun like appearance, has been a part of the Okanagan Valley’s environment for centuries. Indigenous people have long honoured this plant for its medicinal and nutritional value. Its roots and seeds were an important part of their diet, and the plant was used in various healing practices.
Spending time in the spring among the balsamroot flowers always feels like it is a special place when time stands still. It is a place of natural and historical significance for Indigenous people. I enjoy painting scenes in which the Okanagan is reflected with a spiritual beauty and mystery. A bold use of colour, appreciation of light, and emphasis on mood, charge my work as a celebration of nature.
