The grandson of Norwegian and Scottish pioneers to the Canadian Prairies, I was born in 1950 and grew up on the Amundrud family farm situated above the banks of the scenic North Saskatchewan River valley.

From earliest childhood I was drawing and colouring. By my early teens I dreamed of being an artist.

I studied art at the University of Saskatchewan from 1968 to 1972.

By 1986 I was in what I call a 'story book' lifestyle. I had a loving wife and young family, a house and garden, a successful career with Northwest College in Saskatchewan, great friends at work and church, a Westfalia camper van and Cessna airplane. Living the dream.

Not wanting anything to change, I was soon unexpectedly confronted by a question, "What would you do with the rest of your life if fear of failure and money were of no object?" Not able to resist the call and finding a reawakening of my childhood dream, I moved with my wife and family in 1990 to the village of Sooke on Vancouver Island. Here I could paint what inspired me most, the ocean.

Ventures aren't easy. The untold story is of humbling and challenges. But with that come the opportunities. You do what it takes, but you are not alone. Success is your only option.

Early on I recognized my inspiration with water and a theme; ocean, lakes, rivers, glaciers. Face of waters comes from the Book of Genesis, "the Spirit of God moved upon the face of waters".

There is another inspiration every bit equal to the first, and that is people. I am grateful to Joanna, my wife and painting partner, and to the people significant in my life. I know you and will always remember your part.

There are two essentials for the artist. One, learning to see, and two, light.

This I conclude from what is foremost in my mind after over sixty years of drawing and painting.

Learning to see is based on , "You can only draw or paint what you see." The first cause for disappointment in a finished painting begins with a poorly rendered sketch. I remember the high energy drawing drills led by Canadian artist, Wynona Mulcaster at the University of Saskatchewan. As you drew, your eyes were to be trained on the subject, while resisting the temptation to look rather at your work. It was amazing to see how much more life like and fluid your drawings became.

Light is essential to seeing better. The presence of light in a painting makes it compelling and alive. This is more likely to occur in a field painting, a big reason why I prefer to paint directly from nature, besides the joy of being out there.

Then there is Purpose. Why the artist?

There are various accounts of people sitting quietly in a gallery of the Van Gogh Museum, and while looking into a painting unexplainable tears begin to well up in their eyes. Then there is the atheist who attends a symphony and declares, For something to be that beautiful, there must be a God. As a youth, David was called upon to play music for King Saul who was troubled with an evil spirit. David played his part, and God added the part that touched soul and spirit. Likewise the artist commits to paint and with God the heart is lifted.

The human condition of having eyes that can not see, and ears that are dull of hearing, of having a hard heart, are written about in the Bible. Jesus said, I am the Light of the world. Here is a connection. Connecting the dots makes all the difference.

Delight is in being attentive to the display found in nature. In return, the artist's gift is to present joy, the creative thought of a loving heavenly Father and God.