Artwork by C. Stevens

I began painting as a way to immortalize the haunting and isolated places I have travelled through.

I was first introduced to backcountry canoe camping in Algonquin Park in the mid-1990s. On my first couple excursions, I was a participant among larger groups of 6-8 people where I learned the basics of portage trips. By the early- to mid-2000s I was planning four and five-night portage trips for two people into deeper, more difficult backcountry routes.

Those lonelier, more remote lakes and portages in Algonquin Park left a mark on me, and as an art student, I felt the best way to pay homage to those adventures was to paint landscapes.