Woody Island is a resettled community located on the northwestern side of Placentia Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador. This is the home of 'Woody Island Resort' which offers vacation packages to this beautiful island. Due to resettlement, many of the original buildings and houses are still on the island, preserving much of its heritage. This, along with its breathtaking scenery, makes it an excellent vacation destination.

Capelin (traditional Newfoundland spelling 'caplin') played an important part in Newfoundland's inshore fishery. Capelin spend most their lives offshore, only moving inshore to spawn. Spawning takes place on beaches in June and July.

Over a century ago Queen Victoria selected the Pitcher Plant to be stamped on the Newfoundland penny, which was minted from 1865 to 1947. It has since appeared on other coins, stamps and memorabilia. The house of assembly adesignated the pitcher Plant as the official flower of Newfoundland and Labrador 1954. In 2006 the government adopted it as the new provincial logo.

When it comes to viewing icebergs, Newfoundland and Labrador is one of the best places in the world. Each year crowds are drawn to our shores just to catch a glimpse of these 10,000-year-old glacial giants. This painting, titled “Grounded,” depicts one that drifted too far in the bay and became grounded. It may look massive, but keep in mind that ninety-percent is still unseen below the surface.

This painting, titled “Three Whale Salute,” is based on a photograph by a tourist taken during a whale watching tour off Trinity, NL. She was lucky to see all three whales spouting at the same time. It's the whales' salute to a beautiful day off Newfoundland's rugged coast.

This is a scene of Torbay, NL.

Sunrise on a quiet summer morning in the historic town of Twillingate, NL.

This is the daughter of our very good friends who live in Nova Scotia. A lovely warm evening on Mattis Point, Bay St. George area, NL.

I am very proud to dedicate this painting to the memory of a special couple. In February 2005, we lost two very beautiful people, Nancy and Hayward Brown. This is a painting of Nancy and Hayward’s lovely granddaughter holding a cup owned by Nancy. Nancy did not get to see her granddaughter, but we can imagine the smile on her face if she could see her grandchildren today. It also brings back many fond memories of having a cup of tea at the house of the most hospitable people I have ever known.

Lots of people can relate to this, whether growing up in the inshore fishery (as I did) or taking part in the food fishery each summer. From a photo taken by Lindsay Anderson and Dana VanVeller. Used by permission.

Notice there are only a couple fish left in the box. I can imagine the crew there thinking they're nearing the end of a long hard day's work. As a young boy growing up in Northern Newfoundland, I was often part of a scene similar to this one. I remember how good it felt at the end of the day, after being up since first light, when the catch was finally put away and I could look forward to some down time. 'Soon Be Done' also reminds us that scenes like this are now part of the past. This crew could not have imagined that in a few years the cod moratorium would mean their whole way of life would be thing of the past. It would 'soon be done.'

This is a scene from 'Joe Batt’s Arm,' Fogo Island, NL. I have always been amazed at the richness and variety of colours one sees at low tide.

This scene depicts 'Little Brehat,' a fishing village that was abandoned during resettlement in the 1960s. My brother-in-law (Guy Pilgrim) grew up here.

This is a cod trap crew, the Sullivans, out of Calvert on Newfoundland’s Southern Shore. This scene would have been typical of the morning haul in just about every outport in Newfoundland prior to the Cod Moratorium in 1992.

Capelin (traditional Newfoundland spelling 'caplin') played an important part in Newfoundland's inshore fishery. Capelin spend most their lives offshore, only moving inshore to spawn. Spawning takes place on beaches in June and July. During the "capelin scull" you would find Newfoundlanders on beaches equipped with buckets, cast nets and dip nets to gather up this bounty of the sea. Traditionally capelin were spread on gardens as fertilizer, used as bait fish for catching cod, or salted and dried for the kitchen table or to be roasted on an open fire as a salty snack. Capelin are sometimes dried on flakes or make-shift racks, as depicted in this painting. Female caplin are called "spawneys." You can tell a spawney by its shape. Males have translucent ridges on the sides of their bodies while females are smooth.

This is a scene from Quirpon, a small town near the tip of the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland. The ice in the harbour is pack ice that drifts south all the way from Greenland and the coast of Labrador. In this area, one would not be surprised to see pack ice as late as June, or even July some years.

The aim of this painting is to capture the spectacular range of colours in a northern sunset, which I have witnesses many times growing up. The warm reds and yellows of the sunset affect everything in the scene, including the cool purples and blues of the ice. It is the perfect juxtaposition of warn and cool.

While teaching art classes at College of the North Atlantic, I used this painting to demonstrate some watercolour techniques. I enjoyed painting it because it is different than anything I've done before. It was painted from a photo taken by a colleague at CNA, Tina Dean.

This painting depicts the historic town of Trinity, NL. The harbour at Trinity was used as a safe haven by European fishermen and explores as early as the 1500s. By the early-1700s it was established as a permanent settlement. Today it is a favorite destination for tourists from Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as those "come from away." This town is perhaps the most notable "heritage community" in the province.

This is a scene from the historic town of Tilting, Fogo Island, NL. The community has been designated a National Historic Site of Canada, and also as a Registered Heritage District by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador. Tilting was first settled by Europeans in the mid-1700s, and was used as early as the 1500s as a summer fishing station. The origins of the name “Tilting” are unknown.

This is a scene from the historic town of Tilting, Fogo Island NL.

The purpose of this painting is to draw the viewer's attention to the beauty that exists in the most unlikely of places. Who would think to look there among the kelp underneath a dirty wharf? But it's the ruggedness of Newfoundland that makes it so beautiful.

This painting depicts typical Newfoundland fishing boats. The one in the foreground is called a "trap skiff." This type of vessel was used by fishing crews for generations to haul cod traps. The middle boat was used for fishing with hook and line. The boat in the background was used for hauling gill nets. This scene is from 1992, the year the cod moratorium began. These boats never saw a load of fish again.

This is a scene from Fogo Island. The punt depicted here was built in 2007 by the students of Fogo Island Central Academy, with the assistance of their teacher and local boatbuilder Mr. Melvin Combden of Seldom. In an effort to preserve the heritage of Fogo Island for future generations, the high school now includes traditional boat building as part of their curriculum. This punt, which proudly carries the school colours, is used for competition at the "Great Fogo Island Punt Race to There and Back."

This scene is from Bonavista, NL. When you visit Bonavista, you may wonder what impresses you the most about this town. Is it the rugged beauty, the history, the friendliness of the people? I like it all, but what I like best is the feeling of a quiet, laid back way of life. The clothes hanging on the line moving to a gentle breeze from the ocean seems to reflect well this relaxed feeling.

The title of this painting reflects three ideas. First, notice the fog bank on the horizon and the ripples beginning to form on the water. These are indicators that the wind is about to change to blow in from the ocean. When this happened, the warm sunny day is about to get colder. Also, this scene is from 1991, one year before the cod moratorium began. At the time, no one here had any idea of the devastating changes that were about to take place in the inshore fishery. It would be the end of a lifestyle that had been enjoyed here for generations. Finally this fishing stage, along with nearly every other fishing stage in the harbour, was destroyed by a severe winter storm on Christmas Eve 2010—erasing the few remaining signs of a once thriving fishing industry. (Scene from White Cape Harbour, St. Lunaire-Griquet, NL)

This painting depicts a typical fishing stage. It is located in St. Linaire-Griquet, on the tip of the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland. The small wooden boat turned bottom up (for winter storage) is called a “punt” or “rodney.” In the early days when fishing for cod with hook and line (i.e., “hand-lining”) was common, this type of row boat carried fishermen to their fishing grounds. It would also be used for hunting sea birds (Hence, the term “gun rodney”). The platform on which the punt sits was used for drying salt cod.

This painting is named for the grade of fish on the flakes in the foreground. When the salt cod fishery was in full swing, a fisherman's catch would normally be shipped to market in late summer or early fall. Consequently, fish that were caught late in the fall were kept over winter. In the springtime, these fish would be washed and set out to dry on flakes. But because it was in salt for too long or became sunburned during the drying process, it would end up being the lower grade or “cull,” called "West Indies" (or “West Indee”). Merchants paid less for this fish and would typically ship it to the West Indies (i.e., Jamaica) in trade for bananas and rum. (Scene from L’Anse aux Meadows, NL. c. 1969)

One cannot always count on fine weather in Newfoundland, even in summer. Because of the effect of land and sea breezes, it is usually quite windy along the coast on those days when it is warm and sunny--especially during mid-day. It is quite rare to have such a day when it is also calm. So we call this a "pet day." (Scene from Tizzard’s Harbour, NL)

This is a painting of my father's fishing stage that he built in 1952. It is located in St. Linaire-Griquet, on the tip of the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland. It was destroyed in a severe winter storm on Christmas Eve 2010. The photograph I used to paint this scene was taken in May 1991. Yes, there was this much snow on the ground at the time.

This painting depicts a typical seascape from the tip of the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland. The small island is called “Gap Rock.” It is located near the entrance to White Cape Harbour, St. Lunaire-Griquet. This rugged and beautiful coastline is the result of glacial erosion, millennia of pounding waves and harsh winds, as well as the scraping of the shoreline by northern ice flows carried south annually by the Labrador current. Icebergs are a common sight here, even in mid-summer.

This is a painting of my father-in-law’s fishing stage, located in St. Lunaire-Griquet, on the tip of the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland. Because of the effect of land and sea breezes, it is usually quite windy along the coast. However, late in the evening we usually get a short period of calm, when the wind changes direction from afternoon sea breeze to the nighttime land breeze.

The platform in the foreground was used for drying salt cod. It was constructed using “lungers” (or “longers”)—long tapering poles, usually from a spruce or fir tree with the bark left on. This fishing stage, along with nearly every other in the harbour, was destroyed by a severe winter storm on Christmas Eve 2010.

This is a winter scene of my father-in-law’s fishing stage, located in St. Lunaire-Griquet, on the tip of the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland. The boat on the launch is ready and waiting for the annual sea bird and seal hunts in early spring. Traditionally, sea birds and seals were an important part of the local diet.

This fishing stage, along with nearly every other in the harbour, was destroyed by a severe winter storm on Christmas Eve 2010.