‘Summer In The Sound’

‘Summer In The Sound’ – 2019 – 36”x60” – Acrylic on canvas

A calm summers day in Howe Sound: endless blues and dancing sunlight. Layer upon layer of islands covered in rich temperate coastal rainforest. Floating through the Sound you might meet a variety of our local wildlife: sea birds, sea lions, seals, dolphins and if you are very lucky maybe some of our elusive visitors: Orcas.

British Columbia’s southernmost fjord is home to an abundance of wildlife. From the top of the 2,000 m mountains to the bottom of the 285 m trenches Howe Sound hosts a huge variety of flora and fauna. But nothing is quite as powerful as encountering a pod of the world’s largest member of the dolphin family.

Orcinus orca, or Killer Whale, lives in virtually every ocean across the world from the tropics to the arctic. In Howe Sound we have two populations of Orca that visit to hunt prey throughout the year. Most common are the Transient or Bigg’s Orcas. These whales travel up and down the coast from California to Alaska in search of various marine mammals to hunt such as seals, sea lions, dolphins and even small whales. The other group is known as the Southern Resident Orcas which live only in and around the waters of the Salish Sea and feed exclusively on Spring or Chinook Salmon.

For this painting I wanted to capture the feeling of a beautiful blue summer’s day off the northeast coast of Bowen Island, with Cates Bay and Finisterre Island to the left. Calm water and soothing ocean sparkles contrast the thrill and excitement of seeing a family of these majestic, powerful whales cruise by as they travel the Sound in search of healthy oceans full of food.

Howe Sound is recovering and the whales are returning. It is a remarkable example for a positive future: how a once damaged environment can recover from industrialization and once again become a healthy and thriving ecosystem. 

‘Summer In The Sound’ – 2019 – 36″x60″ – acrylic on canvas – UV Varnish – sold

10% of the sale of this painting will be donated to
Howe Sound Conservation
https://howesoundconservation.ca/mapapp/