Long Beach, Tofino, Vancouver Island

Long Beach, Tofino, Vancouver Island.

The photo below was my first view of the Pacific Ocean.

And this was the same ocean the next day, perfect conditions for whale (and sea lion) spotting!

We visited Long Beach on a day of driving rain, crashing waves and sand-laden wind, but still is was fun tracking wolf (dog!) tracks, watching the sea eagles and waiting for bears to lumber out from the forest.  My only disappointment was not coming away with some of this mammoth drift wood (apparently illegal, even supposing we could lift it!)

also available in my Etsy shop

Up through the trees

Available here 
and here 

My latest print was inspired by a trip to Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast earlier this year. We had rented an RV and worked our way around several of BCs Provincial Parks. For anyone used to the UK's slightly cheek-by-jowl approach to camping and caravanning this was an eye-opener: enormous drive-in plots (complete with fire pits) screened from the nearest neighbours by enormous cedars and Douglas Firs and a lush understorey of saplings, trilliums and ferns. 

This piece started out as a sketch for #drawingaugust on twitter

but I quite liked the concept and adapted it for lino cutting.

 

 and many tiny leaf cuts later...

PS If you do follow me on twitter please note that I have locked myself out of my original account and am now tweeting from @a_deeganprints please do follow me (again!). Thank you :-)

@adeegan is now back in action please do follow, thank you :-)

Big, big trees

Cathedral Grove, Vancouver Island

I'm nearly a week back from our holiday in British Columbia, well Vancouver Island and a tiny bit of the Sunshine Coast to be specific, and as usual I am slow to get to grips with all the photos I have taken.

Does anybody else suffer false photography syndrome - those photos you're sure you took but can't be found on any memory card?

Confusion was heightened this time round because on the fourth day my dear son dipped my camera in the sea whilst chasing crabs. It didn't like this at all and refused to work again (and got impressively hot when I forgot to take the battery out). So I had to resort to the camera on my phone, and to begging a go on OHs bridge camera, not ideal for someone who snaps continually but to be honest I am no great shakes as a photographer.

Anyway here's the first of a couple of posts about our travels. We toured around in a huge RV and stayed on a few of the Provincial Park campgrounds  - amazing pitches under enormous Douglas Fir and cedar and surrounded by luscious mosses, ferns and dogwood, where squirrels scampered and woodpeckers drilled and the bears stayed mercifully hidden.

Old Growth Douglas Fir in Cathedral Grove, Vancouver Island

Moss strewn limbs at Goldstream, Vancouver Island

Saltery Bay Provincial Park