For more than twenty years, I guided river trips, mountain backpacking adventures, and explored on month-long canoe expeditions deep into the Arctic.

For thirteen of those years, I also served as a first responder in Alberta, working as a Search Manager with Search & Rescue, deploying with Canada Task Force 2 during wildfires, and dispatching in Cochrane.

Between wilderness guiding and emergency response, I spent most of my adult life helping people navigate the unexpected.

What I never expected was that all of it was quietly leading me toward art.

In 2015, I traveled north of the Arctic Circle and happened upon a small First Nations art show in Inuvik.

One piece stopped me completely — the color, the movement, the energy.

When I spoke to the artist, she told me she worked with ink on tile.

Then she said something that changed everything:

“You can set the ink on fire.”

There were no tutorials. No guides. No instructions.

Just a spark that landed somewhere inside me.

When I returned home, I bought a few hundred dollars’ worth of supplies and spent the next three years experimenting — and yes, being a bit of a pyro.

When I returned home, curiosity took over. I bought some ink and started experimenting.

There were no tutorials, no courses, and no one teaching this technique. Just curiosity, trial and error, and a growing fascination with what happened when flame met ink.

For 3 years, I kept experimenting.

Sometimes I would spend hours working with fire and end up with nothing worth keeping.

Other times, something extraordinary would emerge.

Looking back, I suppose that's when I discovered I'm a bit of a pyro, but aren't we all? ;-)

I also learned that fire has a mind of its own.

It can't be controlled completely. It moves, shifts, and creates patterns I could never plan.

The backgrounds in my artwork are created using real fire and ink on tile.

The flame captures the movement of the ink in a way no brushstroke ever could.

The fire tells the first part of the story by creating the background. Then I decide what I see within it.

A firefighter. A mountain peak. A wild animal. A moment worth remembering.

I begin by sketching the story I see, then bring it to life with paint.

Today, every piece I create is made to honor, inspire, and bring joy.

Looking back, I realize my artwork brings together so much of what has shaped my life.

 The awe of wild places.

 The resilience I learned as a first responder.

And the reminder that sometimes the most meaningful paths begin with a single spark.

 Follow what lights you up.

 It often knows the way before you do.