My inspiration to paint comes from three sources. Perhaps most significantly, as a child I suffered from a physical condition which greatly hindered my ability to walk and run. My condition led to a fascination with all types of action and, as a child of the prairies, it was only natural that my eye would focus on things such as galloping horses and the grace and power of an outdoor hockey game.

In addition, with my home environment of the Canadian prairies cold for six months of the year, I grew up loving the wintertime, both its shining beauty and its starkness.

It was within this environment of action and arctic weather that my brothers — Bob and Don — emerged as my role models, my heroes per se. I was mesmerized, watching ...