Michael Markowsky

"Though I was born and raised in Calgary, I was startled by how unfamiliar I was with the landscape just south of the city! We visited forests, lakes, rolling hills, and animals of such wide variety that I felt as though I had stepped into a children's storybook!"

"The Cross family was exceptionally generous to us, by welcoming us onto their land and into their home. It was a true honor to be served a steak for dinner that was prepared by the very same people who birthed, raised and cared for the animal. That is experience very few people will ever have."

"I suppose I've always taken the Alberta landscape for granted. The Stampede's 'Artist Ranch Project' provided me with an opportunity to slow down and really take it all in for the first time in my life. To be able to stand still on a Friday morning, waist deep in blowing grass while drawing a big lonely tree overlooking a bubbling creek; that is an experience I don't usually provide for myself, I'm usually too busy doing other seemingly more important things! But once I was immersed in that environment, I realized many of my priorities have been just plain wrong."

"I really want to express my gratitude to Kim Morrisson for organizing this wonderful experience for me and the other artists. I also want to thank June Hills for driving us all over the province, and for her patience to pull over and wait while I jumped out to draw or photograph some element of the landscape!"

"What was most valuable to me was to experience the culture and the people who are the true spirit behind the Calgary Stampede."

http://www.michaelmarkowsky.com/