Diaries of a Map Maker - David Thompson

Don McMaster

DIARIES OF A MAP MAKER

In September 2006, I decided to paint "something completely different': and I began The David Thompson Project, a nine-painting collection depicting some significant events in the life of David Thompson, Canada's famous fur trader, explorer, and map maker. I narrowed my focus to events which occurred in the prairie region and around Lake of the Woods, acknowledging that his fame is generally centred on events in the Rocky Mountains and on the West Coast.

Whereas explorers such as Lewis and Clark in the U.S.A. received honours and fame, and continue today as historic icons, David Thompson has been, until now, largely overlooked by Canadians. Perhaps that is the Canadian way?

I used Thompson's journals as my principal reference, but I soon discovered that I needed additional help from experts in Canadian history to reproduce accurate images of the clothing and footwear of the period, (1797-1812). My research has taken incredible amounts of time. Several trips to Montana, the Dakotas, Northern Saskatchewan, and Lake of the Woods were required to reproduce accurately the landscapes where events took place. Geography, season, weather, time of day, and the characters involved were all important. I journeyed to each of the localities Thompson described. These were essential so that viewers could be confident that they "were there':

I soon discovered that the research and actual painting time required would seriously limit that number of paintings I could reasonably produce for this project. In the end, the nine paintings took well over eighteen months to complete. Three painting concern the Lake of the Woods and the Winnipeg River, five depict his journey from Fort Assiniboine to the Missouri River, and one show's Thompson's marriage to Charlotte Small.

Bio

Don McMaster, artist, naturalist and outdoorsman, lives in the landscape he loves to

paint. His work, his recreation and his major interests all revolve around the prairie

provinces, where he lives, and North-western Ontario, where he maintains a summer studio. A well-known advocate for wildlife and habitat preservation, McMaster has worked for many organisations dedicated to those purposes.

Since moving from Winnipeg in the mid 1990's, Don and his wife Ardythe work at maintaining the native mixed grass prairie on their property overlooking the Assiniboine Valley southwest of Portage la Prairie. Winter finds them skiing the trails of the beautiful Assiniboine Valley.

Don McMaster's paintings explore the western Canadian landscape in all its changing lights and seasons. A member of the Assiniboia Group of Artists, he exhibits and sells his new work each year at Manitoba Art Expo, the first weekend of November.

Don's latest project, Diaries of a Mapmaker, features events in the life of David Thompson, Canadian explorer, and mapmaker. This collection of work will be shown at various locations in 2008, as part of the David Thompson Bicentennial celebrations.