Common Ground: Wildflowers of the Canadian Yukon and Alaska

“A patch of Western Columbine! And look at that field of Forget-Me-Nots, Yellow
Paintbrush and Monkshood. It’s just bursting with color! Oh honey, I just need to stop
and take some photos.” And once again, I throw off my backpack, drop to my knees
with unabashed enthusiasm and stall the hike.

Early last summer, I saw Western Columbine growing for the first time in the Chugach
Mountains outside of Anchorage. A few months later while hiking on the Auriol Trail in
Kluane National Park & Reserve near Haines Junction, I was over the moon to see a
bountiful patch of that same glorious wildflower in a subalpine meadow in Canada’s
Yukon. At that very moment, this new body of artwork was born

My husband and I have traveled extensively in the Yukon for the last three decades. I
became obsessed with the fleeting wildflower world that knows no borders. For every
magical wildflower moment in the Yukon, I embrace an equally special find in Alaska —
rich textures, intense colors, shapes, sizes, artful leaves beneath hearty blooms — and
splashes of light. Whether at home in Alaska or in the Yukon, hundreds of photos are
taken and many iterations of my favorite are drawn. Once the first layer of oil paint is on
the canvas, I feel a tremendous sense of freedom, the same feeling I have while hiking
in the wilderness. Layer by layer, colors become bolder. Shapes come alive. Details are
sorted. I take creative liberties. Each painting isn’t done until it feels just right.

In a historical time of divided philosophical outlooks, nature has gifted us a reminder of
all that we have in common in the Far North. I invite you to join me on that hike, to
cherish not only the land that surrounds us, but the beautiful details that lie within. Kneel
close to the ground with me, wherever you are, and drink in the tiny wonders that are
here for a brief moment in time.

Amy Noon