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Pure Prairie LeagueD.C. Lund's Watercolours with a TwistBy Terri Mason
Lund's rough and tumble life of international all around cowboy and steer wrestling championships - mixed with a career in big animal veterinary practice is not the usual springboard to artistic endeavours, but then again, neither was his introduction to art itself. D.C. laughs when he recounts his beginning as an artist. "David Bly, the editor of the local paper, The Taber Times, had heard I'd written some stories about the old days, so he came out and read several of them and said, 'We'd like to publish these, but you'll have to illustrate them.' I had never drawn a stick man in my life, so I said, 'I can't do that.' David said, 'Well, you'll have to,' and with that he was gone. I ended up doing some sketches to illustrate these stories, and that's what got me involved in art."
"There are different styles of watercolours too," he continued. "Some people add lots of detail for the drama. I guess I'm too lazy to do a lot of detail, so I put in fainter images and that lets the viewer interpret for themselves." His self-effacing sense of humour goes well with his sense of adventure. He was raised in rodeo - his father (Clark) was both the North American and Canadian All Around Champion at the 1939 Calgary Stampede and he got D.C. started riding steers in 1947, at age ten. "I didn't quit until 1983 - which was ridiculous," he grins. Not hardly. He won the Steer Wrestling and Calf roping Championships at the six-month "World Series of Rodeo" in Australia in 1967 that featured international competitors from Canada, New Zealand, the USA and Australia. D.C. also held the arena record for the fastest steer wrestling time at the Canadian Finals Rodeo for fourteen years - 3.6 seconds. (It has been broken several times since 1989).
"In 1974 we were asked to put on a rodeo in Zambia, Africa to celebrate their 10th anniversary of independence. Patty and I and two other cowboys and another cowgirl were there for a month," he pauses for dramatic effect. "It was the best darn rodeo ever held in Africa." Another pause. "It was the ONLY rodeo ever held in Africa," he laughs. His father was his rodeo role model, but, as he explained, "He never made any money on the ranch. My mother taught school for 25 or 30 years, and that's what put my two sisters and me through university. If it hadn't been for her..." It wasn't a big leap for a ranch raised kid to study veterinary medicine, but again it was the interesting trail that led him from the ranch to eventually the frozen tundra of the Arctic overseeing the Inuit musk ox and reindeer harvests. "It's an interesting part of the world. I've been on ten musk ox harvests and I was up again this spring on a reindeer harvest as the government vet. Most vets don't want to go up North anymore, so they call us old guys. If I'm available I'll go because it's a part of the world most people don't ever get to see."
To find his art you have to find him. "I only go to maybe half a dozen shows a year, cowboy gatherings, The Canadian Finals Rodeo, Heritage Park in Calgary and Spruce Meadows. It's really good for Patty 'cause it gets me out of her hair." And what of ranch life now that he's 'officially' retired? Well, they're still raising cattle - Welsh Blacks - a very hardy, docile breed that are genetically related to Herefords. "We've also had one or two Highland cattle," he grinned. "Just to get people's attention so when they drive by, they'll wonder what the hell that was." His has been a life of double takes. His international rodeo championships you only hear about if you prod him. This prairie raised, lanky cowboy with an affinity for the land and the Inuit of the high Arctic, the non-bragging parent of music sensation, Corb Lund. This big man with hands the size of ham hocks that creates some of the most delicate artwork. It's a study of contrasts with surprising twists that fascinate and draw you into his art - and his stories - even more. He gets your attention and makes you rethink what you see. Like that lone Highland cow in a pasture of Welsh Blacks - the art of D.C. Lund will make you look twice. |
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At first glance, the watercolours of southern Alberta artist D. C. Lund appear tranquil. Perhaps the soft hues washing a prairie scene lulls the viewer into complacency, believing they see the whole picture in one glance. Then their eyes catch movement or a surprising detail leaps to the forefront, bringing an "Aha!" to the mind's eye of prairie people who have lived in his landscapes all their lives. It's the detail, in a deliberately un-detailed painting, that draws the viewer in, bringing his art to life and to collectors around the globe.
Lund's choice of medium is surprising. His life has been lived out loud for so long you would naturally assume he would choose strong and vibrant oils or acrylics. "I thought real painters were oil painters," D.C. explained. "So I tried that for a year or so and then thought, I'll get back to that. Watercolours will be easy," he laughs at his naivetŽ. "At Christmas, I'll paint tree ornaments with acrylics for the kids, otherwise it's all watercolours - for me they are more expressive."
D.C.'s wife, Patty (Ivins) Lund, won the first two barrel races ever held at the Calgary Stampede - 1959 and again in 1960, and she has been inducted in the Calgary Stampede "Pioneers of Rodeo" Hall of Fame.
His wealth of experience prompted noted Alberta author, Jim Asplund, to approach D.C. to illustrate his book, Rivers We Love, a meticulously researched book on the rivers of southern Alberta. D.C. provided watercolours for about three-quarters of the rivers. "We had a six-week show and a book launch at the Yates Memorial Centre in Lethbridge late last fall. All the paintings featured in the book were hanging in the theatre. We had a good response," he said modestly.