Lee Robinsong

My paintings are about belonging in the landscape and knowing a place in a deep-rooted manner.

I grew up in many diverse cultures and landscapes, moving every four years. My home was wherever I found myself, whether it be the coastal plains of Chile, the Sahara of North Africa or British Columbia’s West Coast. 

Immigrating to Winnipeg in 1973, I was exposed to a new landscape that was flat as far as the eye could see, akin to being on an ocean. It engendered in me an emotional state of awe; how could one express such vastness of land and sky through painting?

Two experiences led to an epiphany: the first was lying on my back in Assiniboine Park, listening to a live concert of Beethoven and watching the stars emerge in the dome of the night sky; the second was standing on top of the tallest building at the University of Brandon, looking over the Prairie landscape, and seeing, in one moment, a sunset, a moonrise and a thunderstorm approaching from the southwest in a bright, clear sky. 

I realized that in following the horizon line from one point and returning to it, I had turned a complete circle. It was a pivotal moment that serves my work to this day.