Distinguished art critic Doris Shadbolt has chosen 85 drawings from Carr's sketchbooks, those which particularly reveal the wellsprings of her inspiration. In an introductory essay and commentary for each of Carr's seven journeys along the British Columbia coast, Shadbolt's inspired text evokes the intimacy and immediacy of the drawings themselves, and takes us close to the heart of Emily Carr.

Emily Carr (1871-1945) was an extraordinary Canadian artist and writer who has become a national cultural icon. Among the collections of Emily Carr material at the British Columbia Archives is a special cache of thirteen small drawing books. The sketches in these volumes were done quickly to catch the features of a passing scene, to note the form and rhythms of a tree, as preliminary experiments in handling complex visual material. As indicators of a part of Carr's process of making art, and as notes of several significant trips made during a turning point in her life as an artist, they are fascinating and illuminating.

In that critical period, between 1927 and 1930, Carr made seven journeys -- several to isolated Native villages in coastal British Columbia, two to eastern Canada to meet fellow artists in the Group of Seven, and one metaphorical journey that was an intrinsic part of all the others -- to nature itself. On these travels and sketching trips, she used her drawings as part of the process of working out ideas, techniques and themes to develop the mature painting style that was uniquely hers.

Doris Shadbolt’s long association with the museum world has included positions at the Art Gallery of Toronto (now the Art Gallery of Ontario), the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa and the Metropolitan Museum in New York, but chiefly she is known for her curatorial work at the Vancouver Art Gallery, where she remained for more than twenty-five years. She has authored and edited numerous books, including The Art of Emily Carr, Bill Reid, The Complete Writings of Emily Carr and Visions: Contemporary Art in Canada.

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