Laura Adams has had some incredible adventures during her lifetime: from solo climbing in the Himalayas to ski guiding on Baffin Island. Her latest experiences involve more two-dimensional fare that are equally as thrilling. By Jayme Moye.

Arriving home in Nelson, British Columbia, in 2017 after guiding a series of Arctic expeditions in Canada—including the first heli-skiing trip to Baffin Island, Nunavut—Laura Adams, an Association of Canadian Mountain Guides-certified ski guide, picked up a paintbrush and embarked on a different form of exploration.

She outlined on canvas the scenery she’d encountered during her travels. After defining the glaciers, granite rock cliffs, and iceberg-studded fjords, she used palette knives to lay down the colour and texture with oil paint. The bold jewel-tone hues and assertive strokes go beyond the geologic interest of Arctic landscapes, evoking the surreal, dreamlike experience of witnessing a destination that is so fabled in the collective human consciousness. “Laura possesses a unique blend of scientific knowledge combined with an artist’s eye,” says award-winning Canadian landscape photographer Scott Forsyth.

Last June, Adams exhibited eight pieces, including one depicting Baffin Island’s majestic Walker Citadel, at the Langham Cultural Centre & Gallery in Kaslo, British Columbia. Through the exhibit, titled The Arctic: A Delicate Balance of Strength and Fragility, she hoped to convey the urgency of climate change. “We have reached the tipping point and the time to respond is now,” she explained in an opening-night presentation. Adams will continue to show her work and speak in the Kootenay region and beyond throughout 2020.

For more information, visit luminate.ca.