I had the privilege and honour to speak with astronaut, David Saint-Jaques about his experiences on the International Space Station in the summer of 2021. This Zoom meeting was arranged with the assistance of David Hadfield, brother of former ISS Commander, Chris Hadfield.  

David Saint-Jaques' awe-inspiring description of what it is like to be in space was riveting and essential for my creative momentum for this challenging subject. His comment about his amazement with the contrast of looking at the Earth while in a space suit and turning around and seeing the blackness of space was fascinating and inspired my composition. I chose to paint the Gaspe Peninsula from space symbolizing Canada's contribution to space exploration.      

Dr. Steven Pelech funded the project and collaborated with me to create a similar composition echoing the poster for the 1968 motion picture, 2001 A Space Odyssey painted by former NASA artist, Robert McCall. The goal was to compare our current technological evolution in the year 2023 to the futuristic envisionment of writer, Arthur C. Clarke who wrote the 1948 short story"The Sentinel" which was the short story the film was based on.