Into the Arctic: Painting Canada's Changing North features perhaps the most ambitious body of artwork ever devoted to the Far North of Canada. Cory Trépanier journeyed to the Arctic five times between 2006 and 2018, travelling more than 60,000 kilometres to visit over a dozen Inuit communities and six national parks, sketching and painting en plein air the stunning landscapes he encountered. The result is an awe-inspiring portrait of the breathtaking lands and waters that have sustained the Inuit for countless generations – and are now experiencing tremendous changes that will affect the entire planet.
This stunning volume features over 120 paintings, as well as several dozen sketches and photos that document both the process and adventure behind the works. Alongside this vivid imagery are engaging essays that offer insight into Cory's inspirations and artistic evolution, as well as the challenges facing a warming North. This collection brings home to readers Cory's unforgettable vision of an evocative land that few southerners may have the privilege to visit, and conveys the urgency with which we must act to protect it for generations to come.
Foreword by The Honourable Patricia Bovey, FRSA, FCMA, Senator Manitoba. With contributions by The Honourable Margaret Dawn Panigyak Anderson, Senator for Northwest Territories; Billy Arnaquq; Robert Bateman; Wade Davis; Her Honour the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario; Ron Hallman; John Geiger; and Dr Mauri Pelto.
Cory Trépanier's art has been featured in media around the globe, and his film documentaries have been broadcast internationally. Canadian Geographic named Trépanier one of Canada's Top 100 Living Explorers. He is a fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and a member of The Explorers Club, which presented him with the Canadian chapter’s highest award, the Stefansson Medal. Through his unique vision, expressed through art, films, public speaking, and online media, Cory hopes to inspire others with our planet’s natural wonders. He lives in Caledon, Ontario.
Todd Wilkinson is a journalist, author, and the founder of Mountain Journal. His work has appeared in National Geographic, Christian Science Monitor, and the Washington Post, and his books include Science Under Siege: The Politicians’ War on Nature and Truth; Last Stand: Ted Turner’s Quest to Save a Troubled Planet; and Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek: An Intimate Portrait of 399, the Most Famous Bear of Greater Yellowstone. Todd lives in Bozeman, Montana.
"Many visitors to the Arctic view the entire encounter through the lens of a camera, as I witnessed on a recent journey when a fellow passenger boasted of snapping 16,000 frames in a fortnight. The art of Cory Trépanier serves as an inspiring and reassuring antidote to this photographic frenzy. Each painting emerges from a moment of silent contemplation, allowing the artist to hear the whispered messages of the landscape and sense a spirit of place that comes alive in each of his stunning portraits. It's a polar world he has come to know so well, and into which he invites us in this stunningly beautiful book."
– Wade Davis, anthropologist, photographer, and author of over twenty books, including The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World
"Cory Trépanier has captured the beauty, magic, and power of the Arctic with his masterful brush, delivering us its pure essence."
– Les Stroud, host and producer of Survivorman
"Mr. Trépanier's extraordinary talent and deep passion for the Arctic come through in these outstanding paintings, which capture the stunning beauty of some of the most remote and wild corners of the North."
– Jean-Marc Blais, former Director General, Canadian Museum of History
"Into the Arctic – a symphony of seascapes, landscapes, glaciers and sea ice – is a love letter to northern Canada. Every word and brush stroke speaks to us about empathy, eloquence and endurance."
– Dr. Joe MacInnis, physician-scientist, explorer and author
"Cory has demonstrated that when you combine adventure and a paintbrush, the possibilities are endless."
– Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, at the Canadian premiere of the Into the Arctic exhibition, 2018
"The Canadian Arctic is hands-down spectacular – as are Cory Trépanier's loving and accurate paintings. Like the Arctic, his art is boundless."
– Robert Bateman
"Like some of the great figures in polar exploration history, Cory Trépanier combines the courage and adventurousness of an explorer with the exacting skill and powerful creative vision of an artist."
– John Geiger, CEO, The Royal Canadian Geographical Society
"Cory Trépanier captures the steadfast beauty of northerly worlds we know to be threatened. This is purity on the brink, an aesthetic as fragile and reverential as the inner life of a polar bear."
– Michael Charles Tobias, author, filmmaker, and President of the Dancing Star Foundation