During the period between the year 2000 and 2004, I made the transition from painting part-time to painting full-time. I avoided going into galleries, or reading books on art because I didn't want to be influenced by anyone elses work in case I found myself inadvertantly copying it. This isn't the case any more, and I am going to galleries wherever and whenever I can. But at that time, I immersed myself in developing my own style and concentrated on learning about plants.

I spent these years with my nose to the ground literally, taking photos and studying plants. Over time, I found that the plants began to teach me things, about ecosystems and interconnection between them and us. My views on life expanded.

In 2002 my husband Wayne Peltier and I moved to Whitefish Falls to build our home. We spent a good year building, and me painting when I could in his parent's mud room, and later in my studio to get ready for my first solo exhibit at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery in December 2003.

- Christi