Artwork by the Author

A few paintings I have done over the years...

Northern Lights, Orion, now with Lincoln Elementary School, New Brunswick. (0394/295)

View of Earth from space. (0402/303)

Seascape near Musgrave Harbour, Newfoundland. Now with Joyce Curtis and family, Meductic. (0128/015)

Burin Peninsula, island at sunset. First acrylic painting, 1971. (0143/018)

Sunrise on the Crow River, Algonquin Park. With Thayne Jenkins, Summerside, Prince Edward Island. (0189/120)

Close to Winter. (0113/050)

Algonquin Park waterfall, enhanced, now with Jenny Skaarup, Riviere de Chute. (0168/026)

Waterfall, Terra Nova park, Newfoundland. (0149/049)

Triberg Waterfall, Black Forest, Germany. (0237/138)

Autumn No. 1.

Autumn No. 2.

Sunset on Foley's Lake. (0122/99)

A walk in the woods. (0170/105)

Deadfall over green water. (0172/106)

Sunlight, Forest Gorge. (081/112)

Artwork, Ocean No. 1.

Bermuda Natural Arches, Jan 1978. (0111/103)

8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's) Headquarters, Sussex, New Brunswick, Col Tom Peppard commission. (0391/292)

Bull rider. (0338/239)

Boe. (0302/203)

16th century German Knight - Der Ritter, copy of Albrecht Durer's knight from his "Ritter, Tod und Teufel" drawing, 1516. (0249/150)

Burg Eltz, Germany. (0236/137)

King's Mountains, 1972. (0109/042)

Alberta Rockies. (0101/090)

Good Morning, Alberta. (0100/102)

Canadian Forces Lockheed CC-130 Hercules over the Rocky Mountains, No. 1. Charlottetown Airport, Prince Edward Island. (0140/044)

McDonnell CF-101B Voodoo over the Rockies, now with the Royal Western Canada Aviation Museum, Winnipeg, Manitoba. (0136/080)

RCAF Avro Lancaster Mk. X over the water, now with the Harriet Irving Library Collection, University of New Brunswick Collection, Fredericton. (0162/056)

Rose Cape Lighthouse, New England. (0104/081)

Ferryland lighthouse. (0186/117)

Prince, the laughing dog. (0392/293)

Three artists at work, Jonathan, Sean & Hal Skaarup, June 1991. (0258/159)

Cole & Ashley, winter sled time. (0383/284)

Stonehenge, United Kingdom 1. (0242/143)

Stonehenge, United Kingdom 2. (0241/142)

Hohenzollern Castle, Germany. (0238/139)

Lichtenstein Castle, Germany. (250/151)

Rhine Pfalz Castle, Germany. (0240/141)

Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany. With Jonathan Skaarup. Attleboro, Massachusetts. (0244/145)

Heidelburg Castle, Germany. (0245/146)

Haut Koenigsburg Castle, France. With Aaron McLeod, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. (0247/148)

Roder Gate & Markus Tower, Rothenburg, Germany. (0248/149)

Rothenburg aub der Tauber, Germany. (0239/140)

Pont du Gard, Nimes, France. (0255/156)

Standing 48.8 meters high, Pont du Gard was the tallest aqueduct the Romans ever built, and they did it without mortar. Just thousands of precisely cut limestone blocks, some weighing up to six tons, stacked into a three-tiered bridge. The bottom level supported foot traffic, the middle added stability, and the top carried the water channel. Every stone was placed with meticulous accuracy. Over the entire 50-kilometer stretch of the aqueduct, the water dropped just 17 meters.

It worked flawlessly for nearly 500 years. Every day, 40,000 cubic meters of fresh water flowed into Nîmes, feeding its fountains, baths, and wealthy households. Then, after the fall of the Roman Empire, the system broke down. No one maintained the channels; mineral deposits clogged the pipes, and by the 6th century, the water stopped flowing. The aqueduct had lost its purpose, but the bridge was too valuable to be abandoned. With no more water running through it, the Pont du Gard took on a new role, a river crossing. Bridges were expensive to build, and here was one already standing. By the Middle Ages, local lords saw an opportunity.

In 1295, King Philippe le Bel granted the right to charge tolls for crossing, and for centuries, merchants, pilgrims, and farmers paid their dues to use it. Merchants transporting wine, salt, and textiles between Provence and Languedoc crossed with pack animals and carts. Pilgrims made their way toward Santiago de Compostela or local shrines, grateful for a safe crossing over the river. Farmers moved livestock across, paying per head of cattle or sheep. The more loaded the cart, the higher the fee.

But the bridge wasn’t designed for medieval traffic. As carts got wider, sections of the stonework were chipped away. The wear and tear left the structure fragile, but it was never completely abandoned because it still served a purpose. By the 18th century, its condition was alarming. Large cracks had formed, and missing stones weakened the structure. That’s when the first real restoration efforts began. By the late 1700s, architects and historians were documenting France’s historical monuments, and the Pont du Gard was at risk of collapse. In 1743, a major restoration project was led by Henri Pitot, an engineer best known for his work in hydrodynamics. He reinforced the lower level with additional arches to prevent further damage.

Napoleon III took things further in the 1850s. He was fascinated by Roman engineering and ordered a full restoration of the bridge, entrusting the work to Charles Laisné, an architect who specialized in historic preservation. Laisné meticulously replaced missing stones, repaired weakened sections, and reinforced the structure without altering its original Roman design. His efforts ensured the Pont du Gard would stand for future generations.

More work followed in the 20th century, including projects in the 1920s and again in the 1990s, when modern conservation techniques were applied to stabilize it. Finally, in 1985, UNESCO recognized its significance, designating it a World Heritage Site.

Building something of this scale wasn’t a quick job. Around 1,000 men worked for five years to complete the Pont du Gard, using only hand tools, ropes, and sheer muscle power. The workforce included skilled Roman engineers, stonemasons, and laborers, many of whom were likely slaves or conscripted workers.

The limestone was quarried just upstream and transported along the Gardon River. The Romans marked each block with symbols and letters to show where it belonged, ensuring every stone fit precisely into place. Unlike most Roman structures, which relied on mortar, the Pont du Gard was built using a dry-stack technique. The weight of the stones and the precise cutting ensured stability, a method so effective that the bridge has remained standing for nearly two millennia.

Even more impressive is the aqueduct’s gradient. Over its entire 50-kilometer length, the water descends just 12.6 meters. That’s an astonishingly small slope, requiring precision calculations to keep the water flowing at just the right speed, fast enough to avoid stagnation but slow enough to prevent erosion. The Pont du Gard sits almost perfectly between Nîmes and Avignon, about 25 km (15 miles) from each. (Kylie Lang)

Gorch Foch, German sail training ship. with Jonathan Skaarup. Attleboro, Massachusetts. (0246/147)

The Gorch Fock is a tall ship of the German Navy (Deutsche Marine). She is the second ship of that name and a sister ship of the Gorch Fock built in 1933. Both ships are named in honour of the German writer Johann Kinau who wrote under the pseudonym "Gorch Fock" and died in the battle of Jutland/Skagerrak in 1916. The modern-day Gorch Fock was built in 1958 and has since then undertaken 146 cruises (as of October 2006), including one tour around the world in 1988. She is sometimes referred to (unofficially) as the Gorch Fock II to distinguish her from her older sister ship. The Gorch Fock is under the command of the Naval Academy in Flensburg-Mürwik. Image found on the German 10-Mark-banknote.

The Pelican fires a broadside, d'Iberville, Hudson's Bay. with Jonathan Skaarup. Attleboro, Massachusetts. (0243/144)

The Battle of Hudson's Bay, also known as the Battle of York Factory, was a naval battle fought during the War of the Grand Alliance (known in England's North American colonies as "King William's War"). The battle took place on 5 September 1697, when a French warship commanded by Captain Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville defeated an English squadron commanded by Captain John Fletcher.

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