Tammy Wolcott

Tammy Wolcott is an acrylic painter whose work combines the worlds of geology and art.  Her love of geology has been a lifelong passion which started as a young girl collecting rocks on family road trips (much to her parents’ dismay).  Tammy went on to obtain her B.Sc. in Geology, which then led to a career as an exploration geologist.  However, her painting career did not begin until after her retirement. She quickly found that she could transfer some of her passion for rocks to painting by using the beautiful Rocky Mountains as inspiration. She enjoys painting them on a large vista scale as well as on a smaller scale such as boulders in a stream.

Tammy recently developed a method of painting on pieces of Rundle Rock collected from a local quarry and uses these as natural canvases to portray many of the iconic mountains in Western Canada.   Because Rundle Rock is a natural product, it has variations in composition and texture which adds to its beauty but can also pose challenges for artistic painting on its surface.  As a result, each stone shape and the painting on its surface are unique. The rocks have all been handpicked by Tammy, from a quarry site in the Canmore area.   They have been sealed before and after the images were painted.  The final product may be wiped with a soft damp cloth, however they are not suitable for outdoor display.

Tammy resides in Calgary, close to the mountains which continue to offer her inspiration, and Rundle Rock “canvases”. 

A note about the geology of Rundle Rock:

Rundle Rock (also called Rundle Stone) is a natural stone that comes from the Canadian Rocky Mountains.  It was first described by geologist R. G. McConnell in 1887 and was named by the stone masons who quarried it from the base of Mount Rundle in the late 1800’s.  It was deposited approximately 250 million years ago during the Triassic Period (Spray River Group, Sulphur Mountain Formation, Vega Siltstone Member).   Its unique texture, distinct dark grey and brown colours, and natural durability make it popular for commercial and residential applications.  Most notably it is the building stone used in the Banff Springs Hotel.