Vancouver-based artist, Alan Wood has long been fascinated by the “wild west” and has explored such imagery as ranch structures, cowboys, horses and teepees in his work. In the early 1980’s the artist began pushing his exploration of the ranch theme into what he describes as three-dimensional paintings. He installed these works at the Charles H. Scott Gallery, Vancouver, the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede, and finally in a major outdoor installation titled Ranch, on 320 acres of ranch land in Alberta in 1983. His Ranch Series of prints were a precursor to Ranch and were given to the investors that funded the monumental project. The prints utilize the same imagery and colours as the installations, employing flat, bright areas of colour and pattern to present a bold interpretation of the western landscape.

Alan Wood was born in England in 1935. He studied Fine Art at the Liverpool College of Art from 1954-59 and traveled extensively in North America from 1971 – 1974 before settling in Vancouver in 1974. Wood has exhibited widely since 1957, with solo exhibitions in England, Australia, Canada and the United States.