WAC285/23 – Kathy Ramsay

– 90 x 90 cm

Bow River Country is a place of great beauty and deep significance—a landscape where living waters flow through hidden waterfalls, rocky creeks, and sacred streams. Parts of this land are known as DURRORRD, meaning black rocks, named after the striking volcanic stone that marks the hills and riverbeds. This is both cattle country and cultural country, where stories live in every stone and every stream.

These rocky places, dense with bush, cliffs, and caves—is a place of refuge, where knowledge was protected and spirits stayed strong.

This painting is also personal. My big brother knows this Country well—he’s driven it, worked it, and listened. He was told stories from our grandfather, Timmie Timms, who learned them from his mother, Nancy Timms. That’s how knowledge flows, just like the rivers: from one generation to the next, carried by word, memory, and love.

“THE LIVING WATERS on Bow River Country” is more than a name. It’s a story of survival, identity, and belonging. It speaks to the enduring strength of our people and the deep, living connection we have to this land. Through this painting, I honour not only the physical beauty of Bow River, but the legacy that lives on in our bloodlines, our stories, and our Country.