YELLOWKNIFE - Around a year ago, somewhere in the wilds of Edmonton, Northern artist Randy Sibbeston had an epiphany.

"I realized that my parents had given the best years of their lives bringing me up, and I was going to do my best," he said at Yellowknife's Javaroma, where several of his acrylic paintings are on display. <

Painter and sculptor Randy Sibbeston stands with his acrylic piece, 3.4.1, at Javaroma in Yellowknife. A long-time artist, Sibbeston has finally found the time (and the money) to do art full-time. - Adam Johnson/NNSL photo

Originally from Fort Simpson, Sibbeston said he decided he wanted to make his mark, his "contribution to society," through art.

A small financial windfall and a lot of good timing prompted Sibbeston, 36, to work on painting and sculpting full-time, something he feels prepared to do now that he's "semi-retired."

"I'm having fun," he said, looking at his work on the walls. "I completely forgot how much I enjoyed painting. I completely lose track of time and feel like a kid again."

Sibbeston's return to art comes after a seven-year absence in which he hardly lifted a paintbrush or touched a piece of stone. Now, he has thrown himself into it, painting, sculpting, writing music and hosting a Saturday night jam at the coffee shop.

He was also a member, along with Fort Simpson's John Sabourin and Tuktoyaktuk's Eli Nasogaluak, of the NWT team that took home first place at this year's National Snow Sculpting Competition at Ottawa's Winterlude festival.

With these activities under his belt, Sibbeston is setting his sights high.

"My goal is to be doing monumental work."

After developing a large, traditional serpentine/alabaster piece, which is on display in Yellowknife, he said he wants to move on to bigger works - as big as five tons - by the end of the summer.

"I'm not going to find a niche," he said. "Every piece is going to be completely different and completely new.

"I want to be working at 100 per cent of my abilities."

Having a bit of financial security is what allows this, he said; Sibbeston isn't in a rush to sell any of his pieces, which go for as much as $13,000.

"I can put it on the market, and let it sit there," he said. "That way, I can give it the time it needs to find an appropriate home."

To help the process along, however, Sibbeston has been e-mailing buyers in the south, and working on a new website, which he plans to have online next month. When Sibbeston talks about avoiding "niches," he's also talking about art in general - he doesn't plan to do this forever.

"Let's say seven years to keep with the theme," he said.

After that, who knows what the future could hold?

"I want to design spaceships," Sibbeston said with a smile. "I want to be prepared for the eventual collapse of our ecosystem."