Muskeg Gold, Mer Bleue

Acrylic, 24×18 on gallery wrap – $480

This piece is reminiscent of a beautiful day in October on the board walk at Mer Bleue. It was a day of high contrast: brilliant sunshine and warm, then moments later, chilled when the scudding clouds blocked the sun.

Must have been thinking about John Constable’s clouds when I took the reference photo. I was reading his biography at the time. As a miller’s son, he came by his interest in meteorology when he was young. Weather was very important to the  mill operator and bargeman. Constable did many studies of clouds and maintained the sky was the source of light and inspiration in landscape painting.

I tried to capture the drama as well as the glorious colour: yellow gold of the larch and the red of the sphagnum pet moss, set off against the black spruce.

Gatineau Fall, Going Fast

Acrylic, 28×22 on gallery wrap – $680

Another scene from one of my favourite areas. 

Gatineau Park is a treasure so close to Ottawa/Gatineau. 

The Algonquin-Anishinabe Nation have lived in the area for centuries. Since the early 17th century with the arrival of the Europeans, it has been trapped, logged, farmed, mined, and even a location for early industry, the Carbide Wilson acid condenser a most notable example. It witnessed the influx of many cottages. 

Fortunately for us since the park’s inception in 1938, it has become an area for conservation as well as recreation.

For more on the park’s history and cultural heritage, check out the Gatineau Valley Historical Society website

https://www.gvhs.ca/digital/gatineau-park/chronicles/index.html