LANDSCAPE AND NATURE

While the waves express a rhythmic cadence, the

wheeling and dipping of the seagulls as they play over

the ocean celebrate the joy of life.

A seagull is an unlimited idea of freedom, an image of the Great Gull,

and your whole body, from wingtip to wingtip, is nothing more than your

thought itself. (Richard Bach - Jonathan Livingston Seagull)

Freedom

Algonquin Park in northern Ontario has so many

beautiful areas that an artist has to arbitrarily pick

one or she/he would fill the whole day finding a

‘better’ scene just around the next bend. There

really are no ‘better’ scenes, just different ones and

they are all spectacular – nature has outdone herself

in this beautiful park and even the foxes agree!

There is an art to wandering. If I have a destination, a plan—an

objective--I've lost the ability to find serendipity. I am on a

quest, not a ramble. I search for the Holy Grail of particularity

and miss the chalice freely offered, filled and overflowing.

(Cathy Johnston)

Algonquin Park

I really liked this picture of a Bateman painting that

I found in a brochure and decided to give it my own

interpretation. I found that once I had the colours

blended to my liking, the actual painting of the bird

and the roses just seemed to flow.

I can't conceive of anything being more varied and rich and

handsome than the planet Earth. And its crowning beauty is the

natural world. I want to soak it up, to understand it as well as I

can, and to absorb it. And then I'd like to put it together and

express it in my paintings. This is the way I want to dedicate my

work. (Robert Bateman)

Blending In

From a painting lesson given on television, the

backlighting in this scene fascinated me and with the

dawn comes a fresh new beginning.

I'm basically a landscape painter. I put together images of nature.

(Robert Bateman)

Dawn in the Woods

I’ve tried to capture the feeling of a warm, quiet

afternoon in the country.There’s not even a breeze to

stir the leaves, but I hope you can hear the bees

working in the flowers just out of sight and the cicadas

buzzing in the bushes.

How does the Meadow flower its bloom unfold? Because the lovely

little flower is free down to its root, and in that freedom bold.

(William Wordsworth)

Down the Lane

Many years ago, our family had a cottage on Snake

Island in Lake Simcoe and the sunsets really were this

vibrant! I have used artistic license and added some

land and rocks across the lake to make more of a

definition between sky and water.

I cannot attain the intensity that is unfolded before my senses. I

have not the magnificent richness of colouring that animates nature. (Cezanne)

Island View

After seeing this photo in a magazine, I thought it would

make an interesting painting. Although the colour of the

water seemed strange at first, by the time I’d finished it

‘felt’ right.

A simple equation for the production of successful artwork is lots of

reference material plus lots of art supplies equals lots of painting

happiness. (Robert Genn)

Lighthouse At Dusk

Somehow this pine found a foothold among the rocks

and, as a reward for its resiliency and determination, has

risen above the crowd of ordinary trees in the valley.

Nothing worthwhile ever happens quickly and easily. You achieve only

as you are determined to achieve. (Robert H. Lauer)

Triumphant Pine

Living on the Narrows between Lakes Simcoe and

Couchiching, we have a wonderful view of the boats

passing from one lake to the other, some of them

from as far away as San Francisco.

Memory is history recorded in our brain, memory is a painter; it paints

pictures of the past and of the day. (Grandma Moses)

Our Boathouse

Winter is coming. The stream slowly meanders under the

autumn-leafed trees In the distance, the mist tells of the

cooling temperature and soon all will be under a blanket

of snow, so the deer come to the water while they can.

In the beginning you must subject yourself to the influence of nature.

You must be able to walk firmly on the ground before you start walking

on a tightrope. (Henri Matisse)

See also Remembering, By The Stream in ‘Our Stories’.

Woodland Stream

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