#0367 "Boo!!"

Our Maine Coon Cat was a special creature. She came to live with us at the same time as the Chesapeake Bay Retriever came. The were both just weeks old and only knew the freedom of our farm on the Twelfth Concession of King Township at the very crest of the Oak Ridges Moraine. The cat was more Chessy than feline. The dog was more Maine Coon than canine. They were both terrific personalities and dear members of the family. More than a decade after burying them together on the crest of the Oak Ridges Moraine, we still miss them.

The cat was simply one of a barn litter on the farm of our friend. My daughter picked her out as the kitten that marched boldly right up to us. I liked the black kitten. My daughter was right.

The cat would go for walks with us in the back fields. She was regal and ruled the barn. The barn cats kept their distance from the Queen. The dog kept predators away from the cat and protected the farm which we shared with these terrific creatures. They both painted with me and liked to play.

The world would be a better place with more creatures like these.

The cat was in a playful mood and wanted to play fight for this painting. She was the Queen of the castle.

The cat was also my favourite art critic.

For this and much more art, click on Pixels. Thank you!

#0122 "Maple Leaves"

Maple leaves with an abstract background composed out of the shadows on the sandy bottom. The leaves were actually floating in the water at Bon Echo Provincial Park, north of Belleville, Ontario. It was a shallow, sandy bottom right next to shore.

For this and much more art, click on Pixels. Thank you!

#0125 "A Foggy Morning at Peggy's"

Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia on a foggy morning. The red boat is back in "port" with some lobster pots. In 1983 the red boat had a turquoise super structure - not white. The "Granite Prince" is also home. It was the early in the fog season from June 1983. We were back in Nova Scotia again after working our way across Canada.

This was painted when the kids were little and before I could afford the time to head out en plein air. Yes my style has changed over the years but it is still me and it is still art. I would have painted this in the basement guest room/studio of our home at 167 Lockview Road in Fall River. This painting brings back a lot of memories.

For this and much more art, click on Pixels. Thank you!

#2212 "Sliver of Sunset"

It was snowing lightly as I painted this. The flakes were small and mixed a bit with the oils to no adverse effect. The layer of stratocumulus was quite thin and could only produce the tiniest of snow flakes.

I was supposed to be in the Grand Ballroom of the Beautiful 1000 Islands Village demonstrating my approach to art. I wasn't feeling it. So I just went outside. I was not far from the Ballroom and I asked my fellow artists to point any visitors my way. Many of the attendees were artists - perhaps they all were. In any event I had a great time talking and visiting with the guests while I painted. I think I encourage a few to go out and buy some oils.

I needed to unwind a bit after completing the architectural Chapel painting #2211 "1000 Islands Village Chapel". The sky is always there for me so I painted looking up current along the St Lawrence River to the south and the setting sun. The narrow sliver of light was my goal. I forgot to take some in progress pictures as I got visiting with some guests and explaining what I was doing. The lights were coming on in the homes on the American side as I was winding this painting down.

Some of my art at the Riverbank Gallery... I have more than 100 pieces in the beautiful 1000 Islands Village

I decided to dry off and warm up in the very beautiful Chapel. A chap was playing the unbelievable organ. Christmas music was mixed with traditional hymns. It was beautiful. The Chapel is truly a special jewel of a place for countless reasons.

For this and much more art, click on Pixels. Thank you!

#2211 "1000 Islands Village Chapel"

It snowed lightly as I painted this. I was supposed to be in the Ballroom of the beautiful 1000 Islands Village demonstrating my style of art but I wasn't feeling it. So I just went outside. I was not far from the Ballroom and I asked my fellow artists to point any visitors my way. Most of the attendees were artists - perhaps they all were. In any event I had a great time talking and visiting with the guests while I painted.

I decided to paint the very beautiful Chapel through the screen of two very large and old red oak trees. The painting was intended to capture the moment and the feel for the place. Before I left for the evening I went inside to listen to the unbelievable organ being played. The Chapel is truly a special jewel of a place for countless reasons.

Art is all about capturing the feel of the place. The location is beautiful so any short-comings in the art is the result of my brushwork and not the location.

I had painted at 1000 Islands Village in the spring as well - #2092 "1000 Islands Village" .

For this and much more art, click on Pixels. Thank you!

#2210 "Singleton Winter Sky Sunset"

Every sunset is special in its own way. In this case the cirrus was thin and subtle but the high level ice crystals still managed to catch the twilight.

Singleton Lake was actually in the dry slot of a winter storm. The comma head was passing to the north while the warm conveyor belt stream moisture streamed by just to the south. It would be impossible to deduce this meteorology just be examining the sunset cirrus.
Sometime you need to know the big picture of the weather pattern.

For this and much more art, click on Pixels. Thank you!

#2209 "Spring at Pine Island"

I was out for a paddle around Singleton Lake on Saturday April 28th, 2018. I was on my way back around midday and looking for rainy day subject matter for the studio. I always like the trees on this point of land jutting out into Singleton Lake. The sky was overcast stratus and the winds were light - perfect for paddling. I include the bow of my canoe "Margaritaville" in the painting to help tell the story. There is nothing quite as quiet and relaxing as a paddle around the lake. I can paddle silently in the canoe whereas the kayak strokes make a bit of noise.

This is the same point I painted in 1713 "December Morn" , #1714 "White Pine Island" and #1908 "Cirrious Stories". Mr Singleton who had is farm just southwest of Singleton Lake also had a structure on this island. Apparently Mr Singleton kept his dairy cows on our land which is quite a row from the shore across Singleton Lake to the far rocky point. He would row across this expanse twice a day and return with his pails of milk.
The remains of the roof of his shed on "Pine Island" is all that remains of the structure where he kept his boat and whatever other supplies he required. There were a few of the old square nails still in the roof trusses.

For this and much more art, click on Pixels. Thank you!

#2208 "Classic Cumulus Congestus"

The Langmuir streets in the surface of the lake always interest me. Singleton Lake is just south of the eastward extension of the Lake Ontario lake breeze convergence line.

As a result convection tends to ripple along just to the north of the lake. Lyndhurst and Delta often gets soaked while Singleton stays on the sunny side of the street. This particular towering cumulus was probably over Seeley's Bay at the time of my painting. We missed the shower entirely.

Distinct bands of calm water were parallel to the strong southwesterly winds above the surface of the lake. These bands in the water reveal the associated vertical motions therein. I like to think of elongated helical tubes stretched out along the direction of the strong winds. The three-dimensional circulation in these helical tubes interact and these bands result in every fluid whether it be water or the atmosphere.

For this and much more art, click on Pixels. Thank you!

#2207 "Singleton Afternoon Thunderstorm"

I had just gotten back from a week of painting on the Dumoine with CPAWS. I was still a bit tired. I watched this thunderstorm roll in from the southwest. I should have gone out and painted it right then and there but I took a photo to put this in my back pocket for a rainy day. That wet weather arrived in November. The colours of any storm are special. There were earth tones in this base of this particular thunderstorm and all of these reflected in the calm waters of Singleton Lake. There is indeed a calm before most storms.

For this and much more art, click on Pixels. Thank you!