#2597 "Mattawa Woodland Cascade"

#2597 "Mattawa Woodland Cascade"
60 x 40 (inches) by 1.75 inches thick

At one time I would have interpreted this inspiration in a photographic realism style. Now I am trying to go deeper than the surface and incorporate the life, vitality and dynamics of nature. To be sure, the elements should feel like what they are, but my interpretation needs to go beyond to a place where it should go. I painted this to record the shapes and colours and brush life into them. 

In progress on "Mattawa Woodland Cascade"
in the Singleton Studio during
the wind chills of winter.

It is important to be yourself when you paint. You can't and should not be someone else anyway. I stressed this when I taught art. I focussed on the materials and the techniques and never messed with anyone's style of interpretation. I encouraged individuality. 

As a result of being yourself, there is a significant probability that your art might not be commercial or even saleable. This is a concern if that non-saleability is during your lifetime. Otherwise, no worries and paint on if you can remain inspired. I spent more than 35 years earning a sustainability plan which allows me just that within the sanctuary of the Singleton Forest.

Art is a way of life and one never knows just where it will go. Enjoy the ride and be positive and creative.  We are all stewards of the land, privileged to appreciate its beauty during our lifetime but responsible for leaving it better off for the future and all inhabitants. I started painting in 1967 in oils and never stopped... this cascade is another step along that journey...

The Mattawa River is a river in central Ontario.  In early June 2016, the spring rainfall had brought lots of water to make the rapids passable. The boulder fields at the low water outlet of the rapids did provide a few obstacles but we made it through just fine. Two hundred years ago there would have been much more traffic on this water highway. The Mattawa would have been one of a very few routes into the heart of the continent. We were virtually alone in 2016. 

We spent one night camped beside the river at Elm Point at the mouth of a mountain stream. My son and I explored up the slope behind the campsite to find the source of the very chilly water that fed the stream beside our tent - this cascade of a waterfall. We were the only ones to go swimming. The water was beyond chilly - it was downright cold! It took a couple of thermos bottles of hot tea to raise the core temperatures of our bodies. Memories are made that way. This memory was on the easel most of the winter from before Christmas 2021 into February 2022. 

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