#2804 "Grande Chute White Water and Rocks 2023"

#2804 "Grande Chute White Water and Rocks 2023"
5x7 inches canvas panel using oils

            Wally Schaber and friends          

Wally Schaber and co-workers Peter and Maggie gave an excellent tour of the new and improved Dumoine facilities and trail. The many developments completed during the COVID years were remarkable. The history of the area is fascinating and Wally wrote "The Last of the Wild Rivers: The Past, Present, and Future of the Rivière du Moine Watershed". Wally's book is a must-read and hopefully, your library can get you a copy. 

After the tour wound up, the CPAWS DRAW people scattered to the wind. I headed straight down the new and improved trail with my painting gear. I would have to return to the car for my swimming stuff later. 

I set up my easel at the new campsite called "Bellevue". It sounded promising and was a place I had not painted before. The midday sun was hot and the shadows from the pines felt wonderful. I decided to try to make a painting of the rocks and the reflected colours in the rapids on a small canvas panel.

The next painting #2805 "Grande Chute Swimming Honey Hole" would be completed perched on the top of the boulder that appears in the left portion of this painting. It was a bit of a risk to get myself and my paint box to the top of that rock but once I started, I had to finish. 

CPAWS-Ottawa Valley has hosted DRAW Retreat for Artists since 2017. DRAW is a clever acronym for Dumoine River Art for Wilderness. I have attended every year except during COVID. There is no better cause. The goals are admirable and ones that I deeply share. The goal is ultimately to make a lasting difference like A.Y. Jackson and the Ontario Society of Artists did in the case of Killarney Provincial Park. The impacts of climate change are already being felt. There is no time for dithering. 

This is number twelve of twenty-seven paintings I completed en plein air at CPAWS DRAW 2023. It was a wonderful experience with a terrific group of people. https://cpaws-ov-vo.org/draw-retreat-artists/ A portion of sales from this endeavour will go to support CPWAS and keep the wild in the wilderness. 

Done like dinner...

For this and much more art, click on Pixels. To go to the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Collection on Fine Art America, click here. 

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick