#2811 "Looking North to Lac Penniseault from the Causeway"

#2811 "Looking North to Lac Penniseault from the Causeway"
10(height) x 8(width) by 3/8 (inches in depth)
oils on primed panel

I needed to start painting early if I was to stand on the causeway. All of the traffic coming into the Dumoine watershed had to use this crossing. At one time there was a covered bridge here. 

The story goes that a local trucker had bought a brand new 600-horsepower truck that he would use to haul logs. As the driver approached the bridge, he had second thoughts that the wood-framed structure could take the load. He drove on. About halfway across the bridge, there was a tremendous crash. The trucker thought that the best option was to proceed quickly across the bridge rather than risk crashing into the water. He made it safely across the bridge but the truck was wearing the roof of the old bridge like a hat. The present-day causeway replaced the historic covered bridge crossing. Not as elegant as the old covered bridge, but better suited to the larger and heavier logging loads on the road.

The lakes along the Dumoine road are "wide spots" in the Pinceau River which empties into the Ottawa River below the Zec concrete bridge. The lakes were local oases of nature and I recorded several of them in oils. 

An adult bald eagle flew low overhead as I painted. I was able to finish the painting of overcast skies and Dumoine forest and lakes just before the truck traffic arrived. It was a holiday Monday so there was going to be lots of traffic on the main road. I was planning on avoiding all of that if I could. Some new friends showed me some great new, secluded painting places. There were years of painting ahead of me.

The overcast altostratus revealed that a very significant storm was on the way. The wind was shaking pine needles onto my palette and into the oils too. Torrential rain would arrive during the afternoon. 

Done like dinner...

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 nineteen of twenty-eight 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.

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