#2820 "Dumoine Antique Latern Lights the Way"

#2820 "Dumoine Antique Lantern Lights the Way"
7x5 oils on canvas panel

The skies were clearing after the heavy rain. I tend to finish a CPAWS DRAW with a painting of the communal fire pit where stories to exchange and tales told - all of course were true. I had just finished painting the hot water kettle. 

I saw the old antique gold lantern sitting on the bench and it was smiling at me. I retrieved my very last panel and decided to enjoy the smoky fire and another "trail bar" with an old friend. My meal would not come close to those that we had enjoyed earlier in the week - finely prepared by our friend Lyndon. 

After completing the old lantern, I went for one last swim in the lake before the twilight turned to black. It was a peaceful evening by the fire with the snap, crackle and pop of the campfire providing the soundtrack like the old breakfast cereal.. 

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. 

Done like dinner...

This is number twenty-eight 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 

#2819 "Dumoine Firepit Kettle"

#2819 "Dumoine Firepit Kettle"
7x5 oils on canvas panel

It was time to enjoy my "trail bar" dinner with the broad side of the barn door finished. The meals had been quite fantastic at DRAW under the leadership and planning of Chef Lyndon. I decided to light a small fire in the fire pit and enjoy the absolute silence of the Dumoine forest. 

I had just two little panels left to paint on and I thought I'd have some fun. This black kettle had been hanging over the firepit all week. 

While painting, I have a Forrest Gump moment when a tiny, feather wafted gently down through the still air to land right in front of me. Life is indeed like a box of chocolates. You never know which one you are going to get. But you decide to be happy and an eternal student of the inspiration of nature and the wonder of the world that surrounds us all. The choice can indeed be yours to savour those moments.

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. 

Done like dinner...

This is number twenty-seven 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 

#2818 "The Broad Side of a Dumoine Pioneer Barn Door"

#2818 "The Broad Side of a Dumoine Pioneer Barn Door"
11x14 inches oils on stretched canvas

I waited with my new friend Maggie for her brother Peter to pick her up. Maggie was the last CPAWS DRAW participant to leave except of course, for me. She told me that everyone from the area would readily recognize this old log barn, so that is what I decided to paint next.

I had just finished moving my tent to higher ground and drying everything out. The sun was just coming out. The tent and sleeping bag were drying in the rays of the afternoon sun. I had all afternoon to paint before the supper hour. Life is good. 

There was an assortment of historic relics leaning against the wall of the log barn and I thought they would make an interesting composition. I even included the blue thermometer on the wall and what looked like the remains of a moose antler nailed to the door. 

A red squirrel kept me company with its chatter. It drank the water trapped on the top of the old cooler. Rodents were going through the wall of the log barn like they knew the place well. Oh my! I was far better off in my tent. 

Done.. and ready for 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 twenty-six 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 

#2817 "Dumoine Bonanza Shed"

#2817 "Dumoine Bonanza Shed"
11x14 oils on stretched canvas

The CPAWS DRAW attendees were gradually packing up and leaving. There would be far less traffic on the Tuesday after the Holiday Monday.

Very heavy rain...

I decided to paint the Bonanza garage which was overgrown by trees and vines. This location would allow me to say goodbye to people as they left. I could also get another painting done while surrounded by inspiration. It started to rain harder so I quickly made sure that I had covered the canvas with linseed oil. The linseed would allow the oil paint to stick to the canvas instead of sliding around on a layer of water. 

There was a large stump to the right of the shed and I suspect it was used for splitting wood. I never even peeked inside to see what the shed might hold or what it was used for. I had to remain focussed on the task at hand as it started to rain harder and harder. 

This hotel was originally built (in the early '40s) in the Swisha by Joe Madore called "Joe Madore's Inn" It was sold to John Daly in the 50's. He named it "Bonanza". It was frequented by snowmobilers, and at one point had a rope tow for skiers. It was also owned by Father Harrington & Ken Gonneau. 

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. 

Done like dinner...

This is number twenty-five 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 

#2816 "Bonanza in the Early Morning Rain"

#2816 "Bonanza in the Early Morning Rain"

Oils on 7(height) X 5(width) canvas panel

It had rained hard most of the night. I slept soundly through most of it and relaxed listening to the heavy rain on the tent for the rest. Some water did penetrate my meagre tent defences but the new, heavily discounted, end-of-the-season Canadian Tire air mattress (secured right after painting #2800 "Sunrise on Colton Bay of the Ottawa River") kept me dry above the water line. After I got up I simply tilted the tent forward toward the door to let the flood drain. My tent was not calibrated as a rain gauge but I was guessing that 70 millimetres or more must have fallen overnight. That tally is about equal to a month of rainfall during the summer and it fell in about twelve hours. 

I would move the tent later in the day after all of the DRAW participants had left. That would allow proper airing and drying of everything. I could pick any site I wanted. A location that was high and dry beside the log barn caught my eye. I would paint the front door of the old log barn which also probably predated Joe Madore's Inn. I would name that painting #2818 "The Broad Side of a Dumoine Pioneer Barn Door". 

I suppose I was thinking of Hoss, Little Joe and Gordon Lightfoot when the name of this painting popped into my brain. The rain had tapered to drizzle when I started to paint on Tuesday morning. I wanted to paint out of the way while the other campers had breakfast and packed up their gear preparing to return home. I was going to stay another night and drive home well after the holiday traffic had left the highways. I also wanted to be nearby so that I could visit briefly with my new friends when they headed home. 

I liked how the vapours from the rain rose from the forest and mixed with the fog and overcast stratus. The colours of the thick fog contrasted with the brighter white of the mist rising from the forest canopy. There is a lot of science to explain how the forest exchanges heat and moisture with the atmosphere. The colour of the red roof complemented everything. 

Bonanza was now another camp just outside the site of the CPAWS DRAW 2023. The Dumoine Road was really muddy and full of deep ruts so I decided not to travel far. The reddish orange roof of the fairly new camp was certainly a landmark along the Dumoine Road and I had not painted it yet. 

Stompin' Tom Connors performed at the Bonanza

This hotel was originally built (in the early 40's ) in the Swisha by Joe Madore called "Joe Madore's Inn" It was sold to John Daly in the 50's. He named it "Bonanza". It was frequented by snowmobilers, and at one point had a rope tow for skiers. It was also owned by Father Harrington & Ken Gonneau. 

This is number twenty-four 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 

#2815 "Afternoon Heavy Rain at Lac Pinceau"

#2815 "Afternoon Heavy Rain at Lac Pinceau"
Oils on 5 (height) X 7 (width) canvas panel

I thought that I had better retreat from standing on the edge of the Dumoine Road. The holiday traffic was increasing and splashing through the deepening ruts of the muddy road. The people inside their trucks waved at the crazy person painting in the rain. Some stopped to ask if I needed help. I even met Kenny and his wife but that is another story. 

I decided to try the boat launch for Lac du Pinceau where I had first painted several days earlier. Kenny's camp was featured in  #2796 "Lac du Pinceau South Basin". The rain was torrential but I could paint under the hatch of the Subaru Forester. 

I was engrossed in the oils and did not hear Bob McDonald drive up beside the Subaru. Perhaps it was the torrential rain or maybe my hearing was not as good as it once was. I was just brushing in a hint of Kenny's camp when I caught the sight of Bob out of the corner of my eye. 

Bob and the other residents of Pinceau Lake had been monitoring my paintings from a distance for several days. They had established that I was really quite harmless and barely left footprints in my wake. But now Bob decided to see if I was actually crazy. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent touring  Lac du Pinceau and visiting Bob and Kim in their camp that I had painted in #2797 "Mack's Shack at Lake Pinceau". Bob's father was the original "Mack" having obtained the camp from Dr. D.G. Owens, Mayor of Lake Placid N.Y. and the original owner of the boat ramp from which I was painting - as well as the camp. It was time well spent and I made new friends. Bob even showed many other vantages where I could paint around  Lac du Pinceau. 

After a plate of delicious, homemade blueberry cheesecake, Bob dropped me back to the  Lac du Pinceau Boat ramp to complete my painting. 

The rain was even heavier but I like the effects of the water beading up on the oils as I painted. 

It was still raining hard when I returned to the DRAW (Dumoine River Art for Wilderness) camp at Kilometer 4. A few people had already decided to bail because of the rain. My tent was dry enough. Sadly, the evening's entertainment had been cancelled. The heavy rain sounded nice on the roof of my tent like one of those relaxation CDs of nature but those sounds were authentic. 

Done like blueberry cheesecake... 

This is number twenty-three 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 

#2814 "Bonanza Log Barn in the Rain"

#2814 "Bonanza Log Barn in the Rain"
Oils on 7x5 inch canvas panel

The rain arrived and I looked around. Everyone was gone. It was almost noon on the Holiday Monday so perhaps it was the lunch bell and not the patter of rain that encouraged the other artists to depart the scene. 

I had come to paint and the torrential rain had not yet arrived. I quickly spread some linseed oil on the small canvas panel and painted on. I stayed in the same location as when I painted #2813 "Dumoine Bonanza Before the Rain" not wishing to waste any time. 

The rain can sometimes add nice effects to the oils. I decided to zoom in on the front door of the log barn. A large window frame with most of the panes of glass broken was leaning against the barn's front wall, which probably dated back to a time even earlier than "Joe Madore's Inn" and the 1940's. 

The patter of rain gradually transformed to a torrent as I painted. It was a good thing that I was wearing my bathing suit. 

Stompin' Tom Connors performed at the Bonanza

Done like dinner... or lunch maybe. 

This is number twenty-two 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 

#2813 "Dumoine Bonanza Before the Rain"

#2813 "Dumoine Bonanza Before the Rain"
10 (height) X 10 (width) and 7/8 profile

I decided to head back to the camp of the CPAWS DRAW at Kilometre Four and Bonanza. My fellow campers were up, fed and busy painting so I decided to join them. The Dumoine Valley was dark under the overcast skies with nimbostratus and rain on the way. 

This hotel was originally built "in the Swisha" by Joe Madore. In the early 40's it was simply called "Joe Madore's Inn".  John Daly bought the hotel in the 50's. John renamed it "Bonanza". It was frequented by snowmobilers, and at one point had a rope tow for skiers. It was also owned by Father Harrington and Ken Gonneau. 

Apparently, Stompin' Tom Connors played at the hotel as did Mac Beattie. Tom wrote a song about "My Swisha Miss".

There is much more history I am sure but that is all I have at the moment. All traces of the hotel were long gone when I painted there in 2023. The building with a bright orange roof occupied the prime location on Dumoine Road at Kilometre Four. 

The Subaru Forester Paint-mobile in        
 the background as we painted.

A new friend and a fine watercolour artist wanted to try her hand at oils. She was a fine artist already… I just offered some thoughts and she did the rest. I painted standing beside her so that we could carry on a conversation. I painted the somewhat beat-up log barn that stood in the shadow of the Dumoine forest and a rather high cliff. 

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. 

Done like dinner...

This is number twenty-one 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

#2812 "August Sunrise at Rapids des Joachims"

#2812 "August Sunrise at Rapids des Joachims"
9 (height) X 12 (width) and 7/8 profile

I set up my field easel at Rapids des Joachims' public dock. This was my next selection in order to avoid the dusty traffic on Dumoine Road. It was clear that the time was very limited before the rain started. I was almost in the same location as when I painted #2800 "Sunrise on Colton Bay of the Ottawa River" on the previous Friday morning. 

I decided to concentrate on the weather as the landforms were not going to be moving. The overcast cirrostratus was thick. Gravity wave bands of altostratus side-stepped across the sky. There was some virga and a few rain drops but I was able to finish before the nimbostratus arrived. 

There was no one at the public wharf. It was so very quiet that the populace must have heard and listened to the torrential weather forecast. 

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. 

Done like dinner...

This is number twenty 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