#2868 "Sunrise Forest Screen on the Sheerway Road"

#2868 "Sunrise Forest Screen on the Sheerway Road"
10x8 inches oils on stretched canvas
Started 7:30 am Tuesday, July 30th, 2024
from very near N46.466311 W77.765683. 

The sun was still rising in the eastern sky. I needed to paint from a more level platform so I headed to the top of the hill and the lane leading to the launch for John's Cabin. The morning light filtered through the forest canopy and I thought that just maybe I could make a composition out of that. 

The air temperature was noticeably rising as the fog cleared. It was a bit cooler within the forest. The filtered light was abstract against the backlit pine boughs. The road to Sheerway and the DuMoine Rod and Gun Club stretched across the base of the painting. I had to be careful not to touch the canvas with my brush too much and mix mud. Such are the joys and implications of plein air in oils. 

This is the fifth of thirty-five paintings I completed en plein air at CPAWS DRAW 2024. 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 CPAW and keep the 'wild' in the wilderness.  

For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go straight to the Collections. Here is the new Wet Paint 2024 Collection. Here is the link to the CPAWS DRAW Collection. 

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick 

#2867 "Dumoine Cabin Across the Foggy Flatwater"

#2867 "Dumoine Cabin Across the Foggy Flatwater"
8x10 oils on stretched canvas started
7 am Tuesday, July 30th, 2024
from very near N46.466358 W77.766306.

The Dumoine was still very quiet after completing #2866 "Foggy July Dumoine Sunrise at the Trippers Camp" so I just turned my gaze toward John's Cabin. John and crew would soon be up and getting ready for the artists expected to arrive that afternoon.

I named the small island to the right "Pincushion" for lack of any knowledge of what monicker might have already been applied. The pines sticking out of the small mound of rock looked a bit like a pin cushion to me although I suspect few people use those items much anymore. 

The fog banks were wafting around the widening of the Dumoine River altering my composition by the minute. Patches of blue sky above foretold the hot and sunny day that was in store when the fog fully lifted. There was a lot of moisture in the air mass and abundant fuel for convection. 

Afternoon and evening thunderstorms would certainly develop. I was on dishwashing duty that evening after the full group of twenty or more artists arrived. The washing station was set up under the lip of the cabin's metal roof. There were no eavestrofs as should be expected on any remote cabin. Water gushed off the roof in sheets of chilly spray thoroughly rinsing the cleaned dishes and us as well. I was soaked but thankfully was still wearing my summer wardrobe of T-shirt and swimming trunks. 

This is the fourth of thirty-five paintings I completed en plein air at CPAWS DRAW 2024. 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 CPAW and keep the 'wild' in the wilderness.  

For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go straight to the Collections. Here is the new Wet Paint 2024 Collection. Here is the link to the CPAWS DRAW Collection. 

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick 

#2866 "Foggy July Dumoine Sunrise at the Trippers Camp "

#2866 "Foggy July Dumoine Sunrise at the Trippers Camp "
8x10 oils on stretched canvas
Started 6:30 am Tuesday, July 30th, 2024
from very near N46.466339 W77.766261.

I was out in my canoe and paddling before 6 am on Tuesday, July 30th. Some canoe trippers were camping at the lone campsite on the flatwater between the two sets of rapids south of the DuMoine Rod and Gun Club. They were still in bed when I quietly sketched their canoes. I was standing at the water's edge at the base of the steep incline where I had launched Margaritaville (my Kevlar canoe) the previous afternoon. 

The Dumoine was in the warm sector of the weather pattern. The fog had noticeably thickened as I paddled from John's Cabin. The first rays of warmth from the rising sun stir the moist mixture that accumulates near the ground during the gradually lengthening summer nights. The water vapour rapidly condenses on the particulates creating a pea-soup fog in minutes. The light breezes drift these fog banks around causing the visibility and painting conditions to change unpredictably and rapidly. Sometimes the tents were totally obscured. I locked in the colours at a moment when the visibility was better. The trippers were still asleep by the time I finished. 

I had watched them fly fishing the previous evening. I wished that I had kept up that skill. Fly fishing is fun!  They had caught something with a regular spinning rod in the outflow from the upstream rapids the previous evening. They whooped and hollered with joy and possibly surprise. I expect they enjoyed a tasty meal of some kind of fish around the campfire featured in #2895 "Dumoine Campsite Deluxe Firepit".

Four immature golden-eye ducks paddled by to inspect me. I would see them frequently the rest of the week and once they swam with me in the deep water in front of John's Cabin.

This is the third of  thirty-five paintings I completed en plein air at CPAWS DRAW 2024. 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 CPAW and keep the 'wild' in the wilderness.  

For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go straight to the Collections. Here is the new Wet Paint 2024 Collection. Here is the link to the CPAWS DRAW Collection. 

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick 

#2865 "Road from Lac du Brochet to Sheerway"

#2865 "Road from Lac du Brochet to Sheerway"
10 by 8 inches oils on stretched canvas
2:30 pm Monday July 29th, 2024

I was on my way to CPAWS DRAW 2024. After completing #2864 "Log Jam at Lac du Brochet", I simply turned my gaze to look westerly toward the mid afternoon sun. The road passed through a tunnel in the forest and looked a bit better heading in that direction. 

The screen of trees protected my eyes from the blazing sun. It was going to be hot and humid for a few days at DRAW 2024 until the cold front would arrive later in the week. 

I was interested in the silhouettes of the trees cast across the sandy lane. The shadows were cool while the dusty road baked in the July sun. My DRAW friends passed by on their way to John's Cabin while I painted. I would follow them when the painting was completed and hopefully find the correct turn-off. They promised to put up a sign that I could not miss. Oops... 

After completing "Road from Lac du Brochet to Sheerway", I poked along the rough lane after my friends. It was farther and took longer than I expected. Some of the road was treacherous and then suddenly I broke out into a large open field of manicured lawn - the DuMoine River, Rod & Gun Club. 

I met Gary and his family, realizing that I had passed my destination. They did not know where John's Cabin was either but promised to get me there. Most families seem to have four-wheelers in the Zec Dumoine. Gary hopped on his machine and I followed him. Gary also had GPS on his phone. All of the potential sites for John's Cabin were eliminated except for two possibilities after a couple of passes along the road to Sheerway. Gary even helped me unload my canoe and pointed me in the direction that I needed to paddle. 

Being a meteorologist, I have found that there is always a bright side to every cloud. The missing signpost directed me to the opportunity to meet some terrific people that I would have otherwise never known. The kindness and hospitality of the DuMoine River folks were wonderful! 

I paddled across the Dumoine River to find John's Cabin. Success! Everyone was very busy getting ready for the participants who would arrive the following day. 

This is the second of thirty-five paintings I completed en plein air at CPAWS DRAW 2024. 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 CPAW and keep the 'wild' in the wilderness.  

For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go straight to the Collections. Here is the new Wet Paint 2024 Collection. Here is the link to the CPAWS DRAW Collection. 

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick 

#2864 "Log Jam at Lac du Brochet"

#2864 "Log Jam at Lac du Brochet"
8x10 inches oils on stretched canvas
1:30 pm Monday July 29th, 2024

I was on my way to CPAWS DRAW 2024. The road to the DuMoine River, Rod & Gun Club and Sheerway was increasingly tortuous even for the Subaru Forester. The vehicle needed to remain in showroom condition. As I was poking my way along and enjoying the rugged scenery, I paused to enjoy the outflow from Lac du Brochet into downstream Lac Verdor. The road crosses the narrow land bridge between the two lakes. The water would eventually connect with the Dumoine River south of the Grand Chute. 

Lac du Brochet means Pike Lake in English. I came to paint and did not have my fishing rod. Nor did I purchase a Quebec fishing licence. It would have been great casting for pike along those shores. By the way, the downstream Lac Verdor means "greenery" in Spanish. The forest was certainly vivid in colour! 

Clouds of deer flies followed the car as I picked the best path along the road between the large rocks and stumps. I was somewhat concerned that the flies would make it almost impossible to get into the creative zone while painting. It was only 1:30 pm and I knew that the organziers of DRAW 2024 were still an hour or two behind me. I decided to give the scene a try with the afternoon light on my back. The sun was actually hot... As it turned out, the biting bugs left me alone enough to paint. 

I was intrigued by the colours of the half submerged logs jammed together at the outlet end of the lake. The colours of the wood changes dramatically at the waters edge. Sometimes waves would certainly wet the entire logs. The angles of the logs and shoreline created a natural zig and zag type composition. The serenity of the still waters was mezmerizing. It was a fun time painting. 

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 the  first of  thirty-five paintings I completed en plein air at CPAWS DRAW 2024. 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 CPAW and keep the 'wild' in the wilderness.  

For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go straight to the Collections. Here is the new Wet Paint 2024 Collection. Here is the link to the CPAWS DRAW Collection. 

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick