#2869 "Dumoine Rapids and Morning Light"

#2869 "Dumoine Rapids and Morning Light" 
8 (height) X 10 (width) and 3/4 profile (inches).
Started 8:00 am Tuesday, July 30th, 2024 
from very near N46.463036 W77.771436 

The fog had lifted by 7:30 am so I paddled back across a mirrored lake and set up my easel on the beach in front of John's Cabin. It was going to be a hot day! I decided to capture every moment before the heat forced me to retreat into the shade. 

A view of my Canoe Easel in the Nova Craft Kevlar Canoe - aligned with my paddle at 
the bow seat. The symmetric Prospector is paddled backwards when I solo canoe.

This is the view looking northeasterly toward the rapids south of the DuMoine Rod and Gun Club. I had set up my pochade box on the sandy beach.  A faint band of cirrostratus was evident on the eastern horizon. That deformation zone and system would continue exiting to the east opening the door for the next bit of weather approaching from the west. The heat and humidity were destined to fuel some late-day thunderstorms. 

I moved the compositional elements around as is typical with plein air works. The subject matter was so far away! Distance can be good in that one can't see or include any distracting details. Pincushion Island was moved into the front-right foreground resulting in an elevated perspective to the rapids. These decisions are all made instantaneously on the fly. Robert Genn (1936-2014), a fine Canadian artist who I corresponded with now and again, once estimated that a plein air artist must make a couple of hundred thousand snap decisions while completing a work. The number might be low. The impacts of those choices can be seen in the brush strokes - for better or worse. 

For me, art has evolved into a way of life - just trying to get better. I hope that the next effort will be a masterpiece but if it isn't, there is always another canvas. Plus, I get to paddle my own canoe... A message I tried to convey with every class I ever taught: "One can't go anywhere new by following someone else". 

This is the sixth 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