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| #2915 "Osprey Overlook Outbounders" 14x11 inches oils on canvas Started January 21st, 2025 in the Singleton Studio. |
These photos were taken by my good friend Cam who I have known since 1985 when we moved to Schomberg, Ontario - right after the Barrie Tornado that occurred on the afternoon of May 31st, 1985. Most meteorologists remember that date! One of the tornadoes along the cold front passed a couple of kilometers north of the home we had just purchased at 81 Western Avenue. We lost a few shingles from the roof but that was all.
Plein air painting of this vista would have required a significant vessel. The water is much too deep for an easel.
Cam reminded me that the first time we were at this location that the fog was so thick that one could not see the lighthouses. We bobbed on the gentle water for a half hour waiting for the approaching summer "cool front" to lift the fog. The wedge of cool air arrived and we spent the day enjoying the beauty of the area north of Parry Sound.
The painting is looking toward the southwest. The distant lighthouse to the right of the much closer Spruce Shoal Lighthouse is known by locals as "Gordon Rock Lighthouse". That lighthouse is correctly identified as "Jones Island Range Front Lighthouse" on Google Earth. Jones Island and the actual Jones Island Range Rear Lighthouse are further to the south.
Gordon Rock is actually just a rock. It has no trees! Officially, in the Thousand Islands and perhaps elsewhere, a piece of land must support at least one living tree to achieve the title of "island". As my friend Cam aptly points out, this is contrary to the 1965 Paul Simon lyrics of "I Am a Rock" which clearly states "I am a rock, I am an island". Creators of all breeds and not just painters can apply artistic license.
Lighthouses were essential to safely navigate the 30,000 Islands of the Georgian Bay Archipelago. Archipelago is a fancy geographical term for a chain or group of islands scattered across a body of water. There are even way more rocky shoals which are more treacherous for ships. It is impossible to avoid what one cannot see.
The SS Atlantic sank in November 1903 when a fire broke out after the ship had survived gale-force winds. All 23 crew members and their three passengers escaped the ship in two lifeboats. My friend Cam went SCUBA diving on the wreck twice. It lies in 15 to 50 feet of water inclined on the rock of Spruce Shoal just feet north of the main lighthouse in the painting.
The painting was named by Cam as "Ospreys Overlooking Outbounders" because of the inhabitants of the upper nest surveying the route to points north of Parry Sound.
For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go straight to the Collections. Here is the new Wet Paint 2024 Collection. Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2025.
Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,
