"The Berry Picker, Greenspond"

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children...to leave the world a better place...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

There are paintings that, when looked at months after completion, transport you back to that place and time instantly. "The Berry Picker, Greenspond", oil on panel, 50"x35", is one such painting. When I look at this painting it I feel an invisible thread with the strength of a thousand mountains pulls me back to that remote and windswept hill on the northeast coast of Newfoundland last August. 

The wind was a major player, of course. The wind, the wind in Newfoundland....it is ubiquitous and as reliably next to you, all the time. Greenspond is a tiny town in the Northeastern area of Newfoundland. There is a beautiful hiking trail that wraps around the mass of land that lies at the end of a small causeway. On the crest of the large hill that is contained within the trail network I saw this woman, Milly, collecting partridgeberries in her scarlet sweater. She was wading through tall golden grasses that covered the hillside as I approached her and asked if she would mind if I took her picture. She was humble and sweet, as Newfoundlanders are by nature, and I appreciated her obliging me.  

Sometime when you shoot reference for paintings, you can feel the painting already there, just waiting to be created. This blissful feeling happened while I shot the pictures of Milly filling her bucket with bright red partridgeberries...I envisioned the painting then and there. The little town sloped away on the horizon line and I knew it would be fun to render the buildings off in the distance while keeping the foreground nice and expressive with broad strokes of colour.

Berry pickers are themselves ubiquitous in the latter months of the summer and early autumn. Wherever we drove we saw a car here or there parked by the road, invariably one or two figures in sweaters could be seen about a hundred feet or two hundred feet out, bending over the spongy ground, filling containers with cloudberries, partridgeberries and wild blueberries.You can read a little bit about these commonly found berries here.  Milly was focusing on partridgeberries, and I thanked her profusely after the mini photoshoot as I think she might have been a bit shy. I am so thankful to her for helping me capture a moment of the beauty of Newfoundland, the simple pleasure found in a meditative act such as picking berries to nourish your family and yourself and to simply enjoy the fruits of the land. Beautiful New-Found-Land, a small bit of it hopefully contained within this painting. 

Technically it was a lot of fun doing this piece, and I am sure that also had to do with how much I enjoyed the subject. Painting on larger panels and canvases can be a little intimidating sometimes but I had such a belief in the theme and composition that I simply flung myself into painting it with lots of gusto, and lots of paint. The colours of Newfoundland are so vibrant and immediate, so unfiltered and pure, and I tried focus on rendering them as accurately as possible. 

Time is flying towards the Newfoundland show in November! Although still months away I have to budget time because these paintings take time and patience. We must balancing life, family, travel and time to create within the mind too, to turn over ideas for paintings that might not be fully resolved. There is much to be said for not creating, for distilling and assessing, for contemplating. Only after contemplation and consideration is it prudent to act, however there IS a lot to be said for spontaneity too! I suppose each approach has its own time and place. The important thing is to march to your own creative drummer, for if you are true to yourself you cannot go wrong. 

"Yes. Feet on earth. Touch stone. Knock on wood. Good luck to all."~Edward Abbey 

Here is some information on the exhibition in November of 2009. I hope to see you there!

Newfoundland Portraits

November 5-22nd, 2009

Abbozzo Gallery, Oakville, Ontario

Opening Reception November 6th, 7-10pm

Creative Evolution

The studio in Wesleyville, Newfoundland, Canada

"Conflict is the gadfly of thought. It stirs us to observation and memory. It instigates to invention. It shocks us out of sheeplike passivity, and sets us at noting and contriving."~John Dewey

Much has been happening in the studio lately. Four paintings have now sold in advance of my Newfoundland Portraits Exhibition in November of 2009! To say I am delighted is a huge understatement. I am finishing my ninth painting for the show, and commissions and other gallery work makes for a rather hectic schedule. Despite the frenetic pace it is important to keep a steady hand and head. I am susceptible to stress and so it is important to stay on task, be disciplined and just get the work done, and done with joy. I was out for a walk today and couldn't wait to get to the studio to paint. Acknowledging how much I enjoy what I do felt wonderful. Sometimes we do work that we have an obligation to do..however to paint what moves you and has no other genesis than from your desire to create something that resonates with you is priceless.

When you love what you do that energy is transferred and others can pick up on it. It is as if your mood can be felt when looking at the work. I find this phenomenon fantastic and mysterious, yet not surprising.

I have noticed recently that as I have shifted from a focus on the figure to one incorporating more landscape that my desire once again moves to wanting to examine portraiture and the human form. The Newfoundland paintings are exciting to me because they broaden the view to see more of the landscape that these people inhabit. That is the intent. That is the reason why I went there and to challenge oneself is the only way that you can evolve. I suppose it is a form of creative dissonance, wanting to delve into that which you are not focused on. Fortunately people/portraits and the figure occur in 95% of my paintings, so while there is a slight change of course with the landscape, it is not a total departure thematically speaking. I do know that when I move on to a new body of work that it will have a direct concentration back on the figure.

To challenge yourself, to take the path less trodden, to TRY new things encourages evolution as a human being and artist. When we try new techniques/subject matter/materials in our work we are growing, learning, testing the waters. We learn what we DON'T want to do by experimenting with new subjects, cropping, supports, philosophies . This is all a part of the process, and an integral one I believe. If we always painted the same thing, the same way, would we grow and learn and improve? Probably, but not as quickly or as effectively as if we periodically took broad strokes in a different direction. As someone once said "I need to leave in order to appreciate coming home". I believe this is the same principle. 

The Berry Picker, Greenspond, oil on panel, 50"x35"

Thus the knowledge that I will once again focus in more on directly painting the figure makes working on these paintings from Newfoundland even more special. They are a finite group, a set amount of visual memories and experiences placed on canvas. With each painting I am transported back to that windswept or fresh, crisp day, purple waters, the smell of the wood stove and mile after mile of unfiltered beauty.  I understand why so many people have been moved by Newfoundland. It had pretty big shoes to fill, especially coming on the heels of Alaska but it more than surpassed my expectations. Without the generosity of Abbozzo Gallery and David Blackwood, this journey would not have happened. I am so grateful to them. Here is some information about the exhibition. Please email Abbozzo or myself if you have any questions. I will be giving an artist's talk on November 14th to talk about the paintings. I will post the time of the talk when that is decided upon.

Have a wonderful day today and take good care,

Heather

Newfoundland Portraits

November 5-22, 2009

Abbozzo Gallery, Oakville, Ontario

Opening Reception November 6, 7-10pm

"Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things a different way." ~Edward de Bono