"The Stone House" And The Art Of Giving

“Before I can say I am, I was. Heraclitus and I, prophets of flux,

 know that the flux is composed of parts that imitate and repeat each other.

 Am or was, I am cumulative, too. I am everything I ever was.."~Wallace Stegner

Every artist has a place where their mind can rest and their art can roam free. "The Stone House", oil on canvas, 10"x30" is my place. It lies north of my hometown and is home to one of my closest friends and frequent painting subject, Gayle. The house is over 150 years old, and is nestled into the side of a hill, much as Gayle's history is nestled into this area. She grew up not far from The Stone House. It has been in her life always, and now she lives there. In this day and age that is rare, to have such a longstanding, immediate connection with your historical, geographical topography. It is stitched into her bones. She has a beautiful garden that is her pride and joy. Her family collects sap from nearby maple trees that they carefully craft into maple syrup. It is such a special place. I am fortunate that Gayle has let me into her world when I needed to start a new painting project. When I look back one day on the paintings I have created, I will be happy to group years' of work into one chapter devoted to Gayle and the Stone House.

Andrew Wyeth is a big hero of mine, and this painting echos of his works a bit I think. It is important to be inspired by people, by artists, but our own technique and creative fingerprints will always keep it uniquely ours. It is a nod to those who move us, and then we turn and do our own thing.

I have never painted the back of Gayle's house before. It is a bit of an illusion from this viewpoint, as there is so much more of the structure visible from the front, from the road. I have had this composition in mind for over a year. Snow is more fun to paint than foliage, so it was the right time to do this piece.

What you think, you become. Where you are becomes who you are. Gayle embodies these statements perfectly.

I love giving. And I love giving art to good causes! I recently returned from Gig Harbor, Washington, a beautiful little town near Seattle. I was out there to visit Bainbridge Island where an animal refuge is located. My friend Aaron Dunlap is bicycling from Las Vegas to Kansas, and then competing in a race in Euphoria. Aaron had the idea to do a fundraiser to raise money to help West Sound Wildlife. Click on their name and you can also donate to help injured wildlife. West Sound rehabilitates injured animals and returns them to their natural homes. All proceeds go directly to West Sound Wildlife. I had a great time there as they showed us around the facility. 

Aaron asked if I would donate a painting to the refuge. This is the piece I created. A little Saw Whet Owl portrait, 12"x12", oil on panel. All donations will be entered into a raffle to win this little portrait. It could be you! 

West Sound currently has this little Saw Whet Owl. She will stay there permanently to become an educational owl for children and visitors. Her wing was broken when she was hit by a car. I was struck by hear beauty, innocence and utter helplessness when I saw her at the refuge. Reducing animal suffering in any form, large or small, is extremely important to me. They cannot stand up for themselves in many cases. We can stand up for them.

Have a wonderful day today, wherever you are. "The Stone House" is available through Abbozzo Gallery. 

"The crow wished everything was black, the owl, that everything was white."~William Blake

The Quiet Promise of Spring

"Nature is not only all that is visible to the eye.. it also includes the inner pictures of the soul."

~Edvard Munch

This past Friday my good friend Melissa and I went out for a hike in the Dundas Valley Conservation Area. This conservation area boasts 40 kms of trails and is home to a wide variety of wildlife. This green swath has some beautiful trails in it and is frequented by all types of people, bikers, hikers, runners, you name it. Melissa and I figured that a hike through this peaceful place would provide more stimulation to the senses than perhaps a brisk walk through the suburbs. 

Melissa and I love to get exercise and explore while we catch up with one another and enjoy each other's company. I know that the ancient philosophers loved to walk while expounding on morals, ethics and the like. I think that when we engage our bodies we engage our minds. Something happens that facilitates ideas and thoughts...it is as though through moving the body we give our minds extra oxygen and stimulate it to knit together ideas and thoughts with greater facility. Have you experienced this too? 

There seems to sometimes, but not always, be a slight mental stagnation if you are sitting in a static way while trying to engage in dynamic conversation or brainstorm. It can be done, but I find it easier when one is on the move, hearing leaves crunch underfoot, watch the sunlight hit the ground in patches below the fir trees...these moments an observations of beauty are noted and perhaps give rise to other thoughts of beauty or understanding that might have been elusive beforehand.

Melissa choosing our route

We  chose a route that had us hiking for just over an hour as I had to be somewhere else afterwards and Melissa had to get home as well. We began our hike along Sulphur Creek Trail and hiked up to Groundhog Hill with a great view of the surrounding area and a bit of the city of Dundas beyond. Although we had only walked 10 minutes to the trails...it was as though we stepped into another world, a world of naked curtains of tree trunks, patches of sun, intermittent mud, tracks made by horses and cyclists..and always the near-far melodies of birds feeling the promise of spring so very close.

The best part of this excursion was simply how near we could find in nature and yet how far away it felt too...that brief window of connection to the subtler nuances of the crack of a branch, the passing breeze, the transformation of the ground into newness and greenery, it serves to help give us balance in a world filled with clocks and deadlines, linear processes and the ennui that can come with a predictability of pace. I enjoyed getting muddy and scrambling down a few slopes, hanging on to branches and focusing on the task ahead, not falling, and the rest of the world dropped away during these moments. 

Plus, talking with Melissa is always wonderful, from grouting to portaging, our talks are always a treat. Melissa can change her own break pads and catalytic converter in her car. She can do any home renovation pretty much and has a great personality in that she loves taking care of the things and people that she holds dear to her. She is a true friend, like a sister that I never had in many ways. She's selfless and she gets things done...period. Nothing stops her when she sets her mind to it, and this resolve is a powerful thing. She is a doer, compassionate and one of a kind!

Heading along Sulphur Creek Trail

The trails were quiet, muddy in parts, but dry on the whole. It is that time of year now where hints of future explosions of fecundity are just around the corner. I like doing paintings when there are few leaves on trees. I find their simple, almost eerie forms devoid of foliage fun to paint. The muted colours form a natural palette with variations of greys and browns that contrast nicely with a splash of colour that a person might be wearing. Compared to the circus of colour that we find in June and July, the spring months, with their gales, rain and cool days serve as a catalyst that brings about the warmth and heat of the later summer. These transitions are quiet sometimes, but they are always happening, every day of every hour, there is a quiet growth of a slow drifting into torpor, the hypnosis of sleep overtaking the small and large creatures of scale and fur who then stretch sleepily months later, these being that call this beautiful place their home are just as cyclical in spirit as the trees that they climb. It is the great concert of life that we can be a part of, revel in and respect. 

As we continued along we encountered a small fleet of deer who eyed us cautiously, blending into the dun coloured backdrop of their home but then scattered in a flurry of white tails. We watched them bound away like things possessed and then continued on to Groundhog Hill. 

Perfectly still and well hidden, this deer is one of many that live in the conservation area

We stood atop the hill for a few minutes, enough to notice flies everywhere, buzzing near the ground in some sort of purpose that only they knew about...We scanned the horizon and noticed the water tower in Dundas off to the right, a familiar landmark on the skyline in the area. We saw that someone had dedicated a bench there to a family member who had valued nature conservancy, a lovely reminder in that place of the vast number of people who cherish the natural world and seek to protect it.

We made our way back to the entrance to the trails and then, seemingly out of nowhere, we were once again in the subdivision where Melissa lives...a strange contrast to be walking almost anonymously through the trees and then you suddenly find yourself walking by driveways and houses, kids playing and traffic rolling by. The fact that these two environments exist very close together there in Dundas helps me to appreciate how quickly one can feel so far away from it all...in a few minutes you can find yourself alone with your thoughts, or sharing them with a good friend. 

I am continuing with my paintings for the Newfoundland show. 5 of 9 pieces have sold already so that is just amazing. I am so grateful that the work moves people so much. Who could ask for more than that? To have your work, your passion, move someone....in a small way or in a profound one, is magical. I am thankful that my work might be able to do this. I cherish that and hope to be able to do this for the rest of my life! 

"We simply need that wild country available to us, even if we never do more than drive to its edge and look in. For it can be a means of reassuring ourselves of our sanity as creatures, a part of the geography of hope." 

- Wallace Stegner

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