"Storm Over Wesleyville"

“Life does not consist mainly, or even largely, of facts and happenings. It consists mainly of the storm of thought that is forever flowing through one's head.”~Mark Twain

My apologies dear readers, for being in absentia these past few weeks. A constellation of factors has contributed to this hiatus from my blogs but I have returned with a passion! "Storm Over Wesleyville", 2009, 36"x24", Oil On Canvas, is another painting for my upcoming "Portraits Of Newfoundland" exhibition in November at Abbozzo Gallery in Oakville, Ontario. I will provide information about the show at the bottom of this entry here. 

Wesleyville, and Newfoudland for that matter, and any place that lives perched on the edge of water, will usually have tumultuous weather that transitions quickly from calm to tempest. On this particular day I was leaving the studio and turned left to see a dark storm cloud approaching, yet it didn't feel as though it would rain. The ominous yet beautiful cloud loomed over Wesleyville and like a dark grey blanket began to cover everything up slowly but surely. The house on the hill, the little white house belonging to a lovely man named George, was like a beacon glowing, defying the inevitability of the storm away before it was swallowed up. 

I have recently begun an artistic love affair with Ansel Adams. I finally saw that PBS special called Ansel Adams: The American Experience and it changed my perspective on life and art. I will blog more about this epiphany later on. Adams was a genius in all senses of the word. I love his light and shadow, his harshly beautiful landscapes and the storm here, the feeling of that moment, reminded me of something that he might have enjoyed and been moved by. I loved that the last bit of sunlight warmed the rocks below the houses, and that this rock itself demonstrated how the houses in much of Newfoundland are themselves perched on the edge of the world.  

I'm the first to admit that I find painting skies a challenge...they are by nature pretty smooth-looking, and don't suit a chunky painting style well. However here I was determined to employ my style and make it work....to find a bridge and a solution with the brushwork and colour...I thought that if I tried hard enough I could add a bit of emotion and foreboding to the clouds with the direction of the brushstrokes. It isn't totally chaotic but its pretty loose and impressionistic up there in the top sections of the piece. The contrast is the more detailed areas located near the bottom: the houses, the rocks, the sliver of road you can discern at the bottom. I love creating a tension and a release in a painting...I like having areas of refinement and areas of looseness...I think it helps a viewer's mind and eye to relax and then circle back in to areas that are conducive to more concentration. Now, hyper-realists, who render each square inch to within a millimetre of their lives, are extraordinarily talented and patient, don't get me wrong. Their abilities blow my mind. However I simply cannot render the entire canvas in an equal way....thus sometimes paintings that are totally, painfully detailed, can paradoxically be rather flat in that the eye never rests as it is always delineating a leaf, some fur, an eyelash, a fingernail. I prefer to try to capture the overarching emotion behind the piece...otherwise, like Adams, take a picture. 

Wind. It is everywhere and always in Newfoundland. If someone asked me what I remember most from Newfoundland, besides partridgeberry jam, I would say WIND...beautiful, glorious wind. It keeps any tendency towards statis at bay, it is always moving the land and the people forward and onward, and I too moved along with it. It was cold at times, and often challenged my jacket's power to keep it out.. But this wind provides a freshness and an immediacy to the land, it keeps you in the moment by being in your ears at every turn of the head, by being in your clothes and on your voice as you talk to others and raise your volume a bit to keep pace with it.

I hope to capture a bit of these elements of Newfoundland in this painting. Newfoundland truly does cast a spell on you. Yes, I'm a romantic so you have to take that into account, but I'm serious: I have never been anywhere else like it, and probably, fortunately, won't ever be again. It exists in its own time and place...with its windswept shores, its loving townspeople, its simplicity of living and its tenacity of spirit. Give me the storm, the wind, the Rock and feet to explore it...and I will be one happy artist. 

Here is an excerpt that Ansel Adams once wrote in a letter. His words moved me deeply:

“A strange thing happened to me today. I saw a big thundercloud move down over Halfdome, and it was so big, and clear and brilliant, that it made me see many things that were drifting around inside of me; things that relate to those who are loved, and those who are real friends. For the first time, I know what love is, what friends are, and what art should be. Love is a seeking for a way of life, the way that cannot be followed alone; the resonance of all spiritual and physical things. Friendship is another form of love; more passive perhaps, but full of the transmitting and acceptances of things, like thunderclouds and grass, and the clean granite of reality. Art is both love and friendship and understanding; the desire to give. It is not charity, which is the giving of things. It is more than kindness, which is the giving of self. It is both the taking and giving of beauty. The turning out to the light of the inner folds of the awareness of the spirit. It is a recreation of another plane, of the realities of the world; the tragic and wonderful realities of earth and men and of all the interrelations of these.”

~Ansel 

Whether alive or deceased, other artists and people have the power to live within us, move us, change the way we view things and alter our lives. I think Ansel Adams will continue to do that for me. Have a beautiful weekend and savor every moment!

Heather

Portraits Of Newfoundland

November 5-22nd, 2009

Abbozzo Gallery, Oakville, Ontario

Opening Reception November 6th, 7-10pm

Alaska Calling! Part 3: 1,200 miles of further exploration

“Simply look with perceptive eyes at the world about you, and trust to your own reactions and convictions. Ask yourself: "Does this subject move me to feel, think and dream? Can I visualize a print - my own personal statement of what I feel and want to convey - from the subject before me?” ~Ansel Adams

A variety of events have happened in the last month that precipitated a journey. A journey for many reasons. A journey of necessity. Oftentimes things happen and we just know that we have to go; to explore, to commune, to be inspired, to make connections, and simply to expand our minds with a different landscape. 

It was such that I found myself back in Alaska. Back to where a piece of me will always be. Now, perhaps I would sing a different tune if I wintered in Alaska, but I have a feeling my love for the place would grow even more as a result. 

These past few months have been filled with work towards my solo painting exhibition on Newfoundland, another place that I am deeply connected with. The work is coming along well, I am pleased with what has come out of the studio so far. Yet, I have been dealt a hand of cards that enabled me to travel for a time back to the North, to hike in the wilderness, to make new friends at a wedding in the Interior, and to generally continue my exploration of the 49th state. 

It took two days to get to Alaska this time, due mostly to a security issue at JFK en route to Salt Lake City, my connecting city to take me to Anchorage. 

Bedhead and preparing to catch a flight to Anchorage from my hotel room in Salt Lake City, Utah

Some tools of the trade needed for the Wrangells: ice axes, bear mace, trekking poles and sleeping pad

Here is a map of our route through Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

So the plan was to drive to Delta Junction to a fantastic wedding on a 1,600 acre ranch, then drive back down to McCarthy and Kennicott, leaving to hike and camp in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park for a few days, ending off with a night camping near Valdez. Thus, much preparation was needed. We assembled food, gear, maps, directions etc and headed out: we would cover 1,200 miles in just over a week, through some of the most beautiful land I have ever seen. 

There is a beauty and serenity to be found in the process of reaching a place. If we were immediately transported to a destination, would we appreciate it as much? There's something to be seen in each curve of the road, because really, each moment and each mile along the highway is a destination too, or could be, depending on your plans and how flexible your itinerary is. To this end I made sure to keep my camera shooting and relished each hour as we made our way down to Glennallen and then turning north up through the Alaska Range, up into Delta Junction where the Alaska Highway begins, and down to the farm where Joe and Anna were getting married. 

The Matanuska Glacier 

Michael and I stopped briefly at the Matanuska Glacier and then continued on down the highway, stopping periodically to witness storm fronts crawling across the sky, stretching and generally appreciating the drive. 7 hours passed quickly with so much to see and experience. 

Driving towards Glennallen

The weather in Alaska is very changeable, very! 

By the road near Castner Glacier for a brief rest. The flowers were blooming and the weather was perfect.

Travel and exploration makes me thirsty and also slakes my creative thirst at the same time. It is a double-edged sword of inspiration and longing too. This rare quality that at once makes you want to experience more and yet also stop to capture that magic and transfuse it into your work is one that I cling to and try to chronicle in these photographs. Whether I do paintings from them is irrelevant: it is the emotion and inward movement of the heart and mind that is important here. It is the mental reference and the impression on your soul that becomes food for later creative efforts. 

The landscape in the Interior near Delta Junction flattened out a lot. It was quite surreal.

This farm was near where the wedding took place. You can see mountains from the Alaska Range in the distance. I loved the vibrant ochre of the fields here.

Traveling from an area so mountainous into an area almost flat beyond belief was quite a shock. It felt like we might be in Wyoming or some state in the lower 48. We marveled at how remote the farm was...off-the-beaten-path was an understatement! The driveway to the farm was even 1.5 miles long!

I like how the sign for the wedding was right next to the one emphasizing how darned remote the location was! 

Joe and Anna's wedding had folks arriving from far and wide. I met a lot of wonderful folks from Fairbanks to Oregon to Anchorage to Juneau. Everyone was welcoming and the ceremony was just beautiful! 

Such big skies! This is the path that led to the campground and area where the ceremony took place.

Here are some of the tents set up where the dinner and reception would take place

The entire wedding weekend was superbly organized with everyone setting up their tents and getting comfortable, helping out and generally enjoying one another's company. I kept feeling pulled towards the open expanse of air and space of the property...fields as far as the eye could see, large swathes of emptiness and also filled with life and nature buzzing all about, from the mosquitoes to the bees. It was quite remarkable and a far cry from my small, dark studio that I had left only a few days before. I took a few walks out to a crossroads of fields, 360 degrees of solitude and the quiet thrum of activity a field away.

This evening was the Summer Solstice...so the sun never really set..it was disorienting and that added to the magical quality of it all. Here you can see guests setting up in one of the fields.

I spent a good deal of time out photographing flowers, bees, the skies, and new friends. You never know what will catch your fancy, like these bluebells.

Never before had I witness such a magnificent transition of light and time. Being up North really messed with my circadian rhythm. I did not know whether I was hungry or full, waking up or ready to sleep, winding up or winding down. This inner sensational schism perhaps added to the intensity of experience there, to the appreciation of that unique time and place. One thing is certain: it was one of the most special weddings I had ever been fortunate enough to attend. 

I was amazed at the colour variations in the waning light that never waned entirely.

A mist appeared around 2am.

The next day people awoke and made preparations for the ceremony at 3pm. The ceremony itself was fantastic. A poem by Pablo Neruda was read that moved me to tears. It was really quite emotional and Anna looked radiant in particular. It was wonderful to see everyone happy and rejoicing in that beautiful place.

Everyone gathered for a great meal after the ceremony, the skies provided an exciting backdrop!

Greta, Ken and John (aka Slim Pickin') performed during the ceremony and afterwards at the

reception. They were fantastic! You can see their MySpace page here.

The band sets up before performing at the reception.

I enjoyed shooting a few pictures in black and white. It really helps you to see things

differently, placing more of a focus on value than colour.

We spent two nights at the farm near Delta Junction. It was the perfect beginning to another adventure that would follow: a few days spent hiking in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, a park larger than the country of Switzerland! Thus the wedding weekend was a lovely counterpoint to the rugged landscape in store for us in the upcoming days. Each guest received a green mug to hold one of the money home brews on tap at the wedding. At one point Joe said that they would have their 10 year reunion at the farm again and that as long as you had your mug you could enter. I'll hold on to my mug!

I was determined to take away as much from my time in Alaska as possible. My time spent there this summer has lit a fire inside; I am thinking that perhaps a period of time spent working on paintings up in The Yukon or Alaska might be a great opportunity. It will take resources, time and planning but I have started to formulate the idea in my mind and I think it will come to pass. Who knows how the energy of the North might influence my work? The landscape is unmistakably beautiful up there, yet it is those connections with people who gather there, who make it what it is through community and relationships, THAT is what makes places unforgettable...the rest is a gorgeous stage. It is the players that matter most. Connection is everything because everything is connected.  

“Our life is composed greatly from dreams, from the unconscious, and they must be brought into connection with action. They must be woven together." ~Anais Nin

Glorious Gros Morne: Musings on Newfoundland, Part 4

"When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence." ~Ansel Adams

This is my fourth entry about the powerful and gorgeous province of Newfoundland in Canada. I am not surprised. After taking over 900 pictures in two weeks, after being swept up in its magic, how could I not write about it over the course of a month and a half?

By the way, here is the official Newfoundland and Labrador website. Just like everyone must get to the Grand Canyon once in their lifetime, everyone should experience Newfoundland and Labrador as well.

When I last wrote about Newfoundland, we were exploring Gros Morne National Park. After our hike on the Green Gardens trail in the park we decided to book a boat tour of Western Brook Pond. We had heard that the boat tour of the fjord was breathtaking and thus trekked out to jump on board.

It was cold and foggy as we hiked out along a meandering boardwalk that cut a line through unique marshland and bog, wetland that is ubiquitous in Newfoundland. We soon realized that the low lying clouds would prevent a full view of the splendor of the cliffs in the fjord and decided to abandon our boat tour in hopes that the following day would have clearer skies.

Here is the view from our walk along the 3km trail to the base of the pond where the boats leave from. Each boat holds about 70 people so we knew that we would have to arrive early the next day to assure ourselves a spot on board.

The clouds dissipated as we took another hike along one of the coastal trails of the park. We were impressed with the lack of refuse, lack of people and lack of intrusive, every day thoughts that pervade the mind on a day to day basis. It was as though the wind swept out all of our stress and cares about life back in Ontario for a brief time.

On our return visit we were met with a spectacular view of the fjord beyond the dock where the boats embarked from. While we waited little whiskey jacks landed on my hand as I held out some crumbs for them. They entertained those of us waiting, many Ontarians were there, along with some British Columbians and a smattering of American folk too. We knew we were in for a special experience. The tour we took was via Bon Tours.

The entire tour took about an hour and a half. Our tour guide grew up scaling the hills and cliffs of Western Brook Pond and thus had a particular attachment and knowledge of its unique history. The lake is 16kms long with an average depth of 165 m! Apparently as high as the cliffs tower above the lake they correspondingly sink to that depth below the water level.

One of the handful of waterfalls that we saw as we traveled further down the lake.

This shot gives you a good idea of the scale of the cliffs. That small dot is the sister boat to ours that toured the lake. I had never seen cliffs rise so immediately out of water before. It is a very unique place as well from a geological perspective. These cliffs are estimated to be over 1 billion years old!

Almost at the terminus of the lake at this point. We passed Pissing Mare Falls, one of the highest waterfalls in North America!

At the end of the lake two hikers jumped out quickly with lots of gear, big smiles and waved to us as they quickly left the tiny dock and headed out into the bush. These hikers have special permits given to them as they embark on a 9 day traverse of the peaks and valleys of the park. I was envious!!

On our way back to the dock clouds settled in and provided a very moody atmosphere for the remainder of the voyage.

We were so thankful to have been able to see Western Brook Pond. I will never forget it.

We did another side trip up to Norris Point, another charming little village in Gros Morne. Everywhere we went the rocks seemed to be looming down on us, petrified and forever peering at us.

As we prepared to leave Rocky Harbour I shot this picture of another quirky sign. I loved the signs in Newfoundland..many blank, many with makeshift letters. It was as special as any mountain. It is a part of that place that makes it singularly unforgettable.

I love Wesleyville's sign with its coat of arms. I believe all of the villages in New-Wes-Valley had the same coat of arms.

Back in Wesleyville and before our departure for Twillingate in the Northern area of Newfoundland another storm was rolling in. I loved the threatening clouds that made for some great reference shots.

I plan on doing a self-portrait from my time in Newfoundland. This shot will not be the basis of the painting, but something along the same lines. By this time I was feeling as though the roots of the province were settling into my bones, the quietness everywhere was seeping into my heart and mind, freeing it from worry. I knew that although I paint people usually, that the paintings to come from Newfoundland would be special, each one. I knew that each painting would be a portrait in its own right, whether it be a kind local or the house up the hill. Besides, it is the mood, the message, the impression that one can glean for oneself that makes each painting unique.

I have heard that as an artist you should not spread yourself too thin by painting too many different types of subject matter, that people should recognize your work by what you paint. I disagree. I think it is HOW you paint that distinguishes an artist's work. It is the technique and the original impetus behind the piece, the emotion and composition that frame the subject matter that distinguish it as your own.

Stay tuned. I will be writing about Twillingate and posting pictures from Twillingate and Fogo Island next week. Thank-you for reading and feel free to email me with any questions you might have about my work or anything else for that matter. Be well and have a wonderful day!

"Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind."~Seneca

Here is some information on my solo exhibition in November 2009. If you have any questions please contact Abbozzo Gallery.

Newfoundland Portraits

November 5-22nd, 2009

Abbozzo Gallery, Oakville, Ontario

Opening Reception November 6th, 7-10pm

Have a wonderful day and take good care,

Heather

"Odyssey By Train"

"Photography is more than a medium for factual communication of ideas. It is a creative art."

~Ansel Adams

"Odyssey By Train", oil on panel, 2008 is the first painting that I have completed in an ongoing series of works inspired by Chris McCandless' photographs that he took over his two year transcontinental journey. Chris' parents have been so kind to let me choose paintings that are particularly moving and might translate well into paintings. I am so thankful to them for this wonderful gesture.

I was particularly moved by this picture when I first saw it. It is a portrait of Chris, even though he is not directly in the frame, he is there in every corner. He composed this shot, saw how the light hit his backpack, and wanted to document his undoubtedly hazardous but exhilarating time jumping freight trains on his way to Alaska. I love subtlety, and generally avoid painting direct emotion or narrative. I like the viewer to interpret it according to their own perception of the piece. I think this is why so many of Chris' pictures appeal to me, they are beautiful vignettes of such a special time, in very special places that he wanted to capture.

I love that this picture was in black and white and I wanted my painting to be in black and white as well. It really lends a moody quality to photographs I find, when they are shot in a monochromatic format. It is evocative. Our eyes are not distracted by colours but simply focus on forms, light and the balance of values within the shot. 

When I saw this picture I knew immediately that I had to paint it. I did not alter it much at all from Chris' original picture. I did darken the buildings outside ever so slightly so that they were a bit more discernible but other than that it was painted verbatim, in a manner of speaking. I happen to think that he was an amazing photographer and it is shots such as these that are proof of that. There is a great sense of chiaroscuro in the light falling into the car and across his pack. 

I do not use black from the tube. We were specifically instructed to always mix our own blacks at art school and besides, mixing black from scratch is wonderful. It contains all colours, and thus you can achieve subtle variations in colour within the black, if that makes sense. This piece is painted on panel...wood panel is quickly becoming my favorite support to paint on. It is hard to hide brushstrokes, which I love. It favors texture and your paint strokes are not hidden within the weave of canvas, as can sometimes happen.

If you are not familiar with Chris' story, Jon Krakauer's novel Into The Wild paints a fascinating portrait of this remarkable young man.

"My favorite thing is to go where I have never been." ~Diane Arbus