Confluence

More fields than sky.

Confluence 2018 (acrylic on hand made paper)

It all flows together. 

From painting to painting.

The Western Sky

The brilliance of the focused intensity of the setting sun makes up for its all too brief appearance during the days of shortened light.

(2017, canvas 16"x12")

Resolve is needed.

West River Country

It was the rolling hills, and the sloping fields, and the hidden mouth of the West River that gave the August report back in 2007.

West River Country (acrylic on paper, 7.5” x 20”)

 Reflections of 2010 repeated the deal,

Reflections (acrylic on canvas, 20" x 28")

but not to be out done, it was a return to the same hills and fields that fed the sky in this South Shore West River country report of October 2011. Plans C, D and E indeed. 

The South Shore (acrylic on paper, 15" x 22")

All in a Row (Spruces)

There are always possibilities in spruce trees.

(acrylic on canvas, 16" x 12")

Especially driving country roads.

All in a Row (reprised)

It speaks of ditches and windbreaks, of fields, and wayward seeds making a soft landing, protected from the plough and the combine.

Spruce in a Row (12" x 9" on paper)

 A landing that favours growth and nurtures seedlings. A demarcation line.

Swift Rush

Quick to respond, at the ready -- no preparation here. 

"Swift Rush" (acrylic on canvas 28" x 22")

Flying swiftly, moving forward without much thought; make haste, make haste.

Edge of Spring

Orienting to sunlight and warmth, we dream of spring.

Acrylic on paper (11" x 8")

Fresh green shoots of grass beckon, riches growing from the near death of winter.

Just a suggestion.

Farewell Summer!

Thank you for the beauty, the warmth and the lazy days.

Onshore Mist (acrylic on canvas)

Which begs the question, am I ready for the Fall?

PEI Storm

Drama in the skies over pasture, farms and woodlots,

Acrylic on paper 1992, from a 1980 sketch (23" x 30")

signaling perhaps that the storms are over and tomorrow holds a promise.

Cloud Action

Clouds swiftly passing, noticed in the shadows sweeping across the landscape.

Fleeting shadows -- "tricksy" some would say.

(Acrylic on canvas 24" x 20")

Can they be trusted?

Patterns of Green and Blue

They are sources and mouths, a cut above the usual; they are banks and valleys. Old rivers that wind and flow towards the sea are captive within their courses.

Channels.

The Storm (the Gathering Clouds)

It comes swiftly, without warning unless you've been watchful. Dust and debris swoop down filtering an eerie light from a veiled sun.

Acrylic on board (14" x 11")

The thought that all is temporary pervades all senses.

Free Range (Upton Farm) study

Fields and tree -- roaming freely; is it the same tree?

Acrylic on paper (22" x 15")

Like our thoughts on a summer day; are they the same thoughts?

Dawn Rising

Dawn slowly creeps over the horizon allowing a dimly perceived yonder, the beyond. Streaks of sun and light heralding the new day.

That break of day that signals the end of the night; it appreciates.

Showing now at The Dunes Studio Gallery & Cafe (May 2014)

Timeless Passing

Time passes. No matter what situation you are in; time will pass. Today you are comfortable, at home, at ease; tomorrow you are traveling, perhaps delayed, inconvenienced, put upon, perceived as a "widget" because of some business class (no, not that Business Class) wherein is explained how to squeeze the most out of the least. Hmmmm.

Timeless passing -- a part of the natural world; that world that we are so divorced from that we rarely notice its passing. It passes in sunsets, each the same, yet not the same. It passes in the moonrise, in the full moon, in the new moon, in the stars forever shining. Their light streaming but not in real time.

Timeless passing then marks the ebb and flow of waterways. The water of yesterday passes, yet it is the water of today.

Layers of the Earth

Layers of soil fold-in and re-form in layers of landscape. Earth shaped by wind and water, by farming and mining, full of ups and downs.

Sedimentary layers deposited by slow movements -- almost sedentary, seemingly still and dependable, surprising us sometimes by upheaval. What fault can we find with this?

The Butternut Tree

They like to mow down the weeds to keep everything neat and tidy; nature is so messy! Young trees barely bigger than a large weed are clipped in the process -- "don't put your head up so high there"

When they rise up and grow -- if they escape the mower long enough -- they have multiple stalks and beautiful forms.

Fields (liberated ones)

Free of woods, free of buildings, free of debris, they seem to move with the wind. Open land, cleared and enclosed but not magnetic. Not the meta in the data, not the field in the record. Cleared for landing, for grounding, a parcel, a lot -- a lot of lots, spruce barrens and fallow.

Weed research, foraging for biodiversity.

Uncertain Ground

This painting shifted in concept and composition from my original idea. I continued my exploration of the subject, letting it lead me where it needed to go, letting go of my direction. The ambiguities in the composition speak of  uncertainties, in life and the physical geography of where we live. 

Uncertain Ground (acrylic on canvas 24" x 20")

Storms, tides, earthquakes, and other natural disasters erode convictions. Contemplating life and the mercurial changes around us, this painting speaks to me of the uncertainties of life.