Change... is in the air!

The vastly changed cool... crisp morning air following two days of vacillating high gale force winds and rain signalled the unpredictable nature of August... sullenly humid one moment and mimicking fall in one other brief moment. Even the birds... the overly noisy...raucous and raspy gatherings of crows and erratically wheeling Arctic terns over the water belayed the sudden confusion of such a radical and sudden change in the weather pattern. How wonderful that brisk westerly breeze felt on my cheeks!... How fresh and alive the world seemed - reclaimed from the clutches of the paralysing heat that had hung like a woollen blanket for the past two weeks.

Previously wilted and parched gardens and flowers stood tall once more... revitalized in a fashion which no manner of watering can achieve. Morning dew on the lawns in a space of just hours. It is remarkable to observe Nature in action... and to feel a part of and place in the scheme of such wondrous things. To feel regenerated oneself as well. To be able  to be outside again enjoying comfortable painting conditions and to genuinely feel motivated and alive creatively. This sudden change allows one to feel and understand perfectly the regenerative effect which other creatures of Creation experience... when "all's well with the world."

Well... yesterday and today...  the world was simply that for "Me." My reunion... as brief as it was with my high school mates added new fire and created a stronger sense of meaning in spiritual terms for me. This morning's sweet hour of solitude... and meditation... in the cool and quiet of this August morning kick-started me back into action at my easel. I finished up the demo which had been hangin' about because of the endless heat... and completed another painting... an 11x14 inch canvas which was completed using the landscape directly in front of Islesview with the addition of a photo reference which I had made a week back of The Empress... a Victorian look alike steamer from the turn of the century. The Empress, out of Kingston, Ontario plies the waters of Lake Ontario... The St Lawrence River between Kingston and the Saguenay River in The Gulf of St Lawrence just north of  Quebec City.

 Both paintings... on their own way support the focus I have been discussing regarding respecting the Past... but embracing the Present... while preparing for the future. Each painting has a heritage touch included... symbolizing a healthy acknowledgement of things passed. However... both in their own way demonstrate a moving forward to embrace the face of change as demanded by Man and  his always changing Technology. I think that both paintings reflect a fresh air of acceptance and a hearty embracing of the Present.

What do you think? I wonder...

 " Sun Bathing at the Captain Carnegie House in Rockport" - oil on canvas 24x20 inches

"The Past Steaming Full Speed Ahead... Into the Present!" - oil on canvas 11x14 inches


Good Painting! Get out there... summer's on the wane!