Back Into the Park to Rock Lake

Saturday proved to be warmer and less windy, so I agreed to meet David Kay and Gertrud at Rock Lake to paint together. On the way to that site I stumbled upon a just thawing spruce bog that "begged to be painted"... so I set up and cranked off a quick 20x24 inch panel.... "Winter Waning in Algonquin Park". I have decided not to put any finish on the panel... I like the fact that it captures the raw transition from Winter to Spring... and the rich reds that first appear in the swamps and bogs to herald Spring's triumphant return.

It depicts the combination of wetlands pocketed amongst the Haliburton Highlands... a silent and sacred refuge for all manner of wildlife and flora.It is basically geologically the same landscape that the First Peoples dwelled and hunted in for thousands of years before the white race's coming . It basically has resisted the sprawl of development and the rape of resources... except for the logging off of the great stands of white pine during the mid nineteenth century. Even remnants of those first forest stands can still be seen and are now protected within the Park's boundaries.

After completing the panel, I packed up and headed down Highway 60 to the Rock Lake Road and easily found Gertrud and David together... and both well underway on their pieces. After a bit of tongue-wagging, I found an interesting woodland interior piece which grabbed my attention. It was the remnants of a fallen spruce... tucked in a grove of smaller trees which still hid and protected the last elusive bits of winter snow. I set up and worked at this natural still life "The Fallen"...on a 12x10 inch panel... completing it within an hour. It needed only a slight tweak here and there to bring it to the state of finish as shown in the upper jpeg in this posting.

We returned to the Lodge for some pre-dinner snacks, drinks and sharing. The chef had prepared a magnificent turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Gertrud provided red and white wines for each table. It was like Christmas... all over again... for this "Child"! We ended the evening with desserts... great coffee and tea... and best of all... the kind of fellowship which binds us as people who share the wonder and pleasures of creation!

"I" wish all of my viewers similar good experiences such as mine here in Algonquin Park... and Good Painting...All!!!