my art, how and what I see
Last day of March and Mother Nature is calling the shots here – snow, freezing rain and more rain.
View from local Quarry before ice is out of the Gatineau River, oil on canvas, 36×24, 2025
When we have the “betweenness” not winter not spring, I looked to the budding trees, rotting ice and blue horizon for inspiration and always the generous spirit of the Gatineau River and hills supplies it. Hurrah!
Mother Nature is in charge here with 25 cm of snow in our first winter storm. Of course, she precedes with rain, ice and mild weather.
Oil on canvas, 10×10, 2024
I titled the above “when a day makes a difference “ because November was mild and the sheep were turned out in a pasture enjoying new growth after late and final hay cut. Shortly after the snow started.
Oil on canvas, 12×25, 2024
These sheep are resilient to this changing weather pattern. Here they huddle together and make a decision to head back to the barn.
Now it’s official winter is here with solstice marking the shortest day of the year yesterday Saturday 21 At 4:20 am. Best wishes to all for the end of 2024 and forward and onward to 2025.
Halloween and All Saints’ Day are over and the hills have lost their fall foliage – time to move on to another season. It’s a striped down landscape where the hills, sky and Gatineau River dominating with dark foreboding colours.
The silver lining is the local farmland where recently mowed hay fields enjoy the recent rain and warmth giving us a beautiful green carpet.
Gatineau Farmland, oil on canvas, 2024
Summer arrived with hot June days reaching 30C with all seeming well here in the hills. The turtles are off laying their eggs in the loose gravel along the chemin de la Rivière. The Baltimore orioles are nesting in the tall spruce trees along the bicycle& walking trail and my other favourite the red winged-black bird is happily sing « conk-a-réel » at the local turtle pond
A new generation of turtles taking a sun bath on the shared log. The canvas is 20 by 28 inches, oil paint, 2024. Turtle are now crossing the road so please slow down and avoid them.
Farm Point turtle pond 2024
Traversée des tortues, Farm Point, Chelsea, Qc
One of my favourite spots to sketch here in the Gatineau Hills is the local turtle pond. Warm sunny days will be here soon and then the turtles will be surfacing to take sunbaths.
I like to take my watercolour paints and paper to sketch here. There is always red-wing black birds, frogs, dragonflies but no mosquitoes.
There is an abundance of scenery to sketch in the Hills- the local Déry quarry, the Gatineau River, Wakefield village and in the background the “Hills” part of the Laurentian Canadian Shield. This winter I stayed in my studio and painted from my studio windows and sketchbook. I am always one to exaggerate when it comes to colour. Enjoying the sunset and early vegetation in March inspired me to create this landscape of the local swamp.
