This past March, with spring in the air, I promised myself to get out of the studio and head to the
marsh and various wilderness places, to enjoy nature, and to do a bit of
sketching. I promised to return when the winds blew cold, and there was ice on
the Bay. Well, there’s no ice on the Bay, yet, but the winds are beginning to
blow cold, and there’s snow in the forecast, so perhaps it’s time to return to
the warmth of the studio and to do a bit of writing and painting.
To
catch you up on the events of the past few months, in the early spring we
headed out to nearby Tiny Marsh and witnessed the waterfowl migration followed
by the return of the songbirds. For those of you who may be avid birders and
interested to learn, numbers appeared to be down and the migration itself was
spotty. All the same it was quite interesting and was made more interesting by
sighting increased numbers of Bobolinks, and out on the marsh, an increase in
the number of Black Terns.
Not
so exciting out on Georgian Bay, however, which is a part of Lake Huron. The
water level continues to drop, now surpassing its historic low. No one seems to have a definitive answer
as to why, less snow melt than in previous years, an increase in human consumption,
or a problem relating to dredging at Lake St. Clair. The water level is down
over one meter, which accounts for a lot of water when one considers the size
of Lake Huron. Perhaps, it’s as the result of global warming and a change in
weather patterns? I suppose that in time to come, hopefully not before it’s too
late to alter the trend, we’ll learn and set things straight.
Come
August we headed up to Algonquin Provincial Park and hiked and sketched a bit.
Anyone who has read my previous blog entries will know that over the years
we’ve spent a lot of time running from the moose, bears, black flies, and
mosquitoes up in Algonquin. As a consequence, it’s a bit difficult to get
excited about sketching a scene that you’ve sketched many times before. Over
the years I do believe that I’ve made several hundred sketches and paintings of
various parts of Algonquin. Still, I continue to be motivated, partly by
changing my method and materials. The great thing, which elicits a “ha, ha”,
about growing old(er) is that one no longer needs to worry about whether what
you produce is liked by anyone. With old age, and no longer the need to market
one’s art, one can simply make art for the sake of making art. Have fun in
other words.
A couple of weeks ago we headed up to Lake
Superior Provincial Park hopeful to enjoy a bit of good sketching weather and
witness a bit of autumn color. Well, Lake Superior wasn’t to be denied its
influence on the weather, and as things grew cold, our sunny entrance turned to
rain and fog, and we experienced miserable sketching weather. Still, as events
like this are to be expected, ignoring the occasional drizzle we hiked several
trails, and simply took the time to enjoy nature. I managed a couple of
sketches, stressing the word “couple”, and made a few photos for possible reference
during our long winter.
So,
as we’re coming to the end of autumn, and as the trees are about to lose what
remains of their leaves, I thought to share with you a few attempts to catch
the autumn colours made over the years...........
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On the way to Killarney
Watercolour Sketch |
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Autumn -Northern Ontario Landscape
Watercolour Sketch |
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Autumn - Lake Superior Provincial Park
Watercolour Sketch |
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Wolf Creek - Killarney Region
Watercolour Painting |
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Along the Trans Canada Highway
Watercolour Sketch |
