This farm sits at the end of East Long Island Road just before The Guzzle. The Guzzle is bordered by a dyke and is a patch of water between Boot Island and the shore of the Minas Basin. Plovers migrate through here as a feeding stop on their way North or South as the season changes. I tried to keep this light as I only had about an hour and a half before I had to leave. Perhaps having less time is the key to not overpainting.
While I was waiting for another painting to dry I tried a more simple composition. The grass at the edge of the river reminded me of the edge of the lake where I grew up. A lot of time was spent there catching tadpoles, minnows, and frogs… or rescuing the odd abandoned duckling. Large washes of yellow with blues and mixed greens were dropped wet into wet at the top and right side and allowed to spread. This was followed by dry brushing some of the edges towards the centre. The result gave it a nice frame to showcase some reeds and pickerel grass. Using a rigger with mixed greens, followed by some darker values for shading, I teased out some sparingly placed grass. The darker shade traced out the reflections and was followed by some even darker detail to show separation between the water and the reeds. I made sure to drop some of the shade colours in the darker area of water above for harmony. Then I decided to do a similar painting with the darker edge on the top left. It was only when I finished the second one and put the two together that I realized They could have been a single painting.
From the pergola in Bruce Spicer Park in Canning, Oulton’s Fuels convience store and gas bar sits across a field and on Highway 358. The Habitant River in the foreground is home to a variety of geese, ducks, and fish. The red roof drew my attention and the dampness promised some juicy washes. It was a great day to paint under the gazebo. While it didn’t rain, our paper and paints stayed damp nearly the whole session. Elaine finished two paintings while I partially finished this one. With her help, I decided the foreground was competing with the building so I softened the details with some clear water then dropped in some yellows and Mayan dark blue. I think it worked.
Today’s effort is a view of the Habitant Estuary. Sort of plein air- through the window.
Though I’m still firmly rooted in overpainting (which I hope changes) this does capture a lot of what was.
The tide was going out and the clouds over North Mountain floated like smoke;
Mutability, it’s hard to nail down, it is and then it isn’t.
Fieldnotes 