Rock Painting

Rock Paintings

One of the high lites of Retreat in Denare Beach last summer was a tour of Amisk Lake and what is purported to be aboriginal rock paintings on one of the islands we were shown.  (secret location) That is the subject of the painting on this post.  Truthfully, I had a hard time making out the paintings on those rocks so I have done the same with my painting.  The best things in life are often subtle and understated anyways.

The Joy of Collaboration

Extraordinary in the Ordinary

Every once in awhile I have the joy (I could use many words to express this) of collaborating with good friends at our various Retreats.  The painting above was painted by Dean Bauche, Jan Layh and myself at our Retreat in Denare Beach, SK this past summer.  Rocks were the theme of many participating artists as this location is well known for the Precambrian outcroppings abounding about there (some are loaded with precious minerals like zinc, copper and gold).  I was entrusted to take this painting home and finish it, the only demand was that I didn't break the first rule.  People in the know will understand what that means!  I only had to sharpen up some lines and do a bit of glazing.  Seems like its done.

Rock Paintings

Rock Painting Oil

I took a boat ride on Amisk Lake to look at some rock paintings.  The paintings were quite hard to find and frankly I was left wondering if they were the real McCoy, know what I mean?  It's like looking at cloud patterns or other naturally occurring events, it is in the eye of the beholder.  Leonardo da Vinci was a proponent of using these accidental images in his under paintings as a prominent part of the painting. I marvel at how these images appear in my paintings, maybe they are something that comes from the subconscious, bubbling up from down under like champagne.