RockyView

RockyView  Oil on Canvas 36 x 60

I've painted this particular place a few times now, I dearly love Amisk Lake, SK.  There is a world class lodge and resturant and this is the view from the room my wife and I stayed in a number of years ago for our anniversary.

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.

Black and Yellow make Green

Amisk Lake

I recently read of an artist who regularly re-cycles paintings that didn't work out by simply painting directly over them, no underpainting or toning of the canvas.  Because I happen to have a few of those laying around I decided to try it myself and the painting above is the result.  If you look very close you might still see signs of the previous painting underneath.  I simply did a rough charcoal sketch of the scene and then went directly into it, what a fun experience! Oh, by the way, black and yellow make a nice green.

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.

A Plein Air Painting

Mud Lake Oil

One of the first things I did  up at Denare Beach was set myself up overlooking Mud Lake which is just minutes away from the DenarePlex, the site of the Art Retreat.  A lovely setting, I was up on some pre cambrian rocks looking down at the lake.  Out near the middle of the lake was a small outcropping were sea gulls and pelicans were hanging out.  A supernatural experience.  I found out when I got back that the conservation officers were out in the area trying to trap a rogue bear that was wandering around in the vicinity! I'm not surprised because there were blueberries everywhere you looked.

Shellmouth goes North

As I have mentioned in this blog several times I have the distinct pleasure and privilege of attending a week long Art Retreat in Shellmouth, Mb.  Well this year that retreat is going to be held at Denare Beach, Sk. because of extenuating circumstances and will be hosted by two amazing artists who go by the names of Karen Clark and Sarah Trevor.  I can't express how excited I am about this because I grew up in Northern Manitoba and who I am as an artist is largely defined by the beauty of the Boreal forest and Precambrian shield area that makes up the geography of the land north of my home town of The Pas, Mb. The painting above depicts Amisk Lake which is near the location of this years Retreat and you can bet that I will be found paddling my home built Kayak around the many islands and inlets of this amazing lake with my pochade box at the ready.  Thanks in advance girls, I know you will put on a wonderful event for us all!

Amisk Lake

This is a painting that I have done for a client from
Flin Flon, Mb. It portrays a wonderful lake in East Central Saskatchewan called Amisk Lake, or Beaver Lake as some of the locals prefer. I had great fun painting it and believe that it captures the essence of the place. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!