How Long

While drawing or painting I often get asked by observers 
"How long did it take you to make that ?"

At first it seems like a simple question but then like many other 
things, nothing is simple when it comes to art. 

Picasso  answered that same question with an answer something 

along the lines of "a lifetime". 

It most certainly did take a lifetime of practice. 

Practice to the point that the work is effortless the result is assured and convincing.

Changes

I have been told that the prairies have changed since the summer of 1975.

I wonder if the royal rooms still exist?

Do the grain elevators?

 

 Changes could reflect in the architecture of the area or my painted response. 

Summer Studio

The garden is in full bloom now and the joy of practicing painting on site 

is swept up in the days.

My decision to use larger canvas this year is proving to be a fabulous choice. 

It does provide a whole new set of challenges as far as materials and time but rendering in monumental scale gives resonance to the work 

that doesn't exist in smaller pieces. 

The effects of sunlight gathered in a bloom and painted in an afternoon records the day in a larger than life way. 

Seeing is Believing

 

So many questions surround the creation of and interaction with artwork. 

Questions that move beyond the creation and mere technical skills of a particular artist. 

In his book, Interaction of Color, Josef Albers, 1963 one key element of artwork, colour, is discussed. In his introduction he points out that "color deceives continually".  

So, I wonder, once colour is introduced into a work is seeing really believing?

Nova Scotia Coves and Harbours

Recently we travelled down a road that we hadn't been on for almost thirty years. 

One particular afternoon on that trip we took the opportunity to relax and smell the air beside a cove on the Bay of Fundy.

 Whale Cove provided a perfect view and a picnic lunch followed with time to paint made the day special. While sitting for a short period it is easy to see that the tide was on its way out.  Large ships travelling from Saint John New Brunswick on the opposite shore took advantage of the water flow to begin their journey out into the Atlantic Ocean. 

The large ships provided contrast for the small fishing boats of this cove. Scale and activities change but both harbours share the common bonds of ocean water and commerce. I have read that it was ocean water and commerce that began the original western settlements beginning with Viking explorations over a thousand years ago. 

A few days later I am reminded of the contrast again while working alongside the Halifax Container Pier located on Halifax Harbour. It seems that Nova Scotia is a province of contrasts.