Painting Algonquin Park and Beyond

It appears that in 1975 I spent some time camping and sketching in Algonquin Park, Ontario. It was a time when we took a camping trip in the park on familiar ground before heading off on a trans Canada trip that would take us as far away as Vancouver Island. That is whole other story. 

I do remember this particular tree perched on the rocky edge of Lake Provoking. There was something about the tree and its ability to survive and grow against all adversity pushing roots out to find the soil that convinced me to make the sketch.

On the trail to the lake there is a river and a magical waterfall with bathing pools in the rocks. I made the painting of the falls a year later along with a painting based on the sketch of the pine tree and am wondering about the tree now after having hiked to a group of very large Hemlock trees over the weekend.

The scale of the Hemlock trees compared to others around led me to read about them and have found that their life could fill well over five hundred years.  As large as they seemed i guess they are teenagers as Hemlock trees go.

The spring painting is from the hill just below the site where the Hemlocks live and as you can see my painting work has grown and changed over these years. The smells and feel of the air around these sites have remained touchstones for these sites even after all the years in between.