a birch reflected. how utterly direct, simple yet powerful and quietly peaceful.A meditation on eternity. a merging of opposites; strength and tranquility. the real and it’s reflection.

“birch and reflection” 10″ x 12″  mixed media (watercolour / acrylic painted directly on gessoed birch panel)

Wendy and I have been exploring water through our paintings for what feels like forever but is, in reality,  probably longer. Painting is for us, but creative functioning. watercolour if but  unique way of seeing, a dazzling spiritual journey looking to understand ones’ nature – into authenticity – apprehending its’ mystery. mastery of the medium, in itself means nothing. (it is a foregone thought if one is to realize any) unless it is a disciplined and compassionate understanding of the processes and possibilities of what is within oneself and the effort to get it out onto paper or panel. we have found that for us, from the beginning, not knowing any better was the immediate freedom we needed. that being contained by the medium nigh approached a form of complacency akin to creative atrophy.. our excitement through watercolour / acrylics /. mixed media as i imagine any medium, is finding new ways to express what is there and what needs to come out.

“rainy day birch with reflection”    25″ x 30″  mixed media (watercolour / acrylic painted directly on gessoed birch panel)

we paint light, atmosphere, transparency of water: it all  touche son magic when you remember you cannot paint either directly. with respect to water, it is the colours of the bottom reflecting up to the surface, the blues of the sky dripping down and the greens of the forest edges trying to contain and define it – you end up painting everything but the very thing you want to paint.

“pond for rainy day souls” 26″ x 18″  mixed media (acrylic / watercolour painted directly on gessoed birch panel)

was undecided whether to include pond for rainy day souls in the ‘october rain’ series or the ‘seeking refuge in eternity’ category; that it can fit into either or both nicely; speaks of the continuity across the work rather than my categorizingly pigeonholing it.

in a back n forth dialogue with a FB friend R Rennie, i did express that in this painting it i was aware of the 3 sections the painting can be broken down into – the upper section with all the branches growing up out of now submerged pond edges; the rain splattered water itself and the leaves freed of their trees n floating on the surface towards the end of autumn….most people like grand vistas, i prefer the intimacy that nature offers me when i stand still……

was up in Red Bay back at end of October and got blown away by the tamaracks all turning gold before they dropped their needles for the winter.

tamarack (2)  24″ x 24″  mixed media (acrylic / watercolour painted directly on gessoed birch panel)