“Les pins, Port-au-Persil, Charlevoix”
Landscape/Horizontal
Oil on stretched canvas
Artex floating frame
A group of about 30 plein air artists paint in the Charlevoix area about once every 2-3 years and stay upriver at Les Éboulements, L’Auberge de nos aïeux. We find painting sites within a radius of 30 km from the Auberge.
Charlevoix is particularly attractive as the region has a variety of great topographic features… woodlands, agricultural lands, towns, hills, rivers and lakes. The hills are much like the Gatineau but higher and steeper with many 10 to 15% grades. I do not know how the inhabitants get around in the winter. The region is really a high plateau with hills where the snow lasts a month longer than in Quebec City.
Les Éboulements is located in the centre of the Charlevoix crater. Mount Éboulements (Mont des Éboulements), in the eastern part of the municipality, is considered the central rebound of the earth’s crust following moments after the meteor impact some 350 million years ago.
In February 1663, a strong earthquake shook the Charlevoix region and triggered a large landslide down the slopes that characterize the hills of the area, to the Saint Lawrence coast. Thereafter the area was known as les Éboulements (French for “the landslides”).
On October 13, 1997, a bus travelling down the steep road to Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive failed to slow down and negotiate a very sharp turn, crashed through the barriers and plunged over 10 meters into a ravine. This accident killed 44 persons, making it the deadliest road accident in Canadian history.
Port-au Persil is a very small community on the St Lawrence River north of Quebec City between Malbaie and St-Siméon. There is a wharf about 100m long that juts out into the St Lawrence. From there looking east, south and west are great views for paintings – large hills, town homes, barns, a church, rocks, shoreline, surf and woodlands.
The painting is a view from the wharf looking upriver. A small creek flowed from above into the small bay which was subject to the tide infilling and emptying. There were about five of us painting on the wharf at the time. The location was hugely inspiring, wind gusting and glorious sun. All who painted there thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I was particularly pleased with the several paintings that resulted from the en plein air expeditions to Point-au-Persil.
Here I am, awaiting all the visitors to Art for the Heart on Feb. 3, the third annual fundraiser for the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. The Cedarhill Golf Club was a great venue and guests had plenty of room to move around and enjoy the displays. I met lots of old friends and made some new ones.
Mark your calendars for this third annual fundraising art show and sale for the Ottawa Heart Institute. The event takes place at the Cedarhill Golf & Country Club, a new venue this year, 56 Cedarhill Drive (off Cedarview Road) in Nepean, 10 am to 5 pm. Last year I exhibited only a few paintings in the show but this year I will have a full booth of my new oils. I look forward to seeing you there.
View from the bridge on Rue Turenne over the river Lauch in the quarter called “La Petite Venise” in Colmar
Colmar, France – Oil on stretched canvas – 40” x 50” – Landscape/Horizontal – Catalogue #1582
Colmar is in the eastern part of France, south of Strasbourg near the German and Swiss borders.
My daughter, who lives in Paris, visited Colmar. She was impressed with the beautiful scenery, especially the architecture of the half-timbered houses, and thought there was potential for one or more paintings.
As soon as I saw her photos, I knew I had to capture the images on canvas, and that the paintings would have to be large enough to do justice to the location. To me, the area was that of a storybook village. While working on the painting, I found myself wandering through the community, along the canal, smelling the flowers, observing the reflections in the canal, imagining myself in the rowboat, wondering what it would be like inside the homes, sitting on the tile rooftops watching life pass by and on and on. I had to regularly remind myself that this
place actually exits.
The setting is incredible…Franco-German residential architecture with a canal lined with trees and bushes, flowers, red tile-roofed buildings, etc. The beauty and serenity took over my imagination.
The painting style used is between impressionistic and representational. I wanted to create a personal sense of intimacy for the viewer, a feeling of belonging to the community, yet with enough detail to illustrate the unique architecture of Colmar.
View from the bridge on Rue Turenne over the river Lauch in the quarter called “La Petite Venise” in Colmar.
The Society of Canadian Artists Exhibition at the Halifax Club is now online. I have one painting in the exhibition, “Swallowtail Lighthouse, Grand Manan Island, NB“, shown below. The exhibition runs until the end of December 2012 in Halifax. The Society has a new online shop which allows for credit card purchase of works from the exhibition.
