Landscapes within landscapes....

Nature offers us endless beautiful views! I never tire of them.

For many years my summers included lake time.  Wading in the water.  Canoeing - in the Churchill River area and along the edges of lakes where you can glimpse into the underbrush or see stones and fish in shallow areas.  I have wandered paths through trees stopping at an open sunny patch of blueberries and what we called ground or low-bush cranberries.  A mouthful of these berries together  - the sweet and the sour... delicious! The endless variety of plants and flowers, shrubs, trees and the water bugs skimming along the surface of the water. (I don't like bugs!)  I have stood in the grass on a windblown hillside and looking down picked up a perfectly round stone or marvelled at a minute flower almost hidden from sight by sage and grass.  I have come close to a beaver chopping at a tree near a slough.  The splash of light across a carpet of green in a forest destroyed by recent fire is a green like none other.  One could go on and on picking out favourite scenes or memories of places which stay in our minds for one reason or another.

I have found that there are landscapes within landscapes! There are the panoramic views and the closeup views.

There is a beautiful pathway through the oak trees as your walk up to the gate to Boffins -  but looking down you will see miniature plants amongst the moss at the base of the tree.  Sitting beside a lake, we often look out towards the lake and distant landscape - which is beautiful! And we especially wait for the sun to set and fill the sky with colours that reflect on the water.  But look to the side and there you might see a miniature landscape that calls one to wonder at it as well.

I am often drawn from the panoramic view to a small part of it. Maybe we all are.  It is these smaller views which I sometimes like to capture in my paintings and which I have included in this post.  The first painting is a small corner of Boffin's pond. The second, also with marsh marigolds in it is from Brightlsand Lake, and the last two are near the water's edge at Candle Lake.

... so as we spend time in nature this summer lets take deeper looks, narrow our gaze and enjoy the smaller landscapes.

"Pond"  acrylic on canvas, 24x48"

"Marsh Marigolds"  Watercolour

"Lakeside Garden"  Watercolour

"Beside Candle Lake"  Watercolour

Looking forward to summer....

It has been awhile since I have posted a completed painting.  Life has been full - seasons of life and death.  The joys of grandchildren, birthdays, and sunshine.  Even though it is colder this evening we know that spring is giving place to summer.

I have no idea what to name this painting! As usual I am stymied and I am always open to suggestions.  It is a scene primarily out of my memories of prairie clouds, sloughs, hills and trees.  The prairies bring so much beauty to our lives with the various seasons offering our senses much to see, feel and smell.  The clouds are never the same, a full slough this year may be almost empty next summer, dry summers may give way to wonderfully rainy falls with vibrant colours.  A hot, dry summer may be followed by a refreshingly humid summer.  Well, one never knows what a day will bring.  With this painting I guess I just wanted to somehow capture something of the incredible cloud formations I have noticed the past few years.  I never tire of looking at the clouds!

The painting is done in acrylic and is 24 x 36"