Large Acrylic Beach Scene 52" x 52" Gallery Wrap

Susan MacDonald and The Group of Seven

At the opening of the exhibit of The Ontario Plein Air Society, all in attendance very much enjoyed hearing Susan MacDonald, niece of Thoreau and grand-niece of J.E.H. MacDonald speak about her experiences growing up around The Group of Seven.

Ontario Plein Air Society Exhibition

The inaugural show of The Ontario Plein Air Society was a smashing success, with $7,040 in sales (including one of mine) and a steady flow of interested visitors throughout the weekend.

J.E.H. MacDonald House - 8"x10", oil on panel

This is the former home of one of The Group of Seven, renowned plein air landscape painters in Canada.

You can view this piece of work, along with many other landscape paintings, in person, at the upcoming exhibition of The Ontario Plein Air Society, 121 Centre Street in Thornhill, Ontario (with parking on Brook Street southeast of the house) from November 12-14, 2010.

The opening festivities are on Friday, November 12, 2010 from 6-9 pm. Saturday the hours are 10-8 and Sunday from 10-5. This is a great opportunity to pick up some original art at a great price - fabulous for gifts!

Snow Fence - 9"x12", oil on canvas board

Autumn at the beach, sunny and pleasant.

Autumn Colors - 9"x12", oil on canvas board

Rouge Park painting event on Saturday,
October 9, 2010.

At The Beach - 8"x10", oil on canvas panel

The gorgeous color of the water was what attracted me to stand in the wind and end up with sand covering all my paints! Plein air painting is such a challenge.

Blue Nose 2 - 8"x10", oil on canvas panel

This is a very recognizable, landmark mountain near my parent's home in B.C. It is my Mont Sainte-Victoire.

I was in Lavington for a few days after my Bugaboo adventure. I went nowhere, and saw no one, other than my parents, since it was such a short visit. I painted and ate and walked the roads I knew so well, my head swimming with memories.

Bugaboo #4

A very gray day - alternately windy, snowy, rainy and it even hailed for awhile. Challenging painting conditions, to say the least, but still, it was unbelievably great to be in such a beautiful, remote spot.

Bugaboo #2

Bugaboo #1

The paintings I will be posting over the next few days are not currently for sale. However, there will be an exhibit in conjunction with our trip to the Bugaboos in 2011, so stay tuned!

Liz Wiltzen - Multi-Talented Painter and Heli-Guide

Here is Liz protecting the cargo as the helicopter lifts off!

Bottom: Liz with Bob at dinner.

Robert Genn - Intrepid Plein Air Painter Extraordinaire

Top: Day 1, at Rocky Point

Middle and Bottom: Day 3, still smiling after the hail storm!

Day 3 - Rain, Wind, Snow and Hail!

Top: Our final painting site - at one point I was holding an umbrella with one hand and painting with the other in a vain attempt to keep the moisture off my oil paints!

(There is an image of another instance where an umbrella was necessary here.)

Bottom: Here is our crew, after a long day, having dinner at the lodge. The food was top notch, with the desserts being particularly decadent!

Heli-Painting in the Bugaboos: Day 2 - Glazing Demo and Hourglass Lake

The bottom image was caught at a rare moment in the afternoon when there were no gale force winds and it was not snowing or raining. The weather at this high altitude is rather temperamental and changeable!

We were not able to go to the glaciers this day due to bad weather and spent some time in the studio in the morning watching Bob Genn do a demo of his glazing technique.

Heli-Painting in the Bugaboos: Day 1 - Rocky Point Basin

Heli-Painting in the Bugaboos with Robert Genn

I just returned from the trip of a lifetime, having traveled to heli-paint en plein air in the Bugaboo mountains with renowned Canadian artist and writer, Robert Genn and fabulous oil painter, Liz Wiltzen plus 9 other painters from Canada and the U.S.

This photo shows the breathtaking view from Rocky Point Basin. The beauty is absolutely overwhelming.

This turned out to be our most pleasant day, with the sun peeking through occasionally. Still, for anyone contemplating this experience, you really need a lot of clothing, as the temperature was pretty brisk!

Georgian Bay South - 16x20, acrylic on stretched canvas

I painted this on a breezy, sunny Saturday afternoon on the beach.

Since I have spent extra time "en plein air" recently, I have grown increasingly braver and more comfortable dealing with the interest shown by people who happen to be strolling past.

This view is looking south toward Wasaga Beach, with Collingwood across the Bay.

Hang this slightly larger daily painting on your wall to remind you of summer!

Child's Chair - 9x12, oil on canvas panel

I painted this piece outside a busy store in cottage country. Quite a lot of people stopped by to take a peek and chat. The children seemed particularly fascinated by what I was doing.

Who doesn't love the brilliant color in this flowerbed and the cute little Muskoka (or Adirondack for you American folk) chair!

I was attracted to the scene when I noticed a small child sitting down on the chair. Unfortunately, he moved on pretty quickly, so the empty seat had to suffice!

Sunset - 5x7, oil on panel

Done very quickly from life - sunsets are ephemeral!