Selwyn Beach VII - A Work in Progress

Today I wanted to do some work on this drawing that I had started a couple of years ago (see post on 06 May 2018) when we were at Selwyn Beach Conservation Area.

I started at the bottom of the shoreline and gradually worked my way up, adding water, rocks, weeds, grasses and growies.

When I came to the edge of the bank I continued adding the grasses, growies and rocks.

From there I started working my way across the far edge of the land adding the rocks and growies.

I left the area where the birch and cedar trees are going to be placed blank until after they have been drawn in and completed.

Next, I did a little work on the land extending out into the Chemong Lake.

I will post this drawing again, once I have finished putting in the foreground trees.

Going Camping in Algonquin Provincial Park

Today we went up to Algonquin Provincial Park in Whitney, Ontario for the rest of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

We stayed at the Lake of Two Rivers Campground which is of course, located on Lake of Two Rivers.

Algonquin Provincial Park, was established on 27 May 1893 and is the oldest provincial park in Ontario and the first provincial park in Canada.

Facilities include lodges, campgrounds, scenic drives, hiking and skiing trails and over 930 miles (1,500 km) of lake and river canoe routes.















The park lies across the southern edge of the Canadian shield and is located between Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River and has Highway 60 running through the south end of the park, while the Trans-Canada Highway bypasses it to the north.

Additions since it was first created have increased the park to its current size of approximately 2,955 square miles (7,653 square kilometres).

The rolling landscape was smoothed and gouged by the glaciers that receded 10,000 years go during the last ice age which also created the over 745 miles (1,200 km) of streams and rivers and over 2,400 lakes which provide access by boat to the interior of the park.















The park is considered to be an area of transition between the Northern Ontario coniferous forest and the Southern Ontario deciduous forest. Due to this unique mixture of the different forest types and also the wide variety of environments within the park, it allows the park to support a wide diversity of both plant and animal life.

The on land the park is famous for its wolves and a wide variety of other animal species are common and almost 250 bird species have been recorded throughout the park. The cold, deep, lakes are home to trout, small-mouthed bass, pike, muskellunge and walleye can also be found.

In 1992 Algonquin Provincial Park was named a National Historic Site of Canada in recognition of its many heritage values, a few of which are its role in the development of park management; it being an important site for wildlife research; its role in inspiring artists, which gave many Canadians an appreciation of their country; pioneering visitor interpretation programs many of which were later adopted by both national and provincial parks across the Canada.















A new visitor centre complete with bookstore, museum and restaurant was opened in 1993 to celebrate Algonquin's centennial.

Algonquin Provincial Park is the only designated park within the province of Ontario to allow industrial logging to take place within its borders. Logging began in the 19th century, especially for white pine and today over 70% of the park is still subject to controlled logging.

Recently park planning and land use pressures and have led to a lot of public debate regarding the appropriate use and designation of the park, which in my opinion doesn't bode well for the Park.

The last thing I want to see is a subdivision in the middle of the park or the lakes being ruined by having hundreds of cottages and motorboat traffic destroying the peace and tranquility of these pristine areas.

Selwyn Beach VII and VIII

Today was another bright and sunny day with a nice breeze, although a little cooler than yesterday at 63F (17C).

After all the work we did to clear most of the debris from the windstorm we decided to go to Selwyn Beach for a picnic. While the others were looking for "treasure" with their metal detectors I sketched the south end of the beach.

Most of the rocks at the end of the beach were underwater.

The only thing showing above the water was the top half of the post where during the summer one end of the rope is tied to mark the south edge of the beach's swimming area ends and goes the other end of the rope goes through the water across to a dead weight mooring at the north end of the beach.

Selwyn Beach VII

My first drawing was of the shoreline on the east side of Chemong Lake facing south down the lake. I started with the edge of the water on the beach and continued where the land juts out into the lake.

I added in the main trees on the shore first, followed by the grasses, growies and smaller bushes.

Lastly, I put in the horizon line and added the trees on the distant shoreline.















Selwyn Beach VIII

For my next drawing, I thought I would start with the post at the end of the submerged rocks and work my way back to where my first drawing ended.

Once the post was drawn in, I followed the path through the water first to a clump of bushes, then the top of a few rocks, followed by a small bent cedar tree, partially submerged by the high water of the lake and then, I a few more tops of rocks with some small, partially submerged bushes.

Lastly, I put in the horizon line, added trees onto the distant shoreline, a closer island and a few cottages and boat houses on the west side of the lake.

I will probably ink in both of these drawings in at a later date.

Birch Tree Trunks I - A Work in Progress

I would like to wish everyone peace, good health and prosperity for the New Year!

I started to work on this drawing that I had sketched on location a couple of years ago (see post on 11 June 2015).

With a pencil I defined all the lines on the first tree trunk and then inked them in and added all the "whip marks.

On the next tree trunk I drew in some curled bark added a branch and some scar marks.














Next I inked in the markings on this tree trunk and again added in the whip marks where I felt they needed to be applied.

I started to put in the markings on the third tree trunk, but then we had company arrive and it was time to put it away.

I will post this drawing at a later date once I have completed the third birch tree trunk.

Thank you for looking at my artwork.

1st Annual Outdoor Painting Festival Cavan/Millbrook

Yesterday was day one of the 1st Annual Outdoor Painting Festival Cavan/Millbrook and we signed in and had our canvases stamped at the Cavan Art Gallery at 8:00a.m. in the morning before heading out to our first painting location.

The morning was cloudy and overcast with a cold breeze blowing.

As I set up by Needler's Mill just off Distillery Road in Millbrook near Needler's Pond it started to drizzle.

Since we couldn't prime the canvases with a base coat of acrylic before signing in that is what I had to do to my first canvas.

It started to rain a little harder and since it was getting wetter instead of being able to dry, I set it under the table out of the rain and primed a second canvas.

By this time my first canvas had dried and with alizarin crimson I blocked in the trunk and branches of the northern white cedar tree, the bench and the tops of the background trees.

Using mixes of ultramarine blue and burnt sienna I put in the grey sky.

A darker mix of the same colours was used for the tree.

Raw Sienna, ultramarine blue and burnt sienna were used for the grasses and the grass in shadow beneath the tree.

Then I put a little bit of titanium white onto the bench for the high lit areas.

By this time with the amount of rain on the canvas I could not get a thicker layer of paint on the canvas so I decided that I would go for lunch and hope that the rain would slow down or stop.

When I returned it had gotten colder and the wind had picked up, but I wanted to do more on the painting and I lightened the sky with a little ultramarine blue and white.

Next I added mixes of raw sienna and Hansa yellow to the sky colour for the background trees, the grass areas and the grasses in the shadowed areas.

By this time my fingers were numb and it was time to go home and warm up. I would return early in the morning and continue to work on this painting.

I arrived around 7:00a.m., which was shortly after sunrise and set up in my spot on a picnic table.

With titanium white I added some highlights to the bench before starting on the foliage of the tree.

Next I put in a few markers of raw sienna and burnt sienna for the areas where the old growth was turning brown with age and a few of the new growth of bright green with a mix of Hansa yellow and cerulean blue.

Then I finished the bench before I ran out of time and then went back to the foliage of the cedar tree using various mixtures of raw sienna, burnt sienna, Hansa yellow, ultramarine blue and cerulean blue.

Although I didn't get the painting totally finished, but when considering the conditions of the first day, I am pleased with the results and I will post this painting again at a later date once it has been completed.

Birch Tree Trunks I

Today I was at Millennium Park in Peterborough and I came across these three birch trees by the edge of the Otonabee River.

It started to cloud over as I sat on the grass and started to sketch the birches beginning with blocking in the three trunks.














It wasn't long before the rain started so I took a couple of pictures before leaving the park to head home.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and look at the artwork. I hope you will return often.

Lake Reflections I

Today I pulled out this sketch that I did earlier this year (see post on 12 June 2014) and decided it needed some work.

I started with the two large trees in the foreground, which seems to frame the maple tree across the inlet.

Next I put in the distant trees, the maples and the rocks on the far shoreline and the ones in the water.















I put in the foreground shoreline and added some grasses and growies at the base of the trees and at the edge of the lake.

Lastly I added some cattails and bull rushes against the edge of the shoreline.

This original 7" x 9-1/2” pen and ink drawing when matted and shrink wrapped will be available for $50.00.