The title of a blog dedicated to a single day of painting done this September at the McMichael gallery in Kleinburg Ontario
Their annual En Plein Air event took place over a 6 week period
Accepted through Jurying
Around 70 artists were invited to paint and submit up to three paintings done on the gallery grounds over the allotted time frame
I was blessed enough to be one of those artists
It just so happened that I only had 2 to 3 non consecutive days to paint
in September/October
My plan was to head down for one day mid week and paint all three of my entries
The clincher was that the paintings must be 16 x 20 inches
lets spend a little bit of time with this:
16 x 20 inches or 320 square inches multiplied by 3
920 square inches!
or
6 square feet of painting!
From life
in one day
on the grounds of the home of the group of seven’s paintings
during a busy summer day
No pressure right
as a side note the original title to this post was
“Planning Inspiration”
As I was working through the points flushing out the idea behind the piece I really felt like planning felt aggressive
planning an attack
a sortie
a surprise
They all made me feel the inspiration was outside of me and it was something elusive that I was trying to capture
That is not my relationship with inspiration
relationship being the key word of that statement
I asked myself (and I ask you)
if inspiration was your romantic partner of ten years
if it was someone you had met on tinder, at the library, or been set up with on a blind date
How would you approach asking it out on a date ?
How would this date change from a partner you’ve been married to for 15 years and recently become estranged
or
an internet dream who filled you with lustful desire?
What would the date look like?
This the approach.
For inspiration in my mind and experience is an entity all of its own
the idea of the muse or the spirit comes to mind
something that is not static but living and breathing
This is how I approached the day of painting
I set the foundation
the location was set on where the two of us would meet
I brought the supplies
paints, panels, snacks and blanket
made a playlist to make sure the mood was right
and the rest is history.
SO
Please let me present to you my
Date with Inspiration
Having had to reschedule my day the week of really didn’t play into how I approached the painting
Lindsey and I drove up through rolling hills and country side of south western Ontario trying to avoid major Highways at all costs
Stopped mid way and bought a bottle of red for later that night and other than that it was windows down and balmy breezes the whole trip
Arrived and parked. The previous time I had painted at the gallery I found myself seeking out other painters to talk with spending time welcoming patrons to ask questions and getting in all sorts of discourse. This time around it was definitely the opposite.
I had a meeting with the environment
We walked around the main grounds testing out different spots. Sketching thumbnails and searching for a quiet refuge
I should mention that the night before I had dreamt that I was already painting there. So in my mind I already had a painting spot and the dream painting was already half done so I knew that I needed to at least find a spot to warm up.
I still had about 8 or 9 hours of light left and that left me just enough time if everything went smoothly to get at least two paintings in.
Fingers crossed
This is the first spot we stopped
Right in the middle of the main pathway to the gallery from the parking lots
SO much foot traffic but there was something about the sculptures that captivated me. Allowed me to work with subjects that would hold the pose unconditionally
It added immediate drama and story to my painting!
Starting first with a charcoal drawing, I definitely took lots of time in between painting. Partly because of the amount of people, but also I wanted to come with fresh eyes and strokes.
Being able to choose colours that were fresh and informed from life and using the quality of my brushstrokes to enhance the feeling of movement and life
I did not want this to be a painting of sculptures
I wanted this painting to be breathing.
Full of emotive content.
It really feels that way. A painting of family life in the midst of conflict. Do we choose to cower, ignore, or be the aggressor?
Pack Mentality 16x20 inches Oil on cradled panel. Available at Melt Studio Gallery.
The third painting I completed was after the gallery had closed.
Lindsey and I had taken a bit of a siesta and decided to check out the exhibits. We were absolutely blown away.
After about 45 minutes we started to get so tired and I think it was because of the paintings. They were acting on us. Our brains were working overtime. Inundated with shape colour movement. So much information everywhere we turned. Being in a constant state of exultation was forcing us to nap.
I think what stood out to me was the works of Emily Carr on paper. One of my biggest inspirations when in school, and still. As a young animator at Sheridan college I felt like I had discovered a secret that not many new in her paintings. The ones on exhibit I had never seen before!
Sweeping strokes full of movement made with controlled abandon really gave me the motivation I needed to crank out one more painting.
I definitely was inspired and set up almost exactly in the same spot of the first painting I just changed the direction I was looking.
Not my strongest work that day but what a great finish to the amazing day.
The quiet exit of the museum staff head bowed in end of day reverence I couldn’t help but feel like a preacher looking upon the altar remarking on sermons gone by.
My altar the setting sun behind the trees.
The sculpture (I know, two paintings of sculptures) was a great river rock carved. The light for a moment shone perfectly through the thin wispy branches of pine to ignite the inner quartz spirit. The ghosts of a family on their way home were added from the original thumbnail.
I want to revisit this idea when my gas tank has a bit more fuel in it
Spirit Within, 20x16 inches, Oil on Cradled Panel
The second painting I completed at the gallery was in fact the one that I had dreamed about the night previous and subsequently the one that was accepted into the gallery.
Now the at this point in the day, around 5pm, my brain was slow. It was hot, I was tired, the dream was a bit foggy.
The reason I keep referencing the dream is that where I was painting was so out of the ordinary from what I would normally paint.
Especially in a place, during an event, that is based on the group of seven’s paintings.
The Parking Lot.
The grey hatchback just above the top left corner is my car.
Decided to head back and get some snacks and set up shop. Such a strange location and one that was slowly disappearing as people started to leave.
Went for a leisurely stroll around the perimeter of the lot and kept looking for great angles.
Found the spot set up and prepared.
I wanted spontaneity so no thumbnails.
I wanted it to be unforgiving, drawing in marker.
The vibe felt so different from painting on a grassy knoll under cover of majestic trees so I had loaded up a Drake playlist on Spotify started warming up by dancing and bobbing my head to the beat.
Not what people would expect to see as they headed back to their cars.
When the moment struck me the first mark was the base of the cloud in the picture. Distilled down to a triangle.
Maybe this a good point to mention that Lindsey and I had gotten into an argument based off of being tired, misunderstanding each other, and the weight of our past experiences.
She was sitting in the car reading while I painted.
Both of us working through the internal tension
As I kept up with the mark making I started to understand what was great about that moment and our day that seemingly had taken a turn.
The clearer the under drawing was becoming so to was the view of my partner. Seeing her, multitude of varied experience that makes up the complex and beautiful person that she is, more clearly
That whole day from the moment we had left the house I had been viewing her through our past. All of the pain and hurt that we as humans accumulate and carry around with us was what I had been focusing on.
The moment I had finished the under drawing I stepped back and viewed everything at a distance.
The feeling of closeness, warmth, and unconditional love swelled inside of me. I realized my mistake.
Viewing her from the point behind my trauma. All I could see was her trauma.
This gift of this clear and concise truth that had been given to me really changed the whole approach to the painting.
Stripping down all the theatrics of creating a realistic looking painting filled with depth, light, and texture I needed a simple statement
A painting that portrayed a world where all things were coloured with the past
A painting that spoke to the moment of illumination.
Seeing her as she really is
I Can See You Beyond Your Trauma 12 x 16 inches Oil on cradled panel. Soon to be at the McMichael Gallery
The reflected light from the sky clear and powerful reflected in only one spot.
Where she sits in the car.
The drive home in the light of a setting sun exhausted from a powerful and busy day.
We arrived back at around 9 and promptly opened the bottle of wine and made some pizza.
A date that I will remember forever. Not just for the painting but for what I learned about myself in the process.
Being open to inspiration for me after this day really comes down to being open to where I am at
Meeting the world, my subject, and myself with openness
Not trying to guide or control the moment
but being a part of it
allowing change to occur outside of planning for it