Touching Earth, Finding Spirit

Montreal to Vancouver 4,816 Km / 2,992 miles

Having returned home after having moved through so many diverse landscapes I am allowing their impressions and feelings to wash through me in preparation to paint them as they wish to be painted. I always feel close to the living landscape, whether I am in the midst of NYC or the wilderness of Northern Ontario there is something that draws me to the sensual qualities of the earth. This last trip however, was exceptional. I can't seem to stop "feeling" the landscapes, they are embedded within my heart and soul and they want to be painted. That is why this essay by Betty Perluss has spoken to me, she seems to understand the land in a way that is becoming more and more real for me as I engage with  the poetry and beauty the land speaks through colors, textures and shapes.

"The landscape thinks itself in me, and I am its consciousness." ~Paul Cézanne
 
Perluss's words hum with insight and illuminate how nature serves as an alchemical bridge for us between inner and outer worlds. Stepping into the wilderness is like entering a "liminal space where the boundaries between psyche and nature, inner and outer, become less defined. Here, birds, animals, plants and rocks appear like characters in a dream, and all of nature speaks to those who are willing to listen."

She also suggests that, "the external world is not only a mirror for psychic events, but is also the ground--the terra firma--of the soul. Does not psyche need a place for her feet, a mountain to climb, a river to drink from, and a garden to tend?"
 
The article claims that "when people live in a particular place for long periods of time, they physically and psychically mimic the characteristics of the landscape. Different landscapes, therefore, produce varied geopsyches." I find this to be fascinatingly true to my experience of driving across Canada. People's personalities tend to reflect the characteristics of the land they live on. The landscape no longer exists just "out there" but resonates deeply in our bodies and souls. The "Genius Loci" or spirit of place exists in our bones.

It is this living, breathing connection to the land that I feel wants to be painted. How to do this? I am not sure. I will trust my paints and intuition to guide me. I have been preparing several large canvases in the studio as the impressions build inside me. This is both a fertile and frightening time to be a painter, when the images are within but have not yet found their outward form of expression. 

"We need new stories, new terms and conditions that are relevant to the love of land, a new narrative that would imagine another way, to learn the infinite mystery and movement at work in the world." ~Linda Hogan

The deepest words
of the wise men teach us
the same as the whistle of the wind when it blows
or the sound of the water when it is flowing.

~Antonio Machado 

Back to the studio to sit and wait and listen with the patience of rock.

  



  



 

 

Last Day of Beauty along the Pacific West Coast

 A very rainy, socked in day. Typical weather for this time of year on the coast and I love it.
Warm, drizzly mist, clouds floating low on the horizon, dark mountains breaking through on occasion.

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 The girls, Emily, Lauren and Susan touring in the rain. These three beauties took me to see some of the rocky coastline and I fell in love. The first is Whyte Cliff Park, where scuba divers were bobbing around in the water like seals and the rock was folded into elegant shapes just begging to be painted.

 I really could have sat and painted here for months without moving more than a few feet in any direction. The light was soft and fused creating a gorgeous array of colors, my head and heart are full of images that will feed me all winter.

 Next we went on the Lighthouse Park and the old growth trees. I am always humbled and awed when in the presence of these tree beings.

A perfect day to end the trip. I am leaving behind five paintings in the Haymaker office/gallery of Horseshoe Bay which means I am only shipping home four paintings of the original 24 I started out with! This has been such an amazing trip and I can't wait to do it all again. Now it's time to pack some suitcases and catch a plane.

See you in Montreal!

Final Show in Horseshoe Bay

 

 Happy to have left "Sunflower & Spirals" behind in Loretta's home.

So thrilled when a dear friend has a painting of mine in their home.

 On to Horseshoe Bay and the Pedriks gang, old friends from Tremblant who now in this beautiful town.

Still amazed by the abundance of lush growth on the coast.

 

 

 Horseshoe Bay is a colorful little community where the BC Ferries roll in and out. Friendly people, lively village and gorgeous landscape surrounding everything.

 Tom and Susan hosted an exceptional "Pop Up Gallery" in Tom's office. Tom had the ingenious idea of putting gutters along the wall to hold the paintings, making installation simple and easy.

 

 Great party! Fun evening! LOTS of people came out for this final Pop Up Gallery in Horseshoe Bay! Met some interesting locals and friends of Tom and Susan's.

 

 


Love these three Pedriks kids!! So much fun to see them again. We used to be neighbors in Tremblant and our kids grew up together.

Leslie and Susan

My cousin Gaye, came across on the ferry to see the show, so lovely to meet her.

 

Ended the evening at Troller's Pub, a friendly local bar where we had supper and a few drinks to end the evening. I would love to spend more time exploring this community but tomorrow it will be time to fly home.