Fish Ladder

A painting requested by my mother to give to a friend of hers for her birthday. I'm finding balancing the colours found in nature with my own internal palette to be quite trying at best. The thing is to take the picture away from the real life scene and examine it for its own elemental merit. I decided getting the water just the right colour was unecessary, as the colours that emerge as I paint are far more interesting and beautiful. This turned out with more green than expected, but the murky brown that the river looked on the day of photographing left much to be desired. 

Anyone familiar with the Port Hope area will reconize the Ganaraska River and our infamous fish ladder. I wish I had a photograph of this from the seventies. I believe their was a foot bridge that spanned the width of the river at the top of the ladder. In any case, this holds a bounty of memory and emotion. I hope Cheryl enjoys it.

Sunshine On the Porch

Wanted to paint the old mill up at the fish ladder in Port Hope, ON, but it seemed so arduous a task. I thought starting with the front door/porch area might be good practice. Port Hope is full of heritage buildings and I find them completely captivating. This is not exactly how I would have liked, but it was a definite learning experience. I'm finding that painting, as with most art, is typically subjective and there is no right or wrong way. Once the perfectionist is able to let go, the possibilities are endless!