Tangled Tamaracks

"Tangled Tamaracks"
It was a record breaking day for November. The temperature got up to near 22 Celsius thus breaking the old record of 20.1 or so for this date. It was sunny and warm and I couldn't waste the afternoon. I had noticed some colourful tamaracks in a swampy area Up close, the strokes and colours looked like a bit of a tangle but stepping back, the painting looked like the scene and vice versa.
Oils on medium burnt sienna oil tinted foundation on commercial canvas - 14 X 11

Not To Cold to Paint!

The photographer from the Brockville Recorder and Times stopped by and had snapped my picture before I even knew that he was there. This image ran on page three of the Saturday November 22nd, 2008 paper. There were probably a few people around who thought that they remembered that "Phil Chadwick" name from somewhere - maybe school. It was about minus 3 Celsius but felt cooler with the wind! In the sun, it was quite beautiful.

Before the Wind

It was an unbelievable day from a weather perspective and I could just not waste it inside. I headed west and ended up looking southwest up the St Lawrence River. The water was like plate glass but I could see the wind funneling down the river. The glass like surface of the water was becoming rippled to the southwest. I managed to get the painting laid in before the wind stirred up my subject. I had to be careful not to walk straight backward to see how the painting was progressing. It would have been at least a 100 foot drop and the last step I would have taken.

Princess Island is to the right side of this painting. Raleigh or Spong Island is in the middle and Green Island is the speck of land in the foreground. I don't recall the name of the smaller island just west of Green Island.

Flagged Pines on Green (A) Island

I set up at noon looking easterly at the up river end of the neighbouring island. The pines trees were all flagged by the wind and were to be the subject matter of the painting. It is said that the trees looked the same way today as they did in photos from fifty years ago.
It got windier as the afternoon progressed. Tree swallows kept me company and flew within inches on my face. They landed frequently on my painting. They even mated once while perched on the easel. The osprey mated a few times at the top of the tree on the extreme southwest end of the island. I included them very subtlety in the painting. Canada geese were nesting on both islands and took exception to me arriving but soon got used to my presence.

Island City Mills

"Island City Mill"
This is the "Island City Mills" building located in the Sheridan Mews. Island City Mill dealt in wheat starting in 1905. It is an historic building and area in the west end of downtown Brockville on the north side of King Street and just to the east of Perth Street. With time, businesses come and go as did "Island City Mills".

Painted January 2008