Ontario landscapes

[vaneramos]

August 18: Prince Edward Island farmland


paulintoronto said yesterday's photo reminded him of a favourite painting at the Louvre: "Le coup de soleil." Dramatic clouds and plays of light characterize Ruysdale's landscapes. One of my favourite artists, John Constable, adapted Ruysdale's realism. He said, "No two days are alike, nor even two hours; neither were there ever two leaves of a tree alike since the creation of the world." He never went abroad, concentrating on the English landscape.

A traveller experiences contrasting vistas. A person who stays home can observe the land more intimately than any visitor could, becoming familiar with seasonal rhythms, changes of light, sounds, and textures of vegetation. Of all places I visited this summer, Prince Edward Island's landscape seemed most familiar, although the ocean creates different cloudscapes. Returning home, I was surprised by the unique, familiar quality of Ontario's light. One could spend a lifetime expressing it.

Last year at Tom Thomson Gallery I was startled by a Homer Watson painting, "The Old Mill." In Constable's style, he painted Southwestern Ontario farmland, portraying clouds and water like I've never seen anywhere else. I was thinking of Watson on Saturday evening when I stopped to photograph the bucolic scene along the Conestogo River.





Glen Allan, Ontario: another view of the Conestogo River from the same spot as yesterday's photo

Comments

[kwintt.livejournal.com]

So tranquil and beautiful. Might you translate it into a pastel painting one day?

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Possibly! I have a few other photos from our trip to the East Coast that I want to try drawing.

[bitterlawngnome.livejournal.com]

This gives me a happy feeling.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

And that makes me happy.

[(Anonymous)]

This would make a beautiful pastel painting! Ontario is such a beautiful place!

[square-egg.livejournal.com]

I was surprised by the unique, familiar quality of Ontario's light. One could spend a lifetime expressing it.
*nods* Me too. As much as I have enjoyed finding familiarity in foreign landscapes (Australia, even!) the recurring seasonal patterns and little surprises of Ontario's light could keep me happy forever. Thanks for your lovely photos and thoughts on this!

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Sometimes you have to go away and come back to realize what it is that makes a place so beautiful.