“Emigrant Lake, Ashland, Oregon” and Canadian Landscape Painters

Acrylic on canvas.  Standing on a dike overlooking Emigrant Lake in Ashland, Oregon.  I have been influenced by the landscapes of the Canadian Painters during the first part of the 20^th century (Tom Thompson, The Group of Seven and Emily Carr).   It was their connection between art and nature that drew me in and a belief that “artistic expression is a spirit, not a method … a pursuit, not a settled goal, an instinct, not a body of rules.” (from the Group of Seven’s 2nd Exhibition in 1922 forward ).   They viewed landscape as a realm of divine presence and were inspired by the writings of Walt Whitman, Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

In creating this painting I recalled works by Tom Thompson, specifically his “Pointers” (a pointalistic approach),  and Lawren Harris with his “From the North Shore, Lake Superior” .

Tip the Topper to Tom Thompson.

Tom Thompson was considered by most the leading artist of this movement, Thompson preceded the Group of Seven with a wide assemblage of paintings (“sketches” and formal creations) before his death on July 8th, 1917.  Thompson’s use of color and his eye, especially the inclusion of “auras” around trees, captivate me.   His life, art and suspicious death were chronicled in the movie “West Wind The Vision of Tom Thomson” and can be explored in more detail at the Tom Thompson online Art Gallery.   You can read more and view an  anthology of his works by clicking HERE.

Bones of Art: Lawren Harris.

Lawren Harris was a member of the Group of Seven whose works included a marriage between geometric forms and spiritual ideas.  This was an interplay between his inner world and our inner response.  He wrote that “art is the distillate of life”, in other words he wished to simplify earthly forms to their essence or an “informing spirit”.   A theosophical belief was central to the search for truth, a prayer that linked earth and heaven.   His style attempted to pare down each creation to its “bare bones” and moved from Thompson’s intimacy (such as treating detail to trees and leaves) to a grander vision of wide and ongoing horizons.  For an anthology of his life and work click HERE .

Modest Gratitude.

“Emigrant Lake, Ashland, Oregon” is a modest attempt to capture the auras and energy of the natural world around me.   As I learn about these amazing Canadian artists I understand more about my personal connections with nature and, I hope, an informed spirit.