Mystical Landscapes

Mystical Landscapes is totally my thing- when I paint I’m bringing forth an essence of what I feel from the earth. Usually it’s an energy or emotion, which I try to convey through colour and brush strokes to offer a sense of movement, like the earth is breathing.

So naturally, I had to go see “Mystical Landscapes” at the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario).

This exhibit had such an eclectic mix of artists and styles, but what amazed me the most was how many were raised within a religion that they left behind, and then returned to spiritualism through their art.

There were pieces by Lawren Harris, Emily Carr, Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Edvard Munch, Georgia O’Keeffe and a few other artists I had never heard of (Eugene Jansson is one I want to discover more of).

I discovered a painting by Monet that I had never seen or heard of “Nympheas Reflects de Saule”I could have stood in front of it forever- the depth, the contrast, the unusual palette of richness. The fuscia flowers were just stunning; and it was a large canvas  in comparison to his other smaller and more neutral creations.

I also discovered Georgia O’Keeffe’s “Red Hills” and was disappointed there was not a print of it for sale. It was a simple, relatively small, painting, but the vibrancy of the hills really spoke to me. You could just feel/imagine the desert heat. Her art has never called to me, but until this exhibit I had really only seen her famous flowers. I much more enjoy her mystical landscapes.

NEW CANVASES

I was actually dreaming about painting last night… a large canvas of blues, greens and yellows… thick smooth strokes of paint. A style that wasn’t mine, but was becoming mine. Clearly inspired by the exhibition yesterday!

So today I have a few custom orders to work on!

The next plan is to do a few more “Kicking Horse River Valley” paintings. Hoping to do a few small paintings from Georgian Bay too.  And then…THE LITTLE LIBRARY. I will save that for another blog post.