Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John’s Newfoundland is where it all begins. The view from the top of Signal Hill is breath-taking. The ‘mile marker’ located at the end of the parking area shows how far other places in the world are from our starting point. Notice Vancouver is only 5034 km from Signal Hill as the crow flies, but as the Trans-Canada highway goes, Vancouver is almost 7500 km away. I had to look up where Poldhu is – do you know where it is??
Protecting our borders with cannons facing out into the water evokes a very different time. It calls up huge ships moving through the water while under sail, horses and colourful uniforms. Having lived beside the harbour in Nova Scotia for decades, I also know they faced out to protect our borders from submarines. My husband and I would explore these places from the past, touching the cannons and wondering about their stories. I lived in St. John's NFLD for a year, away from my husband, while taking my education degree, and Signal Hill with its cannons was a place I went to most weekends. The cannons made me think of my husband and those outings.
~ Alison
~ Alison
I love the rocks with trees atop of them that line the roadside. With the right perspective, they can appear massive in size when in fact they are no more then a dozen feet tall. I am always amazed at the prominence of the secondary colours of the wheel in nature. So it is not a surprise when I focus on the orange and purple within the rocks and the deep greens of the trees. They always capture my imagination. Carol
The spaces in between the branches intrigued and challenged me in this painting. I wondered if I could succeed at creating volume using negative space. So, I suppose it was partially for the technical challenge that I chose this particular piece, but it was also to pay homage to a life lived. I remember as a child raking up our outdoor stairs of the fallen leaves and seeing the last stubborn red maple leaf on the second last step and pausing to think, "who will remember what you looked like?" And vowing, "I will!!" This is how I felt about the fallen trees. ~ Alison
Gambo River was visited in the rain - actually a brief pause in the rain where I was standing, but the valley was half in mist and, as soon as we started moving again, the rain caught up with us, too. I love the dreamy misty feel of this one, with the river meandering through the many rocks and swampy islands.
The subtle colour palette of this spot with its soft misty atmosphere intrigued me. I enjoyed the obvious foreground, middle ground, and background of the scene and immediately knew I wanted to create the foreground in silhouette. I imagine this is a spot that is visually enjoyed by many as they travel past. - Alison
The beauty of the Exploits River just west of Grand Falls-Windsor captivated me. From my vantage point on the side of the road, the islands in the river merged together and looked like an artist’s palette - so of course I had to paint it. I loved how the mist made the pine covered hills across the river appear soft and velvety like those in a Lauren Harris painting. The greens of the islands and hills dramatically contrasted with the silvery blues of the sky and river. Captivating place and one worth visiting again. Carol
At Grand Falls-Windsor, I loved how the view was over the treetops, yet framed by them and became intrigued with the idea of the focal point being in the top half of the painting. This created the problem of how to paint the line of trees directly in front of me in such a way that they did not take away from the focal point but neither did they become flat. The interesting shape of the tree tips climbing above the rest was the icing on the cake. ~ Alison
There was a small stream and a bridge over it at this stop on the highway. For me, the rocks produced almost a Zen-like moment. I feel a great serenity and peace when I focus on the rocks at the edge of a stream or a lake. The beautiful tints, tones and shades of greys, blues and browns within the composition make an interesting subject to contemplate. The colours shift and change with the light and the weather conditions of the day, echoing our thoughts and dreams as they shift and alter over time. I also enjoy the idea that rocks could be anywhere and nowhere. Carol
Well, as soon as I saw Dave, I knew what I was going to paint. Breast cancer has invaded my family - not me - but, I needed to paint this. Bravo to Dave for finding the courage to ride across Canada to raise awareness and funds to fight cancer. The idea for the Trans Canada Highway becoming pink came after, wanting to convey the idea of the Trans Canada as the pink ribbon. I have to say, it was an honour to paint this one.
This spot is between Corner Brook and Stephenville, where the road follows a high valley down to the coast. There are countless hills to crest and I always wonder what lies on the other side of the hill, and what I'll find.
The various shades of olive green trees throughout the Atlantic provinces becomes a warm woollen blanket covering everything you pass. The blues of the hills in the distance and the reddish foreground intrigued my colour sense as did the crispness of the fence lines against natures softness. ~ Alison
The day we visited Km 900, near Wreck House in western Newfoundland, was blustery with a strong easterly wind. Low cloud completely covered the top of the range of hills that separates the coast from the interior. On the highway side of the divide, west of the hills, the sun was shining and everything was warm and clear. South and east of the divide, Newfoundland seemed enveloped in fog, rain and cold. I've rarely seen such a dramatic split in weather across a ridge except at higher elevations. All the moisture being carried by the wind was simply piling up behind the hills and couldn't get across to our side. Traffic heading to Port aux Basques through the pass between the hills was swallowed up and disappeared into fog. Carol
The moodiness of the cloud shrouding the hills captivated me, as did the rays of sunlight trying to penetrate the wall of cloud, creating moments of peek-a-boo with the hills. ~Alison