Grande Chute Mid-morning 2023

by Phil Chadwick

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Dimensions

8.000 x 10.000 x 0.375 inches

Title

Grande Chute Mid-morning 2023

Artist

Phil Chadwick

Medium

Painting - Oil On Panel

Description

The best way to not over-work a plein air painting is to simply grab another panel. That is exactly what I did. I still had a few of these very rough masonite panels from my artist friend who had passed. I had promised that they would all be one day covered in oils. 

I moved a bit further out on the bridge to record how the fog had lifted. I could see down to the rocky ledge on the west side of the falls. My favourite swimming hole was down a steep ravine on the west bank of the Grande Chute just downstream from that rocky ledge. 

A family convoy of trucks, Rhinos and four-wheelers came by with all of their summer camping gear. They talked of a tornado near their camp. The sound was like the roar of a jet plane and trees were apparently down all over. Without a proper investigation, it is impossible to distinguish the severe damage from a downburst from that of a tornado. I doubt if that damage will ever be surveyed. 

The fog was gone but there were still deep purples at the bottom of the falls. It was going to be a bluebird day. 

I finished just in time to partake in a very interesting tour given by Wally Schaber about the rejuvenated Dumoine facilities and trails. Wally is the same Wallace A. Schaber who wrote "The Last of the Wild Rivers: The Past, Present, and Future of the Rivière du Moine Watershed". I missed out on getting a copy to own but the library should have a few. The Dumoine is rich with history and it needs to be recorded before it is lost. That is part of the job of artists as well.

CPAWS-Ottawa Valley has hosted DRAW Retreat for Artists since 2017. DRAW is a clever acronym for Dumoine River Art for Wilderness. I have attended every year except during COVID. There is no better cause. The goals are admirable and ones that I deeply share. The goal is ultimately to make a lasting difference like A.Y Jackson and the Ontario Society of Artists did in the case of Killarney Provincial Park. The impacts of climate change are already being felt. There is no time for dithering. 

This is the eleventh of twenty-eight paintings I completed en plein air at CPAWS DRAW 2023. It was a wonderful experience with a terrific group of people. https://cpaws-ov-vo.org/draw-retreat-artists/ A portion of sales from this endeavour will go to support CPAWS and keep the wild in the wilderness. 

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September 9th, 2023

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