Early morning fog and endless grass that melds with the shoreline of the St-Lawrence… AND just off to the right, the Trans-Canada highway that zips through the pilgrimage town of Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré. You can’t have everything, right?
We had a stellar view from our Huttopia campsite at the Baie Ste-Marguerite sector of Parc Nationale du Saguenay. Imagine my surprise when I learned that the bay is subject to low tide on a daily basis and essentially turns into a large sandbar during most daylight hours. Great for exploring, but… not the swimming hole we were expecting.
Still, early mornings and evenings were spectacular. Believe it or not, there was even a heron posed in the long grass (for real!), but I didn’t include it in the painting because I thought it would end up looking fake.
I often think to myself that it would be so much easier if I could a) get excited about drawing buildings (haven’t really tried, but you never know – I might find I love it!), and b) not mind that I can’t see any horizon line. I’m a city-dweller, but I don’t find artistic inspiration in cities – because, honestly, how could cities ever compare with the St-Lawrence river and great big, puffy clouds?
View from the balcony of my step-mother’s cottage in the Laurentians.
If I were to do this piece again, I would make sure to paint the foreground trees with a sharper brush. I know in theory that foreground elements should be clearly defined, and background elements should be out of focus, but I don’t always remember to follow through with that!
A sunny field and some dramatic clouds – a perfect day to spend in the Eastern Townships!
EMMA PITTSON 