26 April, 2025 0 comments Leave a comment

Today, I am telling the creation story of And Nothing Else Matters, varnished watercolour on 16 x 20 inch panel. This piece is the latest in my Northern Journeys series, which features iconic canoes on northern lakes.

The painting was inspired by this photo I took of an island while on a 1000 Island cruise last summer. The moment I caught sight of this tree-covered chunk of weathered rock in the St. Lawrence River, I knew I had to paint it. When I saw that my photo had captured clearly the rippled reflection, I decided to take on the challenge of featuring this difficult painting aspect as well.

Before I started the painting, I already knew its name. 'And Nothing Else Matters' is the title of one of my two favourite songs by Metallica, but also refers to the idea of escaping the cares and concerns of everyday life by returning to the peace and tranquility of Nature. It is ironic that I should name this quiet, serene scene after a heavy metal song from the 1990's.

Without further ado, here are the sequential steps of creating this intricate artwork:

DAY 1: I have finished the 16 x 20 inch pencil sketch on 300 lb watercolour paper. So this artwork would fit my Northern Journeys theme, I decided to add to the foreground of the composition a rocky shore with a canoe resting on it. This gives the viewer a sense of happy anticipation of the wonders of Nature that await discovery.

DAYS 2 & 3: Using masking tape and masking fluid, I masked out all shorelines so I would be able to paint the water quickly using a wet-in-wet technique. 

After wetting the upper half of the scene and painting the sky, I blotted out colour where it overlapped the tree shapes. Then I wet the lower half and added the base layer for the water. After drying overnight, I painted a second layer on the water. 

I don't often paint reflections on rippling water, so I am feeling my way gradually, trying to create complex wave patterns that make sense and draw the eye towards the island.

DAYS 4 & 5: After completing five layers of paint on the water, (enough that I am confident no more wet-in-wet paint application will be needed), I let the painting dry fully and removed all masking from shorelines. 

The blue sky reflections on rippling water are not complete but are starting to look more realistic. Work on the tan and green island reflections has begun.

DAY 6: The island's reflections are mostly done, and I am very happy with the effect. 

The first layer of colour on the foreground rocks is on and salted, and I have begun applying the 'grisaille' (monochromatic values) layer to the island rocks, to lock in the shadow and crevice shapes.

DAYS 7 & 8: The island rock is mostly done, and I am very happy with the effect. I have revelled in painting the rocky places of Canada for almost 40 years and thoroughly enjoy portraying their quiet strength and beauty in watercolour. 

I have begun the grassy patch in the foreground, which is causing me some concern as I experiment with this section. Working from my imagination on this bit brings risks and challenges.

DAY 9: I have started to paint the trees on the island and this section of the painting is going well. In the early decades of my art practice, I had great difficulty painting masses of foliage. I kept observing and practising, paying attention to shapes and shadows, and eventually developed a successful strategy for this type of subject. 

Adding more dark greens to the island reflection has made the lighter areas representing the rock reflections 'pop'. I didn't know if I could manage to create realistic water reflections, but I finally can say the water is done and I am pleased with the result.

I have added shadows and contours to the rock in the foreground, which is causing me some concern as I experiment with this section. The line where the rock meets the blue water looks awkward. I now realize I extended the imagined shadowed crevices all the way to the flat edge of the rock - a rookie move. I will have to think about how to redo this section.

DAY 10: While considering my options for fixing the problematic foreground rock shadows, I switched to painting the canoe. Some would call this procrastination... :-)

Then I tried lifting excess paint from the rock shadows using a stiff wet brush, but the paint had stained the paper and wouldn't come off. Time to bring out the big guns!

After the paper dried, to the right of the canoe I masked off the water where it meets the foreground rock. I used torn strips of masking tape, to create an irregular edge. 

I then used a wet Magic Eraser to scrub off paint everywhere I wanted to recapture the feeling of sunlight on stone. This erasing process removed the upper layer of paper along with the paint, creating a rougher paper surface; however, since the subject is rock, having a rough texture is no problem. 

Once the paper was dry, I painted on new, smaller rock crevices and texture, and I think the rock looks much more realistic now.

DAY 11: Here I am in my studio working on the painting. I finished painting the trees on the island and thought the painting was complete. 

While reviewing the whole composition, I realized the tidy patch of grass under the canoe was illogical. It should look more like the island, covered in tree debris. 

So how to change course? The green pigments had stained the paper and could not be removed with a wet brush. 

Solution: I covered the green grass with three coats of absorbent ground medium. This created a white area the precise shape I needed, with absorbent properties resembling virgin watercolour paper.

DAY 12: I painted on dried leaves and twigs under the canoe to finish the scene... finally! Once fully dry, I mounted the painting onto an archival wood panel and protected it with seven coats of UV-resistant varnish. (To see my full process of framing watercolour paintings without glass, click here.) 

There was barely time to frame the finished painting before it was acquired by one of my collectors in Ottawa, ON. Everyone is delighted that this master work has found its forever home.

I hope you have enjoyed this insider's view of my painting strategies. There is so much more to planning and executing a painting than most people think. For more details about And Nothing Else Matters, click here.

I am profoundly grateful to live this artist's life, being able to share with the world my soul-deep connection with nature and the art it inspires.

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