After a year spent focusing on my starlight series, making paintings featuring moonlight, northern lights, and sunsets, I felt the urge to paint rocks again.

If you don't already know, rocks and I go way back... All my life, I have felt the magnetic pull of stone, from mountains to boulders to pebbles to grains of sand. I find all these forms of rock to be utterly fascinating and beautiful.

Perhaps it was my childhood spent near Algonquin Park, surrounded by the terrain of the Canadian Shield, that makes me instinctively drawn to rock-filled wilderness scenery.

So, last month I pulled out some reference photos I took last summer on Lake Superior while we camped at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park near Rossport, ON. This is a gorgeous park with a pebble beach and huge boulders and bedrock along the shore.

I love to explore these rocks and ponder how Nature carved these shapes with water, wind, and ice. Imagine the stories this stone has witnessed over millions of years. 

I had dozens of inspiring photos to choose from and settled on this gem featuring a huge rock slab shoreline. When I took the photo, I made sure a tree was reflected in the large puddle. I made a vertical shot so the cracks in the foreground rocks lead the eye into the scene. The photo had been taken on a partly cloudy day but I was able to lighten and brighten it before printing, to simulate a sunnier scene.

I decided on a half sheet painting (22 by 14 inches) that fit a custom art panel and float frame I had on hand, and sketched the scene onto 300 lb watercolour paper.

After making colour tests to make sure I could mix the colours I would need when painting this subject, I selected Sennelier primary paint colours (Sennelier Red, Sennelier Yellow Deep, and Phthalocyanine Blue) and Neutral Tint made by Maimeri.

Only these four colours would be used to paint this scene. Both Sennelier and Maimeri make fantastic artist quality paints and I have been delighted to work with them on several occasions.

In my paintings of rocky subjects, I paint the dark shadows and cracks first and then add the stone colours afterwards. This sequencing took me several years to develop and is the reverse of traditional watercolour methods (which often begin with large pale washes and darks are added at the end).

My method lets me paint shadows and dark details while I can see my pencil lines clearly. I have learned it is best to use a staining mixture for the black colour, so subsequent colour layers don't blur the black lines too much.

As I painted this scene, I kept pausing to take photos of my work in progress, so I could show you the steps involved in creating this painting.

Here is a one-minute time lapse video that summarizes the steps involved and shows you the flow of this painting from start to finish.

Click on the picture below to view the video.

This painting has been acquired by a collector in Pakistan (read that story here), but custom print reproductions of this image are available through my print-on-demand publisher FineArtAmerica. Click here for details.

I have many more dramatic photos of this beach and am looking forward to creating more paintings of this remarkable place. If you are a 'rockaholic' like me, you will understand my compulsion.

Here is a photo I took of my husband looking out into the lake that really inspires me. I love the scale of the rocks and their lichen-covered surfaces. I will attempt a painting of it one day soon. 

Do you have favourite spots on Lake Superior I should visit? If you have suggestions or comments you wish to share, please do so using the 'Leave a Comment' button at the top of this post. 

Subscribe to Karen's Newsletter if you wish to see more of her painting stories, travel tales, studio news updates, or notices of upcoming exhibitions.

For the last two months I have been working steadily in my art studio, completing the seven new watercolours shown in this post. During this late fall season, I have enjoyed making art beside my cosy fireplace, while daylight hours continue to shorten outside my window.

The series of 'after dark' paintings I began a year ago continues to intrigue me. It has been exciting to experiment with new pigment combinations and create these magically dusky skies. My latest batch of paintings includes scenes of twilight and northern lights.

The photo above shows the middle stage of my latest northern lights scenes, with the skies completed.

Painting skies was the most difficult part of the process, as layer after layer of colour was brushed on (with a day to dry in between) to build up saturated hues and gradual colour transitions. The darkest sky sections were achieved in the final few coats of paint. I would say each sky required five to eight layers to complete.

The foreground landscapes and trees were added once the paper was fully dry, to complete the paintings shown below.

Whispers in the Dark, varnished watercolour on 8 x 8 inch panel.

Sometimes northern lights are powerful and vast, and other times they are barely a whisper of light. In this night sky, the aurora provide just enough illumination to silhouette a few treetops.

Click here for more information about this piece.

Into the Night, varnished watercolour on 8 x 8 inch panel.

Standing silently under a canopy of starlight, these venerable pines in a northern forest look up into the night. They witness the vastness of the universe, bathed in the glow of northern lights.

I love the colour gradation from bright green to navy blue in this painting.

Click here for more information about this piece.

Dancing in the Dark, varnished watercolour on 12 x 12 inch panel.

Northern lights ripple across the night sky, reaching down to touch the horizon. A tiny island, cloaked in evergreens and nestled in mist, beholds the spectacle. It is as if the aurora are asking the trees to dance.

Click here for more information about this piece.

Night Magic, varnished watercolour on 9 x 12 inch panel.

The slim elegance of these trees hides an indomitable strength that allows them to withstand decades or even centuries of frigid northern winters. Their perseverance is rewarded on this spring night by a performance of northern lights.

The reference photo for this painting was taken by my Facebook friend Randy Whitbread of Flin Flon, Manitoba, and used with his gracious permission.

Click here for more information about this piece.

Aurora Fantasy, varnished watercolour on 9 x 12 inch panel.

In this dreamlike scene, northern lights illuminate the horizon with multi-hued rays, like nebulous curtains billowing across the universe. Ancient forests and a frozen river stand in awe of the glorious performance.

I had great difficulty with this painting. The icy river looked too dark initially and the aurora resembled a weird green sunset. I kept darkening the foreground until the river ice started to 'pop' and cropped off the upper sky so the aurora dominated. I love the result.

Click here for more information about this piece.

Starlight Lake, varnished watercolour on 8 x 8 inch panel.

In this simple northern lake scene, stars twinkle above rocks and trees, while the surface of the water seems lit from within by the faint glow of northern lights.

Click here for more information about this piece.

Starlight Magic, varnished watercolour on 6 x 12 inch panel.

This simple lakeside scene complete with Muskoka chairs for viewing sunsets was inspired by a photo taken by Lee Warner of Port Perry, ON, and used with her permission.

Click here for more information about this piece.

I look forward to lots of quiet painting days this holiday season and sharing the results with you. I have enjoyed delving into my northern lights series but feel like moving on to new subject matter. I wonder what that will be... Stay tuned!

If you have comments you wish to share, please do so using the 'Leave a Comment' button at the top of this post. 

Subscribe to Karen's Newsletter to see more of her painting stories, travel tales, studio news updates, or notices of upcoming exhibitions.

This past August, as my husband and I explored the north shore of Lake Superior with our travel trailer in tow, we had the immense good fortune to obtain a serviced camping site for a week in a most amazing place that very few people have heard about: Pukaskwa National Park.

Over the years, we had seen the sign for the turnoff to this Park on Hwy 17 between Wawa and Marathon and finally dropped in for a few hours in the summer of 2020, to check out the camping facilities.

We were so impressed by that short glimpse of the Park that we made plans to camp there this year.

Pukaskwa (pronounced PUCK-a-saw) has been a National Park for over 40 years and covers an area of 1,878 square kilometres (725 sq mi), protecting part of the longest undeveloped shoreline anywhere on the Great Lakes.

There are four large natural sand driftwood beaches in the Park, three of which are pictured here. (That is my husband John walking on a typically uncrowded beach.)

Our stay coincided with a week of hot, dry weather due to a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico pushing a warm front up our way.

Even though summer high temperatures along the shore usually max out at 15 C (59 F), we enjoyed a whole week of daytime highs of 24 C (75 F) and mild nights. There were no mosquitoes or black flies, but lots of birds and butterflies.

It was a glorious week; we swam, strolled the beaches, went for hikes, paddled in our kayaks, ate alfresco meals at our campsite, and generally enjoyed being out in nature in perfect conditions.

There were four easy to moderate hiking trails surrounding the campground, all less than 4 km (2.5 miles) in length. A few of them took us high above the lake to viewpoints that offered stunning vistas such as those shown here. The trails were so awe-inspiring that we hiked them more than once.

The water is very clear, and the white sand bottom gives the water a turquoise appearance similar to Caribbean or Mediterranean waters. But the wonderful thing is, Lake Superior holds fresh water, not salt, so there was nothing to bite, sting, or eat us while we swam!

This lake is so vast, you think you are looking at the ocean when there is only water as far as you can see. It is the largest body of fresh water on earth, with a surface area of over 82,000 square km (31,660 square miles), and over 4,000 km (2,500 miles) of shoreline.

We spent a lovely afternoon in our kayaks exploring the protected bay of Hattie Cove. (Our kayaks are too short to withstand the waves out past the islands.)

These photos show us with massive rock cliffs in the background. The bay was shallow and featured many interesting islands of varying sizes and shapes.

There is something about islands, even tiny ones, that always captures my attention. I'm certain the ones shown in this post will be featured in my paintings some day. 

Speaking of paintings, I wrote an article about my first six paintings inspired by Pukaskwa. Check out New Works: Nights on Fire.

To sum up our week-long experience, I think the Park pamphlet says it best:

"Pukaskwa National Park is a vast, wild, natural playground found on the edge of the world's largest freshwater lake. It's a place where powerful waves collide with rugged, towering coastlines; a place of endless sunsets over sandy driftwood beaches...A place where Lake Superior's untouched beauty can be seen, experienced and remembered by all who visit."

I agree wholeheartedly.

As in all National Parks, Pukaskwa has a pair of those iconic red Muskoka chairs installed, overlooking picturesque Pulpwood Harbour. What a lovely spot this was to rest after a day spent clambering over these magnificent rocks. 

I have a treasure trove of photos from our time in Pukaskwa, ready to inspire more new paintings. Stay tuned!

If you have comments you wish to share, please do so using the 'Leave a Comment' button at the top of this post. 

Subscribe to Karen's Newsletter to see more of her painting stories, travel tales, studio news updates, or notices of upcoming exhibitions.

In a previous post, Smoke on the Water, I revealed four paintings inspired by our time at Lake of the Woods in northwestern Ontario this summer. After our stay there, my husband and I slowly traveled east for a few weeks, exploring the north shore of Lake Superior.

Luckily, we obtained the last available camp site (shown here) in Pukaskwa National Park near Marathon, for a week-long stay. We enjoyed hot sunny weather every day, which is rare on the Lake Superior shore. A 50-amp electrical hookup, as well as music from our satellite radio, were icing on our cake.

Pukaskwa (pronounced PUCK-a-saw) has been a National Park for over 40 years and covers an area of 1,878 square kilometres (725 sq mi), protecting part of the longest undeveloped shoreline anywhere on the Great Lakes. This photo shows me kayaking in a protected bay near our campground. 

We were so charmed and delighted by this gorgeous park that I have posted a photo article entirely devoted to the highlights of our stay. See Pukaskwa: Lake Superior Perfection (Top Ten Photos).

For now, I would like to show you the first six paintings this special place inspired me to create. I assumed my initial pieces would feature magnificent Lake Superior water and rocks, but in fact the trees start out as the stars of this show.

One evening during our stay, we were strolling through the campground and I noticed how beautiful and varied the tall tree silhouettes were against the twilight sky.

I took a few dozen reference photos such as this one, looking up at the treetops.

Back in my wee mobile studio (otherwise known as the dinette in our trailer), I let my imagination run loose. I wondered what would those trees look like with a radiant sunset, starry night sky, northern light display, or a combination of these backdrops.

These paintings are the result of absorbing the essence of this magical place and letting my creativity soar.

#1: Sweet Dreams, varnished watercolour on 8 x 8 inch panel. Click here for more information about this piece.

#2: Nightfall, (below) varnished watercolour on 12 x 9 inch panel. Click here for more information about this piece.

#3: Awakening, varnished watercolour on 9 x 12 inch panel. Click here for more information about this piece.

#4: Last Light, (below) varnished watercolour on 10 x 10 inch panel. Click here for more information about this piece.

Then I progressed to these northern lights scenes:

#5: Night Fire, varnished watercolour on 10 x 10 inch panel. Click here for more information about this piece.

#6: Night on Fire, (below) varnished watercolour on 8 x 8 inch panel. Click here for more information about this piece.

I look forward to sharing with you more inspiration from this exquisite National Park. Stay tuned!

If you have comments you wish to share, please do so using the 'Leave a Comment' button at the top of this post. 

Subscribe to Karen's Newsletter to see more of her painting stories, travel tales, studio news updates, or notices of upcoming exhibitions.

All my life, I have felt the magnetic pull of stone, from mountains to boulders to pebbles to grains of sand.

Perhaps it was my childhood spent near Algonquin Park, surrounded by the terrain of the Canadian Shield, that makes me instinctively drawn to rock-filled wilderness scenery.

Pictured here is 'Superior Jewels' (varnished watercolour on 20 x 16" panel), a painting that features the beautiful weathered stones of a Canadian Shield fresh water beach.

Many people I meet at art shows or in my art classes are as captivated by beach pebbles as I.

We often talk about our shared fascination with smooth stones, especially those displaying unusual colours or interesting patterns.

During a classroom chat about four years ago, one of my painting students suggested I would enjoy a visit to Pebble Beach in the town of Marathon on Lake Superior's northern shore.

Since then, my husband and I have visited this beach once or twice every year.

Shown here are three views looking eastward along the shore, photographed during three separate visits.

The beach and lake look different every time, due to the weather conditions of the moment (sun, clouds, fog, wind).

Marathon's Pebble Beach is composed of smooth round stones the size of citrus fruits - from limes to grapefruits.

The colours are rich and varied, especially when the stones are wet, and many have interesting stripes or other markings.

One wonders how stones from many different rocky origins ended up in one place. Imagine the journeys they have undertaken over millions of years to reach this gathering place.

I always wear my hiking boots to explore this beach, as walking on these piles of shifting 'bowling balls' with camera in hand is a tricky prospect.

Shown here is the westward view along Pebble Beach.

So far, I have completed two paintings of this beach, choosing a low point of view for the composition to give the stones more prominence. Both of these paintings have been acquired by private collectors.

I photographed each step of my painting process and created one-minute time lapse videos, to show you the flow of these paintings from start to finish.

Click on the pictures below to view the videos and get an idea of how I work.

The Making of 'Superior Jewels' (2021):

The Creation of 'Superior Gems' (2018):

I have many more dramatic photos of this beach and am looking forward to creating more paintings of this remarkable place. If you are a 'rockaholic' like me, you will understand my compulsion.

Here is a photo looking out into the lake that really inspires me. I will attempt a painting of it one day when I need a serious 'pebble fix'. 

Do you have favourite spots on Lake Superior I should visit? If you have suggestions or comments you wish to share, please do so using the 'Leave a Comment' button at the top of this post. 

Subscribe to Karen's Newsletter if you wish to see more of her painting stories, travel tales, studio news updates, or notices of upcoming exhibitions.

Earlier this month, my husband and I camped in our trailer while visiting family at Lake of the Woods for ten beautiful days.

The weather was fine and hot, but every day was hazy or overcast due to smoke from forest fires burning in northern Ontario and western Canada.

Some days we could smell the smoke, even though the fires were not in our region.

I thought that photography would be challenging, but the haze actually provided some interesting atmospheric effects in my photos of islands in the lake.

While staying at Lake of the Woods, I was able to work on four small paintings inspired by 'smoky' photos such as those shown here.

Each day, I set up a tiny 'mobile studio' at the dinette in our trailer, to work on these paintings for an hour or two in the morning.

There was just enough room to work on small format paintings (8 x 8" or 10 x 10"). I protected the upholstery from paint splashes with plastic tablecloths.

When traveling, I take minimal painting supplies with me: a small paint palette with lid, a fistful of brushes, a few tubes of paint in primary colours, cloth rags, and pre-cut watercolour paper taped to foam core supports. 

I mixed up a big batch of blue paint in a tin camping mug, used my metal mixing bowls to rinse brushes, and relied on a tub of rolled oats to support my boards at the right angle. I'm a big believer in 'making do' with equipment on hand when we go camping.

The four new paintings are pictured here, along with their titles and 'stories'.

Click on each image to see the painting in its frame, art value, and availability.

#1

Beyond Blue Water, varnished watercolour on 8 x 8" panel.

Under the glow of a million stars and a full moon, a cluster of venerable pines guards the rocky shore of a northern lake, while the evening mist approaches.

#2

Blue Bliss, varnished watercolour on 10 x 10" panel.

Bathed in the gentle glow of moon and stars, weathered rocks and trees survey the surrounding lake from a cluster of islands. What a blissful place this would be to spend the seasons.

#3

Blue Beckons, varnished watercolour on 8 x 8" panel.

As mist floats in on a soft breeze on this northern lake, the glow of the moon and stars reflects off the water. Rocky points, laden with clusters of pine trees, appear to float in the mist.

#4

Just the Stars for Company, varnished watercolour on 8 x 8" panel.

On a quiet summer night on a still northern lake, the landscape is reduced to its simplest forms. A lone pine tree perches atop a rocky island, enveloped in a gentle mist, with just the stars for company.

I have a treasure trove of more photos of Lake of the Woods islands, ready to inspire more new paintings. Stay tuned!

If you have comments you wish to share, please do so using the 'Leave a Comment' button at the top of this post. 

Subscribe to Karen's Newsletter to see more of her painting stories, travel tales, studio news updates, or notices of upcoming exhibitions.

Shown here is 'Our Place' an 11 x 14" watercolour that I created recently for good friends of ours, to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

This lovely cottage property named 'Screeching Pines' is in the Haliburton Highlands region of Ontario. My husband and I have spent many weekends there, in all seasons, over the last 30 years.

Back in the day, this building was a commercial establishment - a dance pavilion - and after purchasing it, our friends moved the structure onto a new foundation and basement walkout level. Now there are nine comfortable bedrooms plus loft, 4 modern bathrooms, a large garage, a well-equipped kitchen, and an enormous great room with cathedral ceiling - room for a whole gang of people.

In winter months when snow was plentiful, a big group of us would go snowmobiling from here, returning at the end of each riding day, grateful for a warm fire and delicious food followed by board games and conversation.

In spring and fall, we often joined the seasonal changeover crew, putting the dock in or out of the lake, getting snowmobiles ready for riding or storage, cleaning, and working on whatever maintenance or upgrades were scheduled that season.

Occasionally in the summertime, we would drive up on our motorcycles for the day and enjoy some summer fun on the lake with our friends and their kids and grand kids.

So, even though I don't do many architectural commissions these days, when our friend asked if I could make a painting of 'Screeching Pines' in only two weeks, as a surprise 50th anniversary gift for his wife, from photos he would email me, I agreed.

The fact that I have spent so much time at this place, meant that my memory and imagination could 'fill in the blanks' where needed, and construct a scene that really captured the feeling of this special piece of heaven.

Despite time pressures, during the design and execution of this artwork, I stopped and took photos of the work in progress at many intervals. From these photos, I put together a time lapse video of the whole project. This custom video is my anniversary gift to our friends.

Click on the image below to view the 4-minute story.

If you have comments you wish to share, please do so using the 'Leave a Comment' button at the top of this post. 

Subscribe to Karen's Newsletter to see more of her painting stories, travel tales, studio news updates, or notices of upcoming exhibitions.

For the last two months I have been working diligently in my art studio, completing the seven new watercolours shown below. During this late winter season, I have enjoyed making art beside my cosy fireplace, while daylight hours continued to lengthen outside my window. I welcome the advent of spring that is upon us.

You might assume my studio would be full of new paintings by now, with the pace I have been setting (painting an average of one painting each week since the fall), but most of my new works have gone on to collectors or out for display at my retail galleries. I still have two empty walls in my studio that need filling, but I am extremely grateful that my artwork is capturing the attention of collectors even during this pandemic.

The series of 'after dark' paintings I began late last year continues to intrigue me. It has been exciting to experiment with new pigment combinations and create these magically dusky skies. My latest batch of paintings includes scenes of sunset, twilight, starlight, moonlight, and dawn.

Today, I am sharing the stories behind the creation of these new artworks, beginning with the two blue moonlight-on-water scenes.

These two varnished watercolours are different sizes of the same scene. On the upper left is Moonbeam Dream (8 x 8" panel) and on the lower right is Moonbeam Melody (10 x 10" panel). In both pieces, the reflection of a full moon shimmers on the lake like a dancing flame. The heavens are so dark a blue they almost appear black - a perfect backdrop for the celestial bodies that shine in the night. 

The smaller painting was requested by a client and I enjoyed painting this simple but evocative scene so much that I proceeded to make the larger one as well. I also painted this scene in February for another client. It's a popular scene.

These paintings were inspired by a photo I took of the full moon over Lake Ontario last summer. We were camping steps from the shore and the blue of the water and sky was captivating. Thankfully my camera was able to capture the rich colour (shown at right).

To make the distant headland more interesting, I changed it to a group of islands I photographed at Lake Superior (shown below). I had to imagine what the islands would look like in moonlight rather than sunlight. I also added the stars to make the scene extra special.

Click here for more details about Moonbeam Melody.

The next painting shown here is Dancing With the Moon, varnished watercolour on 10 x 10" panel. A stately pine bows gracefully towards a resplendent moon playing peekaboo with a delicate swirl of clouds. Together they dance under a canopy of stars.

The genesis for this painting was a photo I took at my sister-in-law's home on Lake of the Woods. We were sitting at her camp fire one evening last summer when the full moon rose over the trees (shown below left) and I grabbed my camera. I loved the soft blue and purple colours of the sky that were revealed when I lightened the digital photo later on.

I found another photo I took during that trip, of tree tops in Lake Superior Provincial Park (shown below right). I used some of the dramatic tree silhouettes in the painting.

Click here to see more details about Dancing With the Moon.

Shown here is Land of a Million Stars, varnished watercolour on 16 x 12" panel. The slim elegance of these trees hides an indomitable strength that allows them to withstand decades or even centuries of frigid northern winters. Their perseverance is rewarded on perfectly clear nights by a glimpse of the Milky Way.

This painting was inspired by a photo taken by my Facebook friend Randy Whitbread, an avid photographer who lives in Flin Flon, Manitoba. When I saw his photo (below right) , I knew it would make a super painting, although a technically difficult one (and I was right).

When I was close to finishing, I decided my painted sky was too bland. I referred to the photos of another Facebook friend, professional photographer James Shedden from Magnetawan, ON to add my interpretation of the Milky Way. An example of his beautiful night photography is shown below left.

  

I am tremendously grateful to these intrepid fellows who allow me to use their photos in my paintings. They can capture northern night images that I cannot.

Click here for more information about Land of a Million Stars.

 

Shown here is Twilight Magic, varnished watercolour on 6 x 12" panel. Northern lakes are the places in nature that heal the stress of my busy life, calm my mind, and restore my equilibrium. I love them beyond measure and cannot imagine a life that does not offer frequent immersion in these magical landscapes throughout the year.

This photo was inspired by the photo (shown here) posted on Facebook by our friend and former neighbour, Lee Warner of Port Perry, ON. This is the view from the property where she used to live. I loved the way the last rays of sunlight silhouetted the Muskoka chairs and distinctive cedar trees of the shoreline.

Click here to see more details about Twilight Magic.

 

Shown here is Morning Calm, varnished watercolour on 8 x 10" panel. This iconic diving raft is often seen in the quiet bays of northern Ontario lakes, near family cottages. A luminous sunrise reflected on the water makes the solitary raft our sole focus. It brings memories of summer fun, when swimmers played in the bay, and reminds us that soon summer will be here again.