John Christie Art - Blog

Gull River - Horseshoe Rapids

2/8/2024

It was very warm and humid by the river but it was a fun day to be outside painting. I was with Harvey Walker and Scott Rubie beside the Horseshoe Rapids on the Gull River. A group of very courageous paddlers were having a blast running through the rapids and entertaining us while we worked.

This painting is 24" X 18" and was a huge challenge because of the size. I was struggling to keep the paint on my palette moist and workable. I went through a lot of paint but I feel that it was worth it. I'm happy with this one

Men Wielding Brushes

20/4/2024

I stayed at the Wolf Den Nature Retreat and spent four days painting with Scott Rubie, Harvey Walker and Gordon Jones. Andrew Sookrah joined us on day two.

I admire the artistic skills of all these gentlemen, so it made for a very intense time. We painted a lot, laughed a lot, and slept a little. Do all plein air artists get up at 5:00 am? I came home both wired from adrenaline and exhausted from lack of sleep, but it was so worth it.

All the paintings below were done on this retreat. The first is an old tree behind the Snow Owl Cabin where we stayed. The second is at the 53 Km marker on the highway in the park. The third is the crazy spring flow in the Oxtongue Rapids just outside the park. Next is a painting painted at the same location that it is believed that Tom Thomson painted his painting "Northern River. I rushed this one because there was an approaching storm. The board walk is on the Spruce Bog Trail. Again, I rushed to beat the impending rain and this time it came. The last image is of Harvey Walker. He is painting under the overhang of the porch and I was under my umbrella. I am proud to be a part of this group cannot wait to paint with these guys again .

Eagles Nest Trail

22/6/2023

I went to Eagles Nest Park and met up with Kathy Haycock. We hiked down a trail to the valley floor and found ourselves in a very wild and tangled wetland. Kathy very carefully walked down an old closed trail to get a more open view. I elected to paint the trail climbing up around a rock outcrop. We both struggled and got frustrated by the mess of trunks, branches and shrubs. As is often the case we both liked what the other managed to produce but we were both unhappy with our own.

In hindsight I discovered that Kathy actually came to paint the Eagles Nest Vista. Oops! Sorry! I was outside painting in good company so I was happy. At least until we had to cart everything back up to the parking lot.

I'm Finally Getting My Act Together

24/4/2023

I haven't been motivated to paint much since the death of a very dear artist friend and mentor about 18 months ago. Debbie told me the only valid excuse, in her mind, for me not doing more work around the house was if I was busy painting. I got painting.

I decided to go back to my original joy. Watercolours. I had forgotten how much fun it was watching paint flow to places that you didn't think that you wanted it or accidental blooms that formed because you had too much water on your brush. With watercolour I can blame the paint for mistakes. I don't have to take ownership of the looseness.

This was painted outdoors on a glorious day. It was about 10 degrees with a warm sun on my back. It was cool enough that the paint didn't dry too fast and dry enough that it did dry.

I had the added bonus of having a wonderful artist friend, Ken Balmer chatting with me off and on.

This has me excited about painting again.

Especially outdoors.

Time to get my act together

1/6/2022

Can it really be a year since I last posted in my blog. A very busy year culminated with the sudden loss of my very dear friend and mentor, Catherine Gibbon. I have been a bit overwhelmed and my art suffered. It is time to wake up and make time to work.

I started this small sketch just because I had to do something but I wasn't sure what. I have done many of these sketches when Debbie and I were on road trips or paddling and they are fun so I decided it might be good therapy. It was. I am going to do more and dedicated a website page to them. I will do most on location but this was done in my studio using Google Street View on my phone.

Now to put a kit together and get out there painting.

High Falls

5/6/2021

This week the plein air group painted at the property of two artist friends. Sally and Ken have magnificent views of High Falls.

Keith Thurgood and I were standing out on the rocky riverbed. The mosquitoes in the bush were horrendous but in the open we had a swarm of dragon flies taking care of them.

There is lots that I like about this painting but I realized when I got home that I have the falls and dam too high and narrow. The beauty in the dam and falls lies in the width as much as the height. It is a long concrete wall.

Eagles Nest

30/5/2021

The A PLACE for the ARTS Plein Air Group has been meeting once a week for three weeks now. We have never had more than five artists out to paint however it has been a different group every week so I am making some new artist friends and finding some amazing painting locations in the Bancroft area. I'm not overly excited about my paintings but it has been really good to be out working, with company, on a regular basis again. The image to the left was taken at Centre Lake and the painting is of Eagles Nest from the bottom.

Happy Highlands East

1/9/2020

Paudash Lake early spring 2020 acrylic on canvas

I haven't posted since the end of January. Sadly I have been far too busy to pay much attention to my art. We decided last August to buy my parents home on Paudash Lake and we began packing in earnest in February. We moved up here mid March and have been unpacking and renovating ever since. I have now joined A Place for the Arts which is an amazing artist run co-op in Bancroft. There is still lots of work to do here especially as fall quickly approaches but my dear wife. Debbie, informed me that I had to get out and paint. I am getting far too grumpy.

I agree. I have been scouting out some locations and I hope to get out tomorrow. We will see how that goes.

Go Big 2

28/1/2020

Week two in Laurie's class I brought this 9"X12" sketch that I did at Wakami Lake Provincial Park. I figured that if I went big with it I could get more layers of clouds and increase the sense of depth. I always finished a painting in one sitting. When working outside it is very difficult to go back to the same location with the same conditions. Finishing a plein air painting inside usually kills the freshness.

I worked on this 20"X24" painting for a full class (about 5 hours) and put it away for two weeks. It was close but it still needed some work. I brought it back to class and put in a few more hours on it. I am really excited about this one. These aren't masterpieces but I have made the jump to painting larger from my sketches. I have always found the idea intimidating however I can now see me spending a lot of time in my studio at the lake.

Go Big or Go Home

19/1/2020

Go home to a new home. We are moving.

Debbie and I are moving into my family home near Bancroft, Ontario and the thought of having a studio, albeit small, with a view of the lake has me energized. I was starting to feel like I was in a rut. I am getting better but I am doing the same thing over and over. A new home in a new environment seemed the perfect time to rethink what I am doing. I have taken Laurie Wonfor Nolan's abstract class a couple of times and she has inspired me to paint big and to think of composition in abstract terms. I have wanted to do some large pieces from my sketches so I enrolled in her open studio class to get help.

For the first class I took this plein air sketch that I painted last summer on Willisville Mountain. I thought that it had lots of potential because of the stormy feel to the painting.

I am excited and encouraged by this result. It was thrilling to be using a big brush and full arm movements while I painted it. I am not sure that it is finished but I will put it aside for a week or so and look at it fresh. This painting is 24" by 30" acrylic on stretched canvas.