Just one week now till the official change of seasons, and my summer camp experience is coming to a close. Back in June, I'd researched and selected the late 19th – early 20th century Adirondack artists who I was counting on to help me fill "the Empty Frame." I knew as soon as I discovered him that I'd be saving the best until last – Harold Weston, who some critics of the time had nicknamed "the Thoreau of the Adirondacks."
I have a particular soft spot for him, for all the reasons noted in this very readable short article -- his strong response to nature, the improbable love story, his perseverance despite medical challenges, and most of all – for his part-time hermit's life in a remote cabin. There's another reason, too. In the past year and across the expanse of time, I've "met" the father of a NY state school friend via his unpublished memoir that she's bringing together for her grandchildren. He was a near contemporary of Weston's and – curiouser and curiouser – from an entirely different background, he embraced the Adirondacks at first sight and spent a similar remote existence in a makeshift cabin in the very years and the very region where the young Weston was first living there solo. They might have criss-crossed snowshoe tracks!
At first sight, I was so taken with Weston that I sought out the book he wrote – he was as fine a writer as he was an artist. Thank you, Vancouver Public Library and inter-library loan services – eventually, the book reached me for a firm 3-week loan (no renewals!) from the University of Alberta library.
In this 2-minute video, you can see his granddaughter introducing the book and some of its photos, along with the more "futuristic" paintings that marked his late career.
I was – and am – so taken with Weston that I decided not to try any funny business this time. Here's one of his self-portraits, and of course, the firm use of line and outline is always a draw for me.
I decided my best lesson would come from trying to copy it. Here's an early stage.
And the finale: "Framed: Harold Weston."
Now, to a landscape – Weston's "Adirondacks in Autumn." Again, his use of line intrigues me.
I paired this with a photo I took from Grouse Mountain...
...and set to work over an old painting.
And here's the final: "Midsummer - Looking Southeast from Grouse Mountain" – Empty Frame series, copyright 2023.
It's by no means flawless – rather, it's at that stage where it's best to just down the brushes. But – as with Weston and his superlative results, it's been something of a labour of love.
It sounds silly – but inevitable – that as I worked to finish this over the past two weeks, I couldn't help but think of "September Song."
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