Light-headed in the mountain air

 

Taking a plein air field trip, as previously described, was a new experience for me.  But I regularly make expeditions – loosely defined, for my purposes, as any outing farther than six blocks from home and lasting more than three hours.  The best are even longer, like the commemorative day-trip I make to Grouse Mountain every July.

 

From our first days in Vancouver, the mountains have called to me, and now their voices sound plaintive as the City of Vancouver rushes to eliminate our historic "view cones".  I was stewing about this as two things happened within a week of my Grouse expedition.  In a studio clean-up session, I pulled out some old newspapers and saw a 2017 ad for an exhibit I wish I'd seen then – "Forty Views of Mount Baker" by a local artist who turned out wonderful work during his career as a pediatric ER physician and now continues into retirement.  Eventually, he produced 80 views of Mount Baker and many more paintings on other subjects, too.

 

Then, my friend M put me on to a Globe & Mail article about Sue and Jim Waddington. Now in their 80s, they've spent decades searching out the original settings for Group of Seven landscapes.  This charming video, introduced by their 12-year-old granddaughter, shows and tells their story.

 

Canadian readers of this blog (you didn't know its readership is international?!) need no introduction to the Group of Seven, but others might want a little background.

 

Clearly the stars were aligning for my next Summer Camp project.  Drawing from the same inspiration as the Mount Baker artist, I felt it was time to do my own series -- with thanks to the  original Viewer, the "Old Man Mad About Art" – Hokusai.  Checking out his "Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji", I was astonished to discover something I'd never thought about before – his famous  "Great Wave" is actually the first in this series, with Mt. Fuji in the far distance.

 

How many views would I paint?  Let's make it seven, one to emulate each of the Group of Seven artists.  So grab some trail mix and get set to go.

 

Here's the plan.  For each view, you'll also see my sources:-- A photograph of Grouse Mountain (taken by me, any old time in the past); a roughly comparable scene from Hokusai's 36 Views (think shapes, not media); a somewhat comparable scene from a Group of Seven artist (again, think shapes, horizontals, verticals, and paint handling); finally, my emulation of the scene in the manner of that artist.  Here we go:--

 

Grouse View #1:  The view from my north window (with my camera's setting bringing Grouse nearer and looking much larger);  Hokusai's "Nihonbashi Bridge"; artist A. Y. Jackson's  "Port Joli, Quebec"; my emulation in the manner of Jackson.

Grouse View #2:  Grouse from Bard on the Beach; Hokusai's "Mitsui Tea Shop"; "Northern Hills" by Arthur Lismer; my emulation, "Peaks."

 

And just one more, Grouse View #3:   Snow and flowering cherries in East Van; Hokusai's "Inume Pass"; "Near the Berry Patch," by Franz Johnston; my emulation, "Grouse from Lanark Street."

 

 

Whew!  I'd say this is already a long read for a long weekend.  We'll catch the rest of my Views the next time.  And now, as daylight fades, I'll sign off with a typical late-day view from my north window – unlikely to be further compromised by rampant development, at least for another ten years.