Most landscape painters do their paintings based off of a photo. Or in person, after a long trek up a mountain or along a river.
I’m no different, usually. But this piece today is unique in my collection, because it’s the only one of all my Canadian landscape art prints that I painted entirely from memory.
I’ve always loved the landscape up north. Most plants thrive the best when they have soft dirt with lots of sunshine, and yet somehow the Canadian shield, covered in thick, dense rock, manages to provide a home for millions of enormous trees. They manage to find a crack in a giant rock and make it their home, sprouting up until it grows to become an old tree.
The rock itself, other trees, and even the wildlife can affect how it’s shaped, but what strikes me most is the wind. The tree grows as though caressed by the wind for many years, guided into shape like a bonsai tree is guided by the wires its caretaker wraps around it.
Painting in this style is kind of the same. Laying the canvas on the floor, I quickly painted the general shape I’m looking for using water only. From there, I poured ink and coffee on the area with the water, and then, like the wind and rain pushing a river, I let the ink and coffee mix together and flow across the page. The result is what you see below.
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If you like what you see here, feel free to browse the other work on my website. You can purchase this print itself, as well as many other Canadian art prints I have available.
You can also feel free to contact me directly for commissioned work or if you have any questions.