What Water Does

19 April 2013

“If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.”
― Loren Eiseley

Above and below: Seedheads covered in ice from freezing rain – the patterns develop as the ice starts to melt away and break up into smaller pieces.

FrostFeathers Frost flowers develop when it is very cold and the air is quite moist. The ones pictured here formed on thin ice at the edge of the river near open water, on a night when the temperature dipped to -25C.

Above: A tiny branch with phantom ‘leaves’ on a cold winter morning.

Below: A small frost formation on a window.

The Ottawa River shifting through the seasons.

I sometimes find it difficult to shift my visual thinking/creativity away from the winter landscape in the spring. For me it holds a bit of magic like no other season. The key to these transformations is water. From raindrops to snowflakes, to ice and frost, is there anything with more imagination than water?

The landscape is mostly shades of brown now with small bits of green trying to emerge through the damp earth. The river has lost its ice. Most of the photographs here have been posted on these pages before, some even from the previous winter, so I guess this is a bit of a recap (or an ice cap), but together they attempt to illustrate, and to let go of, the season that has just passed.

Also, on Monday April 22nd it will be Earth Day! In 2013 the focus is on climate change and how it is impacting people, creatures and environments the world over. You can learn more (and participate) by going to the Earth Day website. It is our collective voices and actions that make changes.

What are your plans for Earth Day?

Residuals 2

14 April 2013

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A little extra winter here the past few days but I don’t think the remainder of ice on the river can last too much longer. The coming days look to be shifting into real spring.

The footprints made by a black bear who has been walking near the river were quite distinguishable in the fresh snow. It’s not too often a bear would be wandering in this area so close to the city but there are corridors of greenspace and waterways that are well used by wildlife. It’s one of things that makes this city so interesting.

Residuals 1

11 April 2013

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Marbled meltwater.

The Water Phoenix

26 March 2013

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This image is made from 2 photographs. One being a surface reflection of flowing water, and the other, remains of a seagull.

The seagull caught my eye because as it was lying in the water at the river’s edge, the wings were moving with the rhythmic lapping of the water, as though somehow, there was still a touch of life.

Open Water

27 January 2013

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The ephemeral beauty of open water and very cold temperatures.

Water vapour rising and coating the nearby flora in thick frost.

Even the ice, struggling to form at the fringes, finds the air so cold it has coaxed downy feathers to grow on its surface for keeping warm.
Of course, there are more interesting and scientific explanations…here and here…

A Deep Breath of Winter

24 January 2013

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The water is restless in this part of the river. It pushes on all winter.

The ice tries to stretch over the surface like a cold blanket, but it cannot. The water persuades it to break apart, to keep moving.

The ice talks to the river with deep groans and quiet thuds. It rocks gently, waiting. An indolent heartbeat.

The river finds a crack, heaves a deep breath, and replies.

The river’s edge in -25c.

Winter Fog: The River

20 January 2013

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There has been quite a lot of painting happening here the last couple of months. Brushstrokes and thin layers, glazing and blending.
Trying to find the essence of a seascape in a slow build.

The subdued colours of a day with a low sky.
A sky that settles like a whisper in your cupped hands.
A world painted by fog.

This is not the sea but there is a sense of it here in this river. An essence. There was a sea here once. It has left pieces of itself behind.

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River Snowscapes & the Ghost of Seasons Past

30 December 2012

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The River in full-on winter. There is no shortage of snow here to welcome in the new year. It is crisp and beautiful.

The Ghost of Seasons Past: A seed head in double exposure …it would seem there may still be unknown life left in there…

Lily Pad Land

1 November 2012

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This is an in-camera double exposure (digital) I had made this past summer in the middle of drought. The water was so low the lily pads were wilting on dry land. I just came across this image when I was looking for a reference for something I am painting and I was struck by the environmental extremes that we all seem to be experiencing.
(Click on the image for a larger view)