Tom Thompson, "Northern Lights", about 1916-1917, oil on board.
-seen under a skylight covered with fresh snow at 11 AM in an empty room.
-the balance of the image is superb, especially from a distance.
-the paint & luminosity have visibly darkened, giving a different energy to the piece, especially under the pale, weak winter light. The pink hi-lights have faded into a dirty peach colour. A very tiny bit of exposed board show through in one spot. The board is slightly warped, when viewed from the side.
-The painting still emanates a sense of "spiritual urgency" as HK would call it.
-it looks like it was painted in two sessions. The first being the rays of sunlight and the approaching night sky painted at the same time. The dark clouds cutting across the center & the black treetops were painted later. The trees are formed out of the brush strokes nicely.
-a slash of dark purple in the center of the trees at the very bottom, something I've never seen or seen reproduced.
-practiced Leonardo da Vinci's regarde irratante with it from different angles for a while.
-I had a strong desire to take my heavy winter boots off in front of it & be very quiet in my wintery wool socks.
Paul-Emile Borduas, "Compositon No.11", 1957, huile sur toile.
-attracted to the row of old-school nails along the sides like in a Picasso or Guston painting. The slight slip of green into the white slabs of white paint across the muscular surface. Six black splotches just frozen. Very dynamic, after 55 years.
Patterson Ewen, "Nuit d'ete", 1958, oil on canvas.
Patterson Ewen, "Star eruption", 1981, Acrylic on gouged plywood.
