Mallards are known as "common" wild ducks. Still, they are as beautiful as any. Their distinctive markings set them apart from all others, especially the 'curly feather' between the dark back and light tail. I'm also assured that the Mallard is the only duck that sports such a curly feather. And who could miss that iridescent green head and white ring around the neck. Bird lovers tell me that the less colorful female identifies the male by the beautiful elongated marine blue patches on the wings adjacent to the body. They are beautiful in a flock but when you can focus your complete attention on a single male rising from a farm pond or 'slough' you get to appreciate the totality of its magnificent features. The cattle fence by this pond reminds me that it was painted at one of my favorite trekking grounds, the King's Meadow Marsh at Windsor, Nova Scotia.
I just thought that I should show you a photo of opened oysters on a plate as they appear after being opened and cooked in a micro wave oven. In the glass is Canadian Rye Whiskey - not that the oysters need anything to help them slide down! That's just a little added pleasure for the occasion. It might be a good subject for a still life painting BUT, the oysters never seem to stay around long enough to be painted! There are only three of the four left here, and the others soon followed the first one down the hatch.
Jim Crawford has the 'Dept. of Fisheries Oyster Lease' for the cove where our home is situate on Cape Breton's Loch Bras d'Or. He 'rakes' oysters from the bottom and sorts them on a counter affair laid across the boat. In some coves, he dives for them, using snorkeling equipment. In this painting, he is close to our shoreline. We've become friends over the years and he sometimes steps ashore and walks up the field with a bucketful of oysters for Lauren and me. He taught us how to open them properly with an 'oyster knife' and enjoy them on the 'half-shell'. Here's a recipe I discovered for easy opening. Scrub oysters clean in the sink, then place four oysters on a dinner plate with a small amount of water and cook in the microwave oven for one and a half minutes. The shells open automatically and the oysters are hot! Repeat as necessary! Toast is used to pick up the juice on the plate that you don't sip from the shells! MMMMM! Jim has provided me with lots of oysters, stories and subject matter for paintings.
This has long been a favorite walking place for me and my dogs. They love scooting ahead of me along the embankments looking for and finding ducks and muskrats. The farms at the edges of the marsh make for great compositions. There is a ski hill on one of those mountains to the left and large corn fields in between where Canada Geese flock to feed on the left overs after the corn harvest. The whole scene is just as beautiful in winter as in other seasons and the dogs and I love it just as much at all times. The fence is meant to keep the cattle away from the creek but it doesn't always work!
Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres (1721-1824) charted the coasts of Nova Scotia and produced the DesBarres Charts, the famous "Atlantic Neptune". His home at Falmouth, near Windsor, N.S. was a 500 acre farm called "Castle Frederick". There he recorded the charts in winter months based on his findings of the coastal waters in summer. Prior to the Deportation of the Acadians from the Windsor/Falmouth area in 1755, the farmland where he built his home had belonged to an Acadian family named Landry. In 1784, DesBarres became the first Governor of Cape Breton. He changed the name of Spanish Bay to Sydney, in honor of Lord Sydney who appointed him governor, and made it the capital of Cape Breton. The fascinating love story of JFW DesBarres and his "beloved friend" Mary Cannon, known locally as "Polly" is well known to Falmouth/Windsor locals. Popular Nova Scotia Historian, Peter Landry aka "Bluepete" tells the story on his web site. The Landry Farm, or Castle Frederick, is owned and operated today by Jim and Frances Bremner, relatives of mine, making it a favorite place to visit. This painting was done from the Falmouth country road, by the farm pond, looking across the property toward the Chester Hills of Nova Scotia's South Shore.
Falmouth is a lovely farm village just across a bridge over the Avon River from my home town of Windsor, Nova Scotia. It was ever a quick escape for me as a busy doctor to have a chance to do what is called today a 'plein air' painting. That French art term means in the 'open air' and refers to a painting done outdoors in daylight - on the spot, as it were, rather than in a studio from a photo. As a busy family physician and with no 'art studio' available, for years I was forced to paint 'on the spot' - long before the fancy term was invented! Today it sounds like 'magic' when we hear that a particular small painting was done by a certain artist, 'En Plein Air'. I still love doing it - whenever the Canadian weather permits it! But, when days are not conducive to going out in the wild winter weather and facing the impossible problems that weather often creates for us Canadian paintaholics, I just dip into the photo filing cabinet and take my pick of any subject that interests me, and get busy with creating another painting. I've been there, on the spot, studied the landscape, taken plenty of photos, and done enough paintings that way, that I don't have to prove to anybody that this painting or that was done 'en plein air'! This one just happens to have been done that way, on a piece of quality painting cardboard. I remember well, the day, the field and the beautiful experience. I hope the painting expresses all of that.
Terrance Bay is a remote rocky edged cove tucked away on Nova Scotia's South Shore. The fishermen there have had hard times over the years because of the remoteness, absence of trees for lumber and poor ground for growing vegetables. Man cannot live by fish alone! I found the scenic beauty of the area was enhanced by the man made structures, Boats, Pole Wharves, Fish Stores and the Fishermen's family homes, all of which helped in designing compositions for painting. Others seemed to agree because paintings of such areas always seemed to sell well. People seem attracted to paintings with water and reflections.
The textures of weathered wood seem to be complimented by a little rust on an attached piece of metal. Rough textured watercolor paper seems to be the ideal surface to use when attempting to capture this subject. Will there always be such "objets d'art" for artists to study, or are they quickly disappearing from the changing modern world?
Canada Geese fly in 'V' formation, so there is always a 'leader'. Because the leader gets tired, they alter this position in flight. It seems that those behind fly in the cover of the forward ones which makes their task easier. Thus the leader gets a break when he or she drops back and lets another take the front position. This one was 'first up' and so led the way for the others. I have noticed that the old Chinese artists frequently painted a solitary bird staring off into space, enticing the viewer to wonder just what was attracting the bird. I used that ploy in composing this watercolor of a lone Canada Goose.
The light house on Baddeck Bay at the entrance to Baddeck Harbour is a noted regional landmark. Canada Geese are now year round inhabitants of Cape Breton Island and are frequently seen circling the Bay. My preference has been to paint them with watercolor but this oil painting is a favorite of my wife Lauren, so it's a 'keeper'.
A snug little inlet to a beautiful lagoon at South Cove, Cape Breton is the subject of this 6"x8" plein air oil painting. It's done entirely with palette knife and fingers from a very limited palette of colors. The 'S' shaped design carries the eye through the predominantly cool colored composition. 
The shore line of Loch Bras d'Or in Cape Breton is dotted with fascinating lagoons. Ducks fly in and out in all seasons. In early spring, pairs of Canada Geese fight for nesting rights along the shores - one pair per lagoon seems to be the rule! The connecting channel between a lagoon and the main lake is often very narrow but sometimes big enough for a pleasure boat to enter and exit. The reflected shoreline and distant hills attract my artistic attention in all seasons and all times of day. I think that lagoons were meant especially for artists. This 6"x8" oil painting is available on Ebay with a starting price of $75.00 US
Beautiful to watch but always a little scary to contemplate, a fisherman heading out alone on a rough sea to deep water. And the truth is that most of them couldn't swim! It still makes for one of the nicest of marine compositions and I have long been hooked on painting them. The old canvas 'steadying sail' was not used to propel the boat but just to keep it headed into the wind and 'steady' as he lowered his traps overboard. Inshore fog usually burned off quickly as the sun came up. In the meantime, it made the shoreline much more interesting and mysterious as it hung like a veil over the land.
Loch Bras d'Or is a very large lake in Cape Breton, N.S. Wherever one goes, Canada Geese are usually seen coming or going to their special places on the picturesque shores. This watercolor painting of misty headlands shows a pair taking off from the foreground while others circle in the distance. Most of the painting was done with pure watercolor, but the foreground was done with 'opaque' watercolor, known as 'gouache'. Gouache is watercolor with added opaque white which allows us to place it in front of a transparent watercolor passage and have it stand out, which is impossible with regular watercolor.
Nova Scotia's South Shore has long been a magnet for Marine Artists. Jack Gray and Joe Purcell, class mates at the NS College of Art back in the 1960s are legendary for their sensitive portrayal of the villages, the fishermen, their homes and their 'fish stores', referred to by many as 'fish shacks'! Tela Purcell, Marguerite Zwicker, (ladies first!), John Cook, Anthony Law, Leonard Lane, Kelsey Raymond and David Whitzman all struggled to portray the life of the Maritime Fishermen in the 'early years', when I was yet a struggling Med student, but already a confirmed 'art addict'! I learned from them all. Ain't Art Great!
Cape Blomidon, in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley is as beautiful a scene as most would wish for. But, to see the very common, and ever beautiful Mallard Ducks rising, with Blomidon in the background, is a real treat! Capturing that moment in time with paint is a thrill beyond description! This painting was composed looking across the Avonport 'flats', heading west and just before reaching the bridges that cross the Gaspereau River. One of my all-time favorite 'spots' to view, it provides a visual thrill regardless of weather. Bright sunlight, foggy dew, or blowing snow - makes no difference to me!
The honking overhead draws attention to flocks of 'Canadas' flying in from their overnight rest on the waters of Minas Basin. They're heading for their first meal of the day at the corn fields of Hants County in early autumn mornings. Samuel de Champlain first plied the waters of Minas Basin and the Avon River in 1604, when the native Mi'kmaq called the area "Pesegitk" and the French pronounced it "Piziquid". The first French settlers arrived there by 1684. Today it's called Windsor, Nova Scotia. It's Canada's oldest town, founded in 1750, a year after the founding of Halifax, known to the Mi'kmaq as Chebucto.
Beautiful white daisies with golden centres pop up in June along highways, in farm fields and by the sea shore. They are delightful in themselves and add an extra note of beauty to every scene that they choose to grace. They are exciting to paint face to, side on, at an angle, or sparkling in the distance.
Painting weathered wood in watercolor is always a nice challenge. When it surrounds a window with a view inside it's a downright thrill! This abandoned old weather worn house was ready for the roof to cave in when I came upon it. Capturing various aspects of it on film allowed for several subsequent watercolor paintings. This one of the kitchen window with the roll down blind and tattered curtains is my favorite of the series. It's done on D'Arches 300 lb. paper - the very best!
Canada Geese are plentiful in the Windsor area where I lived and painted for so many years. They frequent the corn fields by day and fly overhead out to the Bay of Fundy where they spend the night away from predators. They used to fly south in December and return late summer. In recent years, some have been staying all winter. In Cape Breton where I now live, they have lots of open water and coves throughout the island. We see them year round nowadays. They always add to a composition of the shores of Loch Bras d'Or. BTW, that means "arm of gold" and refers to the valued beauty of the huge lake that occupies the central part of the island. It is a salt water lake, entering the island from the north and dividing the island into two almost equal parts. Ferry boats and one large bridge are used for crossing. 
