Dawn on the Notty

30” x 18”, oil on linen (2008) Nottawasaga River, Northeast of Caledon, Ontario, Canada

Every once in a while I like to grab a coffee, toss my painting gear into the truck, and head out for an early morning cruise along the country roads that surround my home and studio in Caledon. Sometimes I will have checked the maps to see where rivers cross roads, other times I just wander, hoping that inspiration will strike as the morning light casts it’s glow over the landscape. It was on one such occasion that I stumbled upon a bridge that I had never seen before, and took advantage of the access it provided to the banks of the Notawassaga River. Pushing my way through dense spring foliage and clouds of mosquitoes, the bridge faded from view as this pastoral composition opened up before me.