North to Newfoundland

King's Cove /10x10 WHEN CAROL AND I are driving toward Bonavista the first time, we start seeing big signs for the Round Da Bay Inn. At the Bonavista Cafe, we see paintings by the guy who runs the inn, and Miranda, who owns the cafe, points us to a pamphlet about the place, and says that Charlie and Karen, the innkeepers, are really great.  When Carol leaves, I am feeling a little lonely, so after a day of wrestling with the fog - now there's a good book title, "Wrestling with the Fog" ! - I decide to check it out.  (More on the Inn, and Charlie and Karen, below). I have a good night's sleep, feel welcome and safe and like family, and decide to spend a second night there, go back to the Bonavista area again to paint.  Wind is forecasted, but it hasn't started yet when I stop in King's Cove to paint. I love the boats in the harbor, but I know this will be another challenge - boats, water, buildings and a pile of old wood in front of it all.  ...

Outside Elliston, 10x10 THIS TRIP, I have decided to be bold, be courageous, meet the challenges head-on. It's hard to paint fog with a brush. It's even harder to paint it with a palette knife. The knife is great for lots of things, but not for fog, which requires softness, edges that you can feel and sense but not really see. I usually shy away from painting fog. I wait it out, avoid it, figure it's beyond me. But this trip, I am determined to paint the things that scare me. Boats, cliffs, and yes, fog. Here is one of two fog paintings I've made so far on the trip. I hope you all like it! *** Moose!!!! YES! WE SEE MOOSE!!! Carol and I are outside Gander, heading somewhere - right now, I can't remember where - and it is a chilly, cloudy, gray, morning. We are going down a big hill, and Carol is driving and I'm looking at the map. "Whoa!" she yells, and pulls over. Backs up the hill. "Moose!" Thank he...

 Cape Spear / 16x16 CAPE SPEAR IS within the borders of St. John's, the capital of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is also the easternmost point on the continent. The Beothuk and Mi'kmaq peoples lived there originally, but, according to Wikipedia, did not hold the place in any special regard.  A lighthouse has operated there since 1836. I typically stay away from paintings of lighthouses, but in this case, the lighthouse is not the focus of the painting, so it seems OK to me! What I love is the cliffs, the water, the way the lighthouse and related building perch on the edge of the hill. Above, Carol and me at the easternmost point on the continent.  Below, a family of tourists. How bored is the kid in the front?  *** Not-So-Wild Horses BEFORE I LEAVE for Newfoundland, I read something about wild Newfoundland ponies, and then, I forget most of it, like where they live, how many there are, whether they are endangered. All the facts, in ...

Witless Bay / 16x16 EVER SINCE I read "The Bird Artist," by Howard Norman , I've wanted to visit Witless Bay - if only to enjoy saying the name, and knowing that I am, indeed, in the town of Witless Bay. I think "witless" is one of the great words in the English language. Sadly, to my twisted mind, the town is not named for the intellectual capacity of its current inhabitants, or for a group of would-be settlers eaten by bears. Its name derivation, according to Wikipedia, probably came from Captain Whittle, the English explorer who found and founded it. Over time - maybe after he died? - the name transmuted to "Witless." It is a traditional Newfoundland town, a fishing community of about 1,500. There are whale-watching and puffin-watching boats, as well. While I am painting this, Dan Pearson, above, walks up from his home across the street. He is a retiree who now is an artist. Witless Bay has become somewhat of a retirement commun...