North to Newfoundland

 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...

 Twillingate / 10x10 CAROL HAS HOPES and plans and goals for Canada. One is to see a moose. Another is to see whales. Yet another, to see puffins.   And so, as we figure out where to go during the time that she's with me, we include these goals. Gros Morne we visit in part because of the gorgeous pictures we have seen of the place, and partly because of the possibility of moose.   We spend a long afternoon there, but see no moose. E ver hopeful, we head northeast toward Twillingate. We have heard that it’s lovely there, with beautiful vistas and cliffs - and whales.   The drive takes us through miles and miles and miles and miles - and MILES - of pine trees. I am rarely bored on a drive, but the monotony of this one is beyond description.  We see no animals, virtually no houses, almost no towns. We get off the Trans Canada Highway one time on the way to Twillingate, mostly just to see something different. Anything but pine trees. ...

Island Park Morning, 10x10 I HAVE GOTTEN ahead of myself, and so early in the trip! We arrive in Channel Port-Aux-Basques Thursday on the ferry (more on this below, and on the blog), and are struck by how utterly foreign the landscape is. It looks like the Shetland Islands, or some place even more distant. As we drive out of Port-Aux-Basques. the landscape normalizes a little. Trees begin to appear, and the rocks recede a little, or are covered with grass and small hills. It is beautiful, but in a more known way. Early in the day, we pull into a lovely little provincial park and I make this painting. I am sure it will be one of my favorites of the trip. The sky is quiet, birds sing and fly, the morning air is crisp and the water clear and blue. After I finish this painting, THEN we head to Gros Morne, the subject of the yesterday's newsletter. *** Weather Watch IT IS COOL HERE in the mornings, in the upper 50s, and every morning has been cloudy...

Gros Morne ALL ALONG, one of our aims has been to see a moose, and people tell us, again and again, go to Gros Morne, that's where the moose are.  So we go. It is beautiful. Breath-taking. Grand. Spectacular, even. But in all honesty, Carol and I suspect we are missing most of it, even missing the best of it, because we are not hiking, climbing, foraging along the trails. It is not that kind of trip, this trip, and we have to be OK with that. And we are.  All that being said, there's a big part of me that admires Canada for leaving this park - and UNESCO World Heritage site - relatively unmarked by roads. If you really want to see most of the great stuff, you have to get out and hike. It is not instantly, easily available by car as many American parks are.  So we drive, we walk a little, we see some amazing sights, and I paint.  While I'm working, a couple drives up. Carl and his daughter Abbie. In one of those amazing twists of fate, it turns...