Forest Sunrise Over Mist is set in the early hours when the heat of the sun still has not melted away the mist that hangs over the lake. Pine trees are darkly silhouetted against a halo of bright yellow-orange sky and reflected in the lake beyond the mist. Watercolour painting. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan.
Bathtub Island is a picturesque rocky outcropping in Katherine’s Cove, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. It is famous for the bathing pool that is hidden from view on the other side of this small island. In this rendering, the rust-coloured boulders contrast strongly with the greenery of the few trees and bushes. Mist rises from the waves that crash on the far side, and a mountain is seen on the horizon across the expanse of the blue waters of this Great Lake. Thank you to Ken Bennison for the photo reference. See his stunning photographs at www.kenben.org. Watercolour painting. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
Pine on Rose Island is a northern Ontario cottage scene on Georgian Bay, Lake Huron. It is a view of a gentle sunset through the boughs of a deeply cherished old pine tree growing just beyond the rocks of the Canadian Shield. Thank you to Waltraud Haupt for permission to display this commissioned work. Mixed media painting by Patricia Nolan using watercolour and ink pen. Copyright © 2020 Waltraud Haupt
Coldwell Bay, Lake Superior North Shore is set amongst autumn colours just after the orange fall foliage has reached its peak and yellow dominates the landscape. Scattered amongst the bright deciduous leaf colours are dark green conifers, and in the distance are great rust-coloured rock face bluffs of now barren trees. An island rises out of the blue waters of this Great Lake as the horizon begins to fade to pink. Many thanks to James Smedley for the photo reference, and for his journey to discover this site of the 1923 painting by Group of Seven member Lawren Harris. See his stunning photographs at www.jamessmedleyoutdoors.com. Watercolour painting. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
Lone Pine Against a Grey Sky is a view of a solitary pine from a cliff along an Algonquin trail in Ontario, Canada. It is a dull, cloudy day but there is a glimpse of blue sky on the horizon. The delicate needles of the tree are drawn with ink, while the faint rose-hued and blue tones of the overcast sky are painted in watercolour. Mixed media painting using watercolour and ink pen. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
In Moose Ascends the Riverbank, a solitary female moose makes her way out of the waters of a rushing river, about to climb the riverbank to a field of yellow ochre grasses and the dark forest beyond. Her rich brown fur is wet from her swim through deeper depths, and the moving river water swirls around her body. Watercolour painting. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan. Please contact me for photo reference credit.
Sandbar Bear rests wearily on a bright red canoe placed on a sandy beach next to tall green marsh grasses. The grizzly is sprawled across the upturned boat, looking into the distance along the shoreline, its dark brown fur still damp from its swim. A wet paw print lies on the sand. There is no human presence, except for the canoe awaiting its paddlers’ return from their portage. Digital painting. Many thanks to Carol Bock for the bear’s reference photograph. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
Paul’s Island, Lake Temagami is a beautifully tranquil place of great pine trees, rocky shores and the rugged terrain of the Canadian Precambrian Shield, in northern Ontario, Canada. In this rendering, when viewed closely, the photographic realism of conifer boughs is actually achieved by fuzzy scratch marks, dabs of digital paint, and blurs of various shades of green. The bright sun rides high in a cerulean sky, broken up by white fluffs of cloud. Digital painting. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
Galaxy Nebula features a kaleidoscope of multicoloured gaseous clouds and billions upon billions of stars that cluster in an indigo space. Mixed media painting using watercolour and gel pen. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
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In my landscape work I am drawn to shadows and light, line and colour. It fascinates me how the features of natural landscapes change with the time of day and the weather. No sky, body of water, hill, forest or horizon is ever quite the same, from day to day and hour to hour. There are endless opportunities to capture precious moments