Lake Edge, Bluff Trail

Through hikes in the wilderness of Nova Scotia, I collect memories of landscapes, which, due to the transformative effect of nature through time, no longer exist.  Once I pass through, the light, season, interaction of various animals, change. The painting becomes a trace of what once was… but that trace is more than that.  It is a collected perception formed at that time through the experience of being there. These sensory impressions are themselves dissolving and reforming with decisions based on composition, colour, addition, simplification, subtraction.  Lake Edge, Bluff Trail is a moment filtered, a moment shifted, altered and preserved.

Lake Edge, Bluff Trail, 3' x 4', acrylic on canvas

Streams crisscross the wilderness of Cape Breton Highlands, sometimes pouring down rock faces, other-times spreading out across the floor of the Acadian forest. They reveal and conceal, erode and build, carry and deposit: a life force traveling down to the sea.

Stream in Blue: Acadian Trail, Cape Breton,  18" x 24", acrylic on canvas

Hiking this past summer and fall provided lots of inspiration for new work.  Landscapes provide a starting point: "Art picks up where nature ends.": Marc Chagall.  

Two rocks three logs Bluff Wilderness 30" x 30" acrylic on canvas

Along the Acadian Trail, Cape Breton Highlands National Park, streams rush to join the Chéticamp River.  Tumbled trunks and mossy banks line the brook on its way to the bottom of the valley.

Stream: Acadian Trail  30" x 60"  acrylic on canvas

Woodlands:  New Paintings by Susan Tooke, September 6-27

"Susan Tooke's new exhibition is a walk through the forests of Nova Scotia. Bright colour that Tooke is known for is the there, but with a softer springlike tone. The work is inspired by her own journeys throughout areas of Cape Breton and even as close to home as the Northwest Arm. Forest floors are painted with a broad variety of depth and colour that make you feel like you are standing amidst the moss. We hope you can come and have a look for yourself at this stunning celebration of Nova Scotia woodlands.

Tooke received her BFA from the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia in 1972. Well known for her illustrations in children's literature, Tooke's studio practice exhibits a more dynamic approach. Influenced by artists such as Emily Carr, Tooke exaggertes and simplifies the existing colours found in nature. Patterns create the textures of the earth to express the "soul" of the landscape."

-- Gallery Page and Strange: Susan Tooke

Cape Breton Spring, acrylic on canvas, 48" x 60"

Forest floor, Hemlock Ravine, acrylic on wood panel, 36" x 48"

McFarlane's Wood, acrylic on wood panel, 24" x 24"

Moss and path, NW Arm, acrylic on canvas, 36" x 60"

Near Shannon Falls (sun breaks through), acrylic on wood panel, 36" x 48"

Near Shannon Falls, acrylic on canvas, 36" x 48"

Ravine, acrylic on canvas, 36" x 60"

Spring melt, Hemlock Ravine, acrylic on wood panel, 24" x 24"

Stream, Cliff Waters, CB, acrylic on wood panel, 24" x 24"

Stream, Highlands, CB, acrylic on wood panel, 24" x 24"

Down River Road, Red River, CB, acrylic on canvas, 40" x 60"

Three Totems, acrylic on wood panel, 60" x 48"

Tamarack, West Coast Newfoundland, acrylic on canvas, 48" x 60"

Woodlands

New work by Susan Tooke

installation views

Gallery Page and Strange

1869 Granville Street

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Sept. 6-27, 2013

Cape Breton Spring

Left wall with Forest Floor Hemlock Ravine

Right wall with Ravine 

McFarlane's Wood and Stream Highlands Cape Breton

Moss and Path NW Arm and Near Shannon Falls (sunlight breaks through)