Woodlands and Watersheds: new work by Susan Tooke, Gallery Page and Strange

          Woodlands and Watersheds:  Gallery Page and Strange                                    April 25-16, 2014

With compositions inspired by woodland streams— nature is abstracted, the energy expressed trough animated line and organized through vibrant colour and form. 

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.

Blue stream tangled wood 36" x 48", acrylic on canvas

Dry stream bed Fishing Cove Trail, 48" x 36", acrylic on canvas

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

Pot Lake Bluff Wilderness Trail, 36" x 48", acrylic on canvas

Fallen spruce The Barrens, 36" x 60", acrylic on canvas 

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

Stream Acadian Trail, 36" x 60", 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