© Duane Gordon 2008
Every Canadian knows that even though the sky appears as a conflagration igniting the trees as the sun sets, you’ll want to hurry to the cabin and huddle around the stove as night falls. Canadian winters are beautiful, but cold.
Height: 20 inches / 51 cm
Width: 16 inches / 40.5 cm
Thickness: ¾ inches / 2 cm
Media: Oil on canvas
Price: $225
© Duane Gordon 2008
The sun shining through the trees and casting long shadows on the snow create the effect of bars on a window blocking your view of the scenery in the distance. Perhaps this is what is meant by the “gilded cage”?
Height: 20 inches / 51 cm
Width: 16 inches / 40.5 cm
Thickness: ¾ inches / 2 cm
Media: Oil on canvas
Price: $225
© Duane Gordon 2008
Whistler is renowned for its beauty and its heavy snowfall. Under the early light of the rising sun creeping down the valley wall opposite, we see the trees bowing under the weight of last night’s snow. The silence is almost absolute, with the thick blanket of snow absorbing all sounds except the crisp snow crunching under your boots.
Height: 20 inches / 51 cm
Width: 16 inches / 40.5 cm
Thickness: ¾ inches / 2 cm
Media: Oil on canvas
Price: $225
© Duane Gordon 2008
In the spring 2008, after a long hard winter, I just wanted to warm up. I had been painting snow-covered trees until I was sick of them and it was time for a vacation. You can easily lose yourself in this scene. It’s a clear day so you can see into the valley where perhaps a country village nestles below the thick cover of the trees. Or perhaps you can see the hills behind that, the perfect spot for a hike and a picnic lunch. Maybe you’re gazing at the purple mountains in the distance, thinking of the adventure that awaits the intrepid explorer with the courage and curiosity to go further than most.
Height: 24 inches / 51 cm
Width: 30 inches / 76 cm
Thickness: ¾ inches / 2 cm
Media: Oil on canvas
Price: $550
© Duane Gordon 2008
The winter of 2007-2008 was a hard one. We came within a few centimeters of breaking the record for snowfall in Montreal, and by Easter, I’d had enough of it. I painted this picture to warm up after a long, cold winter. I especially wanted to capture the heat of the high summer sun as it blazes down on the countryside and casts dark, dramatic and sharply-defined shadows. Imagine yourself strolling along the dirt road. Perhaps you’re barefoot and carrying a fishing pole. You’re certainly whistling. Don’t you fee warmer now?
Height: 24 inches / 51 cm
Width: 30 inches / 76 cm
Thickness: ¾ inches / 2 cm
Media: Oil on canvas
Price: $550
© Duane Gordon 2008
In Manhattan, just north of Battery Park and a few hundred yards south of Ground Zero there is a small side street that reminds me of a box canyon, the sort that are often found in the Rocky Mountains. The roadway is so narrow and the buildings so high it’s perpetual twilight in that street, even on bright sunny days.
Height: 30 inches / 76 cm
Width: 24 inches / 51 cm
Thickness: ¾ inches / 2 cm
Media: Oil on canvas
Price: $650
© Duane Gordon 2008
My grandmother died in the winter of 2008. I left Montreal to drive to Upper Gagetown for her funeral early one morning under cover of darkness in a raging blizzard. Fitting the mood of the day, the storm followed me all along the St-Lawrence. It wasn’t until I was heading south near Grand Falls in northern New Brunswick that the gray cloud cover finally broke, just in time to enjoy a remarkable sunset over the St-John River valley. Perhaps it was my grandmother telling us that we had grieved enough and now it was time to remember and celebrate her life.
Height: 24 inches / 51 cm
Width: 30 inches / 76 cm
Thickness: ¾ inches / 2 cm
Media: Oil on canvas
Price: $550
Thanks to all of you who helped make the Cactus Gallery 2008 Spring Expsition a success! We were a bit worried when we had a bit of a snow storm that morning… yes, there was actually a bit of a blizzard Sunday morning. But it cleared up and we had a packed house Sunday afternoon.
Over the next few days and weeks, I’ll be sharing the new paintings I exhibited at the show with you, and I’ll be introducing you to a few of my fellow artists and good friends. I hope you’ll stay tuned, subscribe to my list and let me know what you think.
As you know, I’ll be exhibiting tomorrow in the Cactus Gallery Spring Exposition. I sent out invitations last week (I hope you got yours! If not, please subscribe to my mailing list. I don’t inundate you with emails, but I will let you know about important events!)
I received several lovely emails prompted by my invitation, and I just had to share one with you. Nikolay Michailov has been a fan of my painting since he first saw some of my works exhibited at a downtown Montreal exhibit last year, and his description of how he feels when he sees one of my paintings is art in its own right.
He wrote:
“Hello Duane,Thank you for the invitation. I’m looking forward to enjoying your new works. I’m still under the spells of your subway station. I don’t know how to explain this, but the transitions of colors, rich subtle and bold at the same time, almost stopped my breath.
I don’t remember if I told you this, but I had a similar experience 12 years ago. We were traveling in Germany during the Christmas break. We reached Nuremberg on a cloudy chilly day and entered one of the gothic cathedrals in the old city, just to warm up a bit. The sun came out at the same time, and its rays refracted through painted glasses in the windows, fired up the columns, reached the ceiling far in the sky and reflected from the mosaic on the floor. The space of the cathedral lived as an enormous vibrating body of colors, and I felt myself involved in the game. My heart was beating so fast that I was in panic and didn’t know should I close my eyes to come back to normal, or let it go whatever the outcome would be.
Your paintings touch the same strings, and it was a pleasure to see your colors in Montreal.
Thank you,
Nikolay”
The painting he’s referring to is sold. It’s called Newport-Pavonia.
If you’d like to learn more about this painting, please visit the Newport-Pavonia post.
SPRING SHOW AND SALE
April 10th to April 30th
Everyone who attended the last show had a wonderful time! We had approximately 250 people attend the vernissage (not bad for a weekday!) This time, the show will be held on a Sunday afternoon, so we’re looking forward to an excellent turnout.
Vernissage:
Sunday, April 13th : 2:00 to 5:00pm
Keep watching for updates.
I hope to see you all there.
To your success,
Duane Gordon
Contemporary Artist Gallery - www.duanegordon.com
Images from an artist strolling along the border between realism and surrealism.
