A series of acrylic paintings expressing the tranquillity of woodlands in the Haliburton Highlands.
March 9 – 27, 2022
For the “Woodlands” series, I created acrylic paintings revealing the calmness, coolness, and greenness of woodlands that I had visited. Striving to share the essence of this experience, the streams and subliminal light were suggested with lyrical brushstrokes. I prepared this series working on all of the canvases simultaneously. First, I applied a “mother” colour of lemon yellow, giving a common ground to create luminosity. It may have been totally covered up in the painting process. The next application was a transparent red glaze drizzled over the yellow. This toned down the colour and rendered it more subliminal. Following that, I sketched a suggestion of trees, using warm brown paint. Each colour was applied and allowed to dry for a few days before I applied the next colour. This gave me time to enjoy the progress and to have a conversation with my paintings. They let me know what they needed next. At this point, the paintings took over and I followed their lead.
With each series, I experimented and utilized at least one new tool or technique that I did not use in previous works. Adapting to smaller canvases, I used lighter brushes for lyrical strokes. Rich green was generously applied to each image. Medium yellow was added to enhance the light. At one point, I pondered whether or not the stream actually needed to be included in the imagery. It seemed to be suggested in my imagination. In some paintings I added small brushstrokes of white to suggest a stream. These works, like many of my series, were and are as much outer landscapes as inner scapes of my mind and soul.
Gwen Tooth
Gwen Tooth is a member of Propeller Art Gallery, Gallery 1313, and an Associate Member of the Society of Canadian Artists. She holds a B.A. from Western University (1967), a BFA with Honours (2005) from Ontario College of Art and Design University, and a Fine Arts Certificate with Honours (1978) from Humber College.
