i)You’ve lived near Algonquin Park for quite some time. Can you explain the significance of Algonquin Park for your art?

Algonquin is the perfect blend of all elements that inspire art, particularly landscape and wildlife art. The rocks of the Canadian shield, the mixed forests of pine and sugar maple, its endless waterways and of course, the wildlife.

ii) Do you think artists share a special connection with Algonquin Park? If so, why?

There is something mystical in Algonquin that draws artists to paint and sculpt here. Perhaps it is the way the wispy bows of the giant white pine caress the sky; the rippling waters of its countless lakes and waterways sparkling like millions of gemstones; the rugged contrast of Algonquin’s granite outcroppings against her lush green forests; the earthy smell of the forest floor; a warm summers breeze whispering in the pines; the sight of a bull moose quietly feeding on water lilies – there is something that appeals to all of our senses, inspiring us to capture her beauty on canvas, film and bronze.

iii) In a piece like “Spirit of Algonquin”, you manage to capture not only the appearance, but the character of the Algonquin wolf. What kind of research goes into the production of such a piece?

Most of my research involves studying live models in zoos, and in the wild. I have been privileged to view Algonquin wolves on several occasions. I supplement my live model work with videos and photographs supplied by park researchers and naturalists. The combination of my personal sightings and acquired reference allow me a thorough understanding of the subject’s behavior and physiology.

iv) Have you ever encountered a wolf in Algonquin Park? If so, can you describe what this experience was like?

Encountering wolves in the wild is always a magical experience.  Frequently, while interior camping, the howls of nearby packs have penetrated the darkness. For me, wolf music is deeply moving, like a symphony resounding in the chambers of a great concert hall. Wolves, by nature, are very shy and secretive animals. This makes chance encounters that much more edifying. On one occasion, I recall my path converging with a particularly brazen individual. A typical reaction would have been for the animal to slink off into the woods, but this individual seemed to accept my presence and allowed me to snap several photographs, while making observations of his form between frames. When it finally disappeared I was left with an incredible feeling of awe, having been privileged to observe such a beautiful animal in its natural habitat.

v) I understand you’ve been commissioned to create a 50 ft snake for the Smithsonian? Can you tell us about this creature and the process of creating such a large work?

Several years ago a paleontologist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and scientists from the University of Florida, University of Toronto and Indiana University unearthed fossils of a prehistoric snake in northern Colombia. To tell the story of the discovery, the producers at the Smithsonian Channel wanted a full-scale replica of the creature that would be incorporated into a 90 minute documentary. The snake, however, was not your typical garter snake or rattlesnake, which I typically replicate, but Titanoboa, a 2,500-pound , 50 foot long constrictor  that lived 58 million years ago. The first step to building the replica was coming up with a pose. I produced a scale model in clay, an inch of which represented a foot of the actual replica. The snake’s body forms two loops, where museum visitors can wander. I tried to make it interactive, so you can actually get in and feel what it is like to be surrounded by a snake. I stacked large sheets of 12-inch-thick Styrofoam high enough to make a snake with a 30-inch circumference. The pose was drawn on to the Styrofoam and used a chainsaw and fish filet knives to carve the snakes body. Next I applied a layer of polyester resin and fiberglass cloth to strengthen it. On top of that, epoxy putty was applied and the scale texture was embossed onto this with rubber texture molds. Once the scales were complete, the entire model was primed and painted. The dark markings were established first followed by layering shades of olive over top to achieve the depth of color desired.

vi) Do you think that Art reveals something about nature that cannot be revealed otherwise?

An artists investigation of a subject is not limited to the physical level, but involves a deeper, more spiritual understanding. The finished works serve as a vehicle for expressing his perception of a subject- perceptions that align knowledge of the physical form with the spirit of the work. While these themes may not be stated explicitly, through interaction and interpretation we are moved to consider issues beyond the narrative.

Likening a painting to a photograph seems to be a commonplace reaction when the painting in question appears highly realistic, especially if it entails a significant amount of detail. Such a comment, however, has a number of interpretations, including some not particularly complimentary to the artist. The benign, even favorable meaning behind the comment would be that the viewer has found the painted image as being highly convincing, and they are simply using the photographic reference for emphasis. Well and good as far as it goes, but is it accurate? If it is not, and yet the viewer perceives that it is a fair comparison, both the artist and the viewer are left at a disadvantage. The artist’s intent is not getting conveyed, and the viewer is left with less than a full understanding and appreciation of what might actually be there given a greater awareness. For both, it is essential to understand the fundamental differences between the act of painting an image, however convincing, and the characteristics to be found in creating an image with a camera.

The first thing to realize is the fundamental difference between normal binocular vision, and that of the camera’s view, which could be likened to being one-eyed. The three dimensional effect that is created by binocular vision simply does not exist in a single image created by the camera. While a photograph may offer clues of dimensionality, they are largely suppressed in comparison to what is observed with two eyes. The painter has the opportunity, if skilled enough, to create a sense of dimension to defy this inherent limitation of the two dimensional surface. To do this however, a host of illusionistic manipulations must be brought into play.

The focusing system of the eye is also quite different than that of a camera. The depth of field in photography governs the areas of sharp focus. Everything within a particular distance (it might be deep or shallow depending on the camera’s settings), top to bottom and side to side within the viewfinder will be indiscriminately focused to the same degree. With some settings, in certain circumstances, the camera produces the very specific optic effect of out of focus circles. This feature of the camera’s mechanics results in many deviations from how we normally see things.  For example, the way in which we observe surface reflections and sub-surface depth in calm water. If the camera is focused fairly close up on surface objects, such as lily pads, it will not be able to simultaneously include the sub-surface information and reflections of distant objects that are readily available to the eye.

The human eye focuses only on a very small percentage within our overall range of vision. To demonstrate this, simply focus on a detail within your environment and do not shift away from it. You will note that the vast majority of our vision is peripheral in nature, and goes quickly out of focus spherically in all directions away from the point of distinct attention. Our sense of the overall view of things is the result of our eyes scanning bits and pieces of the total view and forming a compiled impression within our brain. The experience is not just through the eyes, but also through the mind. Each of us has our own distinct preferences and we will pay more attention to some things and blithely ignore others.  Painting with this sort of personal interpretation not only allows for individual expression, and can be most convincing because it is not literal.

The speed at which a photograph is taken has a direct influence on the final image, and much of this does not match well to what we perceive. Consider the flowing water of a stream, and the drastically different result one can achieve in photographing it. Recorded at high speed the water is frozen into odd shapes that are real enough in actuality but are moving too fast for us to effectively observe with any confidence. We can recognize water in such images intellectually, but they do not convey the subjective reality of experience through our unaided senses. Likewise with a very long exposure that blurs the water into a soft flowing mist-like element. Very beautiful, but most certainly not what we can experience directly. Even if one selects a mid-point between these extremes, there is always a sense of the image not being as we remember it. This is because our impression of a flowing stream is rooted in an extended time frame to accommodate the movement. Conveying this impression governs how naturally convincing it will appear in paint.

Lens effects can dramatically alter images away from how we see the world through our own eyes. Wide-angle lenses distort perspective and sense of distance, filters alter color and contrast, telephoto lenses compress perspective, and so on. These effects can be positive ones for the photographer, providing choices for creative and dramatic imagery. Painters my find many of the things found in photography to be useful to them also, and may in fact be influenced by such effects, but whether or not the finished product is ‘just like a photograph’ is quite another issue. Unless the painter is blatantly faithful to copying a photograph, including all of the distinctive photographic ‘signatures’, the comparison is simply inaccurate, regardless of how ‘real’ and convincing it might be.

What then are the means available to the painter who desires to create very convincing interpretations of reality? Perhaps the single greatest attribute available to the painter is the degree of selection that can be exercised, and the amount of variation that can be applied to this concept. Take for example, the issue of creating a three-dimensional effect. By softening an edge, even to the point of losing it in the background, a sense of form receding into space can be authentically conveyed. The result is achieved not through literal translation, but is a manipulation of the brain’s susceptibility to certain types of visual illusion. Moreover, this strategy can be applied to each and every object of choice within the painting. In photographic terms this would mean individual depths of fields adjusted to all objects independently rather than one overall depth of field, and this is simply not available to the mechanics of the camera.

All of the features within a painting can be applied in a selective manner, be it the degree of hardness or softness in edges, range of tone and color, detail, patterns and textures, shape, placement, and so on. None of these things are good or bad on their own. However, detail for the sake of detail, color for the sake of color, etc. denies the potential of these qualities to express meaning outside of itself. Such things take on importance only to the degree in which they contribute to the success of the overall work, both conceptually and visually.  Of these, the declaration of ‘it’s just like a photograph’ seems most closely related to the presence of detail in a painting, but detail has many guises, and each one is subject to selective inclusion based on the painter’s personal preference and intention. Foundational detail would entail things like accurate shapes of the objects portrayed, shadows that conform to, and coordinate with a light source, a sense of dimension, and so on.  This sort of detail is truly foundational, and it is what makes even the most broadly painted works take on a sense of the authentic. In works that incorporate greater degrees of surface detail, this foundational aspect of detail is indispensable. Without it, regardless of how much surface detail is shown, it will simply lack presence.

The photographic comparison seems to be generated by the surface detail of objects, but once again, whether or not such detail is photographic in nature is very much in question. Some paintings, for example, depict fur by placing a multitude of individual lighter hair-like strokes over a dark undercoat, others use the same light over dark system, but concentrate on the pattern that the fur as a whole makes as it conforms to the underlying form. Still others establish the basic patterns by first indicating tonal variations while leaving the surface base largely untouched. Some painters may feel the need to take an ‘every hair’ approach, others prefer limiting the depiction to foundational detail, and still others will manipulate a broad range from specific surface detail that blends into suggested detail, and continues even further into areas restricted to basic tonal values.

Each method, and the degree of emphasis or suppression of detail will govern the final, and distinctive, result. Interestingly enough, even if one were to group paintings according to the approach taken, there would still be substantial individual differences based on who created the painting. The particularities and the touch of the individual impose a degree of uniqueness, much like one’s hand writing, the brush simply replacing the pen. Even so, success in painting must also include conceptual considerations be they dramatic or subtle, and an effective means of executing an idea. Photographers face the same challenge to establish individuality within their field, but because the tools at hand are specifically distinct, so too are the choices available. The notion that they are comparable based on the common ground of being images on a two dimensional surface, regardless of how ‘real’ they both might appear, is to misunderstand and thereby disregard the creative skills of both the painter and the photographer alike. Learning to distinguish between the two not only adds to the enjoyment of viewing, but also fosters an appreciation for the very discrete and separate skills that each endeavor requires in order to achieve success.

December 3, 2011 to February 2, 2012 at The Framing Place & Gallery – Huntsville, ON

Born in North Bay, Ontario, Matt Coles experienced the rugged landscape of the Canadian Shield at a young age. He and his father would go on frequent fishing and camping trips, and Matt developed a love for the outdoors that would later form the cornerstone of his artistic expression.

Matt is a plein air artist now residing in Huntsville, Ontario. He paints the many beauties of the Canadian landscape with a signature style – contrastive colours with sharp, sometimes wild outlines. In selecting a scene to paint, Matt looks for interesting lighting, shapes, and compositional appeal, but he admits there’s something more at work that draws him in.

In addition to painting landscapes, Matt is the Art Director at the Algonquin Art Centre, a world-class gallery and art workshop centre in the middle of Algonquin Provincial Park. This position allows Matt to be at the centre of a burgeoning school of young painters with strong ties both to Algonquin Park and to the Algonquin Art Centre.

Matt’s work breathes new life into a long and rich tradition of Canadian landscape painting, as they express the simple, compelling, and perennial passion of artists in the Canadian wilderness.

Portrait of an Artist – Interview with Matt Coles

by Joel Irwin

What inspired you to start painting?

"Past Second Bridge", 11" x 14" oil on panel

I’ve always enjoyed art. In my youth I recall working late into the evening on drawings with my parents in the next room thinking I was asleep. It was a way for me to find tranquility. It wasn’t until my employment at The Framing Place & Gallery in 2003 that I took a serious interest in art, specifically paintings. The Framing Place & Gallery became inspirational and monumental. As a professional custom picture framer, I was exposed to a massive array of styles, techniques, and media that in a way drove me to create. Like many Canadian painters, my first real connection with landscape paintings derived from the famous Group of Seven. I spent much of my early career studying the works of these great Canadian masters who journeyed into the wild and conquered the elements in the name of art.  Mysteriously I have always felt that the experience and the emotion of the artist translated through each piece.

Who have been the principal influences over your style?

I have a great appreciation for all art but specifically work en plein air. There are a number of artists that inspire me but it’s the artists that I have worked with personally that truly inspire me. I owe a great deal to my friend and mentor Peter Schulz who since day one has believed in my abilities as a painter.  As the Art Director for the Algonquin Art Centre, I found influence not only in the stellar skills that surrounded me, but in the natural environment and the historical influence the park has had on artists.

"Freeland" 8" x 10" oil on panel

What do you look for in selecting a scene?

There are a few technical components that I abide to such as lighting, overall shape and composition…but what I truly look for is not technical at all, but an emotion that the scene projects.

How would you describe your palette?

Colours are one of the staples of my work.  I typically manipulate six colours which I feel comfortable and confident utilizing.  My palette is significant as it allows me to be expressive and capture a mood.

What are the benefits in painting en plein aire?

There is a depth to plein air work that differs from that which is produced in studio.  An artist out in the elements with the warmth of the sun, the breeze touching their brush, black flies in their paint somehow captures that moment which is translated through what is produced.  A plein air artist has to learn to be swift and accurate with each stroke. As the day moves forward, so do the shadows and the light.  Thus a plein air artist is consistently challenged by nature and the nature of themselves.  This brings a certain energy to the process.

"Across the Site", 6" x 8" oil on panel.

You outline a number of objects with the end of your brush in some paintings. Is this meant to convey the natural patterns that exist in the landscapes themselves? If so, what do you think are the relations between art and nature?

This is a sgraffito technique I experiment with in order to capture movement and add another element to the work. It is meant to capture the pattern of movement in nature.  Art in nature are one in the same, almost like math in nature are one in the same in the sense that you can always find patterns and shapes within the landscape or an individual element such as a leaf.

How in your opinion has landscape paintings changed since Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven?

The technologies, tools and accessibility to nature have in some respects changed landscape paintings.  Artists have more choices in terms of location, colour.   But I have to admit there is a rawness to having limits and the ability and talent it takes to do what you can do with what you got.

Is it true that you’re resurrecting the Algonquin School of Painters?

I do have every intention of resurrecting a modern day version of the Algonquin School of Painters. This already began with my frequent day trips with with Peter Schulz and Mark Reeder. I find complete satisfaction in exploring and painting Algonquin, a world, that in a way can be perceived as “untouched by machine”. When you share this relationship with a fellow painter, you begin to understand the complex relation of art and nature from different perspectives. This can have an incredible impact on how you see nature and in turn how you paint nature.

Why paint?

Paint why.

Click the following link for a recent interview with Hunters Bay Radio

Interview with Hunters Bay Online Radio

“Water has become a significant environmental issue in recent years,” explains Matt Coles, the Centre’s Art Director, “and our intention is to offer visitors an aesthetic experience of the water systems in Algonquin Park – water, after all, is a big part of Algonquin’s charm and appeal to artists over the years, and we hope that this charm will inspire our visitors to be more conscientious of water’s importance, both environmentally and artistically.”

Algonquin Park is a dome-shaped highland, carved out by glacial movements some one hundred and twenty thousand years ago, and it has become an iconic piece of geography in Canada. A number of important headwaters flow out of Algonquin Park – the Petawawa, Oxtongue, Madawaska, to name a few – and the show “Water” will offer a unique perspective not only of these water systems, but of Algonquin’s geological history and value as a Provincial Park.

Join Canada’s leading artists in a celebration of Water at the Algonquin Art Centre. The show will be held from June until mid-October, 2012 at the Algonquin Art Centre, km 20 in Algonquin Provincial Park.

Watch the teaser of “Water” below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urLnpM1Tmxw

November Sunset, Algonquin Park by Paul Gauthier

The composition and harmony of a piece like “November Sunset, Algonquin Park” raises the landscape to the plane of revelation, where the bright shafts reflecting on the shimmering water betokens the promise of some illumination – whether intellectual or spiritual doesn’t matter: the landscape speaks a universal language and appeals to both thought and feeling. This piece can represent the book as a whole and, by extension, Paul’s life as an artist always seeking, always striving, and never yielding.

“A Painter of Wilderness” solidifies the artistic genius that Paul Gauthier possesses and his reputation as an artist to collect.
To see the original works of Paul Gauthier, click here.

To celebrate the Holidays, the Algonquin Art Centre is offering a 10% off discount on all reproductions of the Group of Seven works. You can view the selection of images under the Reproductions below. To purchase, call 1-800-863-0066

The Cameo©Framed Collector Editions  Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven plus other Canadian Masters Framed: Matted & Glass NOW ONLY $89.10 plus tax Image Size 6.5" x 8" Frame Size 21.5" x 22" Click HERE for available images

Regal Canvas©Giclée Collection  Timeless images from Canada’s most important historical artists, including Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven Beautifully Re-Created Directly on Canvas Giclée Printed Coloured Band Around Image Now enhanced with our exclusive B&N Finish™ Ready to Hang • Ready to Cherish   The Red Maple by A.Y. Jackson Size Designation     Dimensions      SALE PRICE Studio Size           20″ x 24″       $153 Designer Size        29″ x 36″       $270 Full Size                 38″ x 47″      $427.50 Grand Size             48″ x 60″       $855               Woodland Waterfall by Tom Thomson   Size Designation     Dimensions      SALE PRICE Studio Size            20″ x 24″            $153 Designer Size        29″ x 36″            $270 Full Size                 38″ x 47″             $427.50 Grand Size              not available             The Jack Pine by Tom Thomson Size Designation     Dimensions      SALE PRICE Studio Size                not available Designer Size         33″ x 36″            $270 Full Size                  39″ x 42″            $427.50 Grand Size              56″ x 60″             $855                   The Pool by Tom Thomson Size Designation     Dimensions      SALE PRICE Studio Size            20″ x 24″            $153 Designer Size         29″ x 36″           $270 Full Size                  39″ x 48″          $427.50 Grand Size              49″ x 60″          $855                 The Canoe, 1912 by Tom Thomson   Size Designation     Dimensions      SALE PRICE Studio Size            not available Designer Size         24.5″ x 36″        $270 Full Size                  34″ x 50″          $427.50 Grand Size              41″ x 60″            $855         Northern River by Tom Thomson   Size Designation     Dimensions      SALE PRICE Studio Size            20″ x 24″            $153 Designer Size         32″ x 36″           $270 Full Size                  40″ x 45″           $427.50 Grand Size             53.5″ x 60″           $855                     In the Northland by Tom Thomson Size Designation     Dimensions      SALE PRICE Studio Size            20″ x 24″             $153 Designer Size         29″ x 36″           $270 Full Size                  38″ x 47″           $427.50 Grand Size              48″ x 60″           $855               The West Wind by Tom Thomson   Size Designation     Dimensions      SALE PRICE Studio Size            20″ x 24″             $153 Designer Size         29″ x 36″           $270 Full Size                  38″ x 47″            $427.50 Grand Size              not available

How would you describe your painting style?

I would describe my painting style as having a strong foundation in Realism. My aim is to capture as faithfully as possible the subjects I choose to paint as I see them in nature. In my work, I seek to balance the freshness of the brushstroke with the sense of reality that comes from a dedication to traditional painting techniques and a reverence for nature.

Who have been the principal influences over your style?

When I was a young boy I was greatly inspired by the artists of the Renaissance, namely Leonardo Da Vinci, but as I grew older I found my tastes leaned more to the Baroque Era. Caravaggio, Rembrandt, and Vermeer were enormous inspirations for me and I studied their work in great depth trying to understand their method and how they achieved such magnificent works. I also found that the mood of paintings from this period felt very familiar to me and always left me with a sense of awe. Currently I feel more drawn to works from the 19th century. I love the exploration of daylight, humility, beauty and nature.

"Studio in the Woods" by Mark Reeder

What do you look for in selecting a subject or scene?

I find instinct plays a very important role but shares in the decision making with logic and reason. Paying attention to such things as structure and form, geometry, the balance of shapes and looking for focal points are very important to me. Art for me is a balance of sound principles with creative inspiration. I look to make many of my choices on purpose to promote specific qualities rather than letting something else take the wheel, however, there is also something to be said about letting the painting paint itself.

What is it you think that your work is meant to convey?

Through my work, I seek to promote very specific qualities. My intention is to paint images that can be described as clean, clear, and created with care. I have never followed the philosophy of creativity at all costs. I much prefer to choose my subjects and the style in which I paint purposefully to reflect and generate the kind of life I wish to build. Almost like a personal journal, but at the same time seeking to connect with universal truths or nature. I wouldn’t say that my work is overtly philosophical, but my intentions behind the work and reasons for my choices are. I look to create works that are humble, clean, and embody something I wish to see in the world.

"Umbrella" by Mark Reeder

In addition to being a landscape painter, you’re also known as a portrait artist; what are the fundamental differences or similarities between your portraits and landscape paintings?

"Sexy Rexy" by Mark Reeder

For many years I considered myself as a portrait artist first. I’ve been in love with portraits since the beginning; however, landscapes are quickly demanding more and more of my attention. The pull to be outdoors, painting en plein air or using studies done on location and working in the studio have become a compulsion for me lately. It doesn’t really surprise me since part of the reason why I moved to Muskoka was to paint more landscapes. I just didn’t realize how powerful the inspiration would be. At the time I was still looking to find out what kind of landscapes I wanted to paint and now I’m finding that I can’t paint them enough. I love the fresh air, hiking in and around Algonquin Park and the challenge of finishing a painting on location. Painting outdoors is truly a magical experience. There are many magical aspects to painting portraits as well, but fundamentally I think one appeals to my academic mind and the other sets me free.

I understand you live just outside Algonquin Park; can you explain your relations to the Park both as a painter and as a person?`

I moved up here from Toronto a few years ago to really delve into landscape painting. Especially painting en plein air. Up to that point, I was more known for my portraits and still life paintings and I wanted to explore my interest in landscapes. I felt that landscapes were the next subject that I was deeply inspired to paint. Where I live now was once my grandparents house and I work out of the art gallery and studio that belonged to my grandfather. My grandfather’s name was William Kratzer and he was a landscape painter here for more than 30 years. He was a great man and showed me many things. One of the most important things he passed on to me was that you can make a living as an artist and that it is a viable occupation. All artists at some point are faced with this idea or pressure that being an artist is just a hobby or not a real job and it was extremely difficult for me to press through that. I am extremely thankful for his example and all of his encouragement. I’ve been coming up here for as long as I can remember. My grandfather and I would go out into Algonquin Park on hikes every chance we could, so this whole area feels very much like home.

You’ve done quite a few paintings in Algonquin Park; what connection do you think artists share with this Park?

I’ve always found Algonquin Park to be somewhat of a quiet beauty. The lakes, trails and lookouts all seem to be in a state of humble meditation. Every time I go into the park it always feels like a Zen experience. Even in stormy weather or when looking out into the seemingly endless expansive view from a lookout trail, it always seems soothing to me. I feel a similar sense when I look at other works from contemporary artists as well from celebrated painters of the past. It would be an interesting topic of conversation after a day of painting with a group of fellow artists.

"Early Morning at Ragged Falls" by Mark Reeder

How has landscape painting in Canada changed, in your opinion, since Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven?

"Oxtongue Rapids" by Mark Reeder

When I was younger the members the Group of Seven were the only landscape painters that were really held up in high esteem, at least in school. Although I did like their work, I always felt they were promoted far too often, neglecting many other great landscape painters, especially in Canada. I would have to attribute much of my perception or the attitude that I had then to the ignorance of my youth. It did serve me well at the time though as I rebelliously searched out the great Masters of the past; trying to find the kind of voice I would create for myself, searching for the artist I wanted to be and to see what I could bring to the table. Now I find the older I get, the more I respect what the Group of Seven accomplished. As much as Realism is coming back into favour in the art world, so is plein air work. I see them both as probably the strongest movements in the art world today. On all my plein air adventures, I have the luxury of a car to get me most of the way. Painters like members of the Group of Seven were true pioneers, venturing out into the bush in all kinds of weather in all seasons and coming out with new, fresh work as if it were all in a days work. They really inspire me, as do many other artists working en plein air today and they push me to work harder and better everyday.

What was your most memorable experience in the Park?

My most memorable experience would be all the times my grandfather and I would go The Lookout Trail. We would try to get there every summer. The memories of sharing it with him, as well as feeling the wind coming over the landscape gazing out from the lookout was very special. It might not be a memory about painting but it filled me with awe, wonder and humility, and certainly inspired my love for nature. A love that would eventually inspire me to share my connection with some of Canada’s wilderness through my love of painting.

The cultural fascination with painter Tom Thomson is beyond measure – not only have his paintings become a foundation in Canadian art history, but his story and mysterious death have become the stuff of lore. Thomson has been the subject of plays, songs, poems, and even board games, and art lovers have traveled from across the world to walk in his footsteps in Algonquin Park.

The risk of this cultural ascendancy, however, is a detachment from the truth that is Tom Thomson – that is, the love and passion that compelled Thomson to paint is sometimes lost in the surplus of clichés that have come to be associated with him. But every once in a while, a new perspective is created which breaks through to the heart of the story and to the man.

This is the case with “The West Wind: The Vision of Tom Thomson” a new documentary which premiered at Film North, a film festival in Huntsville Ontario. The directors, Michèle Hozer and the talented Peter Raymont, who is best known perhaps for his films, “Shake Hands with the Devil,” or “The Genius Within” bring the story of Tom Thomson to life as they explore the personal struggles and cultural forces that led Thomson to realize his greatest works of art. Beyond the gripping historical footage from the early 20th century, as well as the use of audio tapes which lends the film a haunting air of realism, “The West Wind” creates a beautiful portrait of Algonquin Park, Thomson’s muse, which allows viewers to grasp Thomson’s own conceptions of beauty and experience it for themselves.

The film also manages to balance the serene landscapes of Algonquin with the tumult of the war years, which plays a pivotal role in the documentary, as it did Thomson’s life. By contrasting these opposing forces, the drive for destruction and that of creation, the film portrays the conflicting emotions that must have plagued the artist and must have influenced the furious pace of his final works, where he completed sixty three sketches during his last spring in Algonquin Park, before his tragic end.

The heart and soul of the film belongs to David Thomson, an avid collector of Tom Thomson’s works, who manages to describe Thomson’s paintings with such emotion and compassion that the audience feels close to something sacred, not only in Thomson’s art, but in art itself. It benefits, too, from interviews with some of the leading Thomson scholars, including Ross King, David Silcox, Joanne Murray, Dennis Reid, and Roy Macgregor, who clearly explain some of the many complexities surrounding the artist, the man, and his mysterious death.

There’s no denying that the “West Wind: A Vision of Tom Thomson” is an important addition to the culture of Tom Thomson, but its major success is beyond its scholarship and its well-crafted story-telling – it contains a beauty entirely of its own, a testament to the art of filmmaking.

For more information on the film, visit the website the White Pine Pictures website http://www.whitepinepictures.com; for more information on Film North, the film festival held in Huntsville, Ontario, please visit their website at http://www.filmnorth.net/.