Painting the Rapids

Saturday January 15th 2005. It was the day of our wedding anniversary. Erika and I had been married for six years and together for ten years.

It was a clear blue diamond day. A beautiful winters day is a cold day. The temperature was -14 degree Celsius, but there was a brisk wind chill. I am not sure just what the temperature was that particular day but it felt like about -22 degrees Celsius.

Erika drove me to the location in the morning and was to pick me up at 3 - 3:30 PM.

The location was a special place. Two years ago Erika's father had died of cancer. This was a special place that he took Erika to a few months before he was called.

So I arrived filled with determination and thought. The gate from the main road was locked, so I had to drag the box and materials down to the river.

Immediately I started painting without hesitation. The line in my mind was straight.

I did not have an easel and the canvas was stretched on a board. I had to move around. Down on my knees, standing up. The board lay horizontal and the canvas was 46 x 60 inches. Snow from my pants, boots, and wind found it's way onto the canvas.

The snow was crystals of sand. So I moved the canvas on board on to the box and used the boxes of tubes of paint to elevate the board.

It was Saturday and it was a beautiful day. But it was cold so I only saw about 5-6 people that day.

As the sun moved across the sky the painting was painting.

My fingers were fucking cold. I used my gloves to pad my knees. The gloves were too puffy and I found it difficult to manipulate the brushes with them on.

The sky, water, and ice were colors as one would expect. But the rapids were black, very little blue, highlights of white and to my shock red appeared. Perhaps the red were shimmering from the distant trees. I spent much time examining the rapids.

The landscape has buildings in it. I wished to omit them for aesthetic reasons, but felt it necessary to paint the painting and not paint a picture.

It was an incredible day. I loved doing this work. I felt so alive and good inside. When Erika arrived to collect me she had some donuts and tea from Tim Hortons. For she knew that I had not eaten and she is amazing. When I got home I had a long long shower. My face was wind burnt and I had an intense headache for several hours, but I was warm inside.