TM8442 Island Bog 28×32 oil on panel

When I stumbled upon the unfinished painting Quarry Pond last week, and finally finished it, my interest in “whole” views of watery places was reignited.  I’ve been visiting and photographing Campobello Island in New Brunswick, Canada (almost) annually. There are a number of northern bogs on the island. My favorite is near the southeastern tip of the island, and almost connects to the Atlantic but for a shingled bar of magnificent sorted stones (which I have painted, click on “Stones Portfolio”  in the header). Bogs, being highly acidic, are quite different from ponds, though they offer opportunities to paint reflections and beautifully tannic water. Island Bog is my first foray into painting a bog. The time is early September, with its seasonal shift toward golden tones in the aquatic bog vegetation. The parade of fir trees (including some white, skeletal trees who ventured too far into the water) provides a backdrop (note the distinctive gray-green color of some of the lichen- drenched trees in the distance). I look forward to trying different approaches to painting this subject, perhaps aiming for less detail and more mystery? Enjoy.