Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Standing in the Minas basin and the awesome work of Flora Doehler

 Flora Doehler with a large plein air painting of Sumacs
Acrylic on canvas
4 x 6 feet
Flora Doehler © 2013
 Flora and me clowning around in the gorgeous studio she shares with
husband, Larry Knox
Glorious enamel pieces by Larry Knox getting ready to be 
made into necklaces

Yesterday after spending far too short a time visiting my friend
Flora and her husband Larry in Bear River, we took a dramatic
 drive along the Fundy coast. Oh my.  I am a sandy beach person,
but the views along the rocky Fundy coast are beyond breathtaking.
Steven taking pictures on the Bay of Fundy
You can't drive straight along the coast, so it was a long
trip taking loop after loop, or the square approach to these
tantalizing views.  And as we so often do when I'm searching
out material for future paintings, we got obsessed with
seeing a park in the Minas Basin again.

It turned out that was a long, long, long drive.  But round about
11 p.m. at night (we left Annapolis Royal in the late
afternoon) we finally, finally got to the park, and in the
dark (there was a bit of a street light) pulled out our handy
dandy flashlights, and climbed down the set of stairs I'd
remembered were there to stand in the Minas Basin at
low tide.  In the dark.

The Minas Basin has the highest tides in the world.  But
at low tide this huge area of the Bay of Fundy empties
right out.  And there we stood.  The stars above us, the
water starting to come in, the rocks at our feet.  In our typical
fashion we made jokes about "nice scene minus some light,
minus some water," and so on.  Then we got in the car
and drove on to the school house -- still a long, long, long
drive.

I'll write more about it next time I get near the Internet.
That whole drive was spectacular beyond compare.

Have a marvelling-at-the-wonders-of-the-world day.

8 comments:

Nicki said...

Hi Barbara,

It sounds like you are having a wonderful holiday! What a delight to read about your travels. I LOVE the photos of you and Flora and the spectacular work she and her husband create. Thank you for taking us along for the ride!

XO Nicki

Unknown said...

so nice to see you and Flora and her beautiful work! I'm glad you're having such a marvelous holiday. Your breakfast painting is absolutely gorgeous!

Flora Doehler said...

Barbara and Steven, we miss you! It was indeed a short visit, but oh so interesting to talk about life and painting with you.
And your drive home sounded wild and wonderful.
Was the stop off at Burnt Head? I suppose all the Fundy parks have a lot of stairs going down.
And thank you Nicki and Sally for your comments about my work. I am inspired by all of you too. Aren't we all so very, very lucky to be able to paint.
xo Flora

cohen labelle said...

This is a wonderful post, Barbara! I've long been an admirer of Flora's paintings, they're astounding as well as the work of Larry and of course a huge fan of yours as well!

love, Marcia

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Nicki,

We are having a great time. It's really sad to think of leaving. The place gets right inside your soul. So much beauty. Love your work.

XOXO Barbara

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Sally,

Thanks so much. It has been amazing, and yes Flora's work is astounding.

I love what you are working on.

XOXO Barbara

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Flora,

No we stopped at Chevrier. We were there before two years ago (in daylight ;) and had to go back.

Loved our time with you and loved, loved, loved your work.

Love to all.
XOXO Barbara

Barbara Muir said...

Hey Marcia,

Miss you so much. Wish you could be out here. The landscape is beyond exquisite. It is just gob smackingly beautiful and stunning. We are in awe and sad about leaving.

Please visit soon when we get back.

XOXO

Love Barbara

Portrait Artist

My photo
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
I paint and draw on commission and for shows. To commission a portrait, or purchase one of my paintings please contact me at: barbara.muir@sympatico.ca
A major highlight in my career? Drawing Oprah Winfrey live via Skype for her show "Where in the Skype are you? Galleries: Studio Vogue Gallery, Toronto, Canada. The Amsterdam Whitney Gallery, New York City. Gallery at the Porch Door, Kingston, Canada. Your positive comments on this blog mean the world to me. I'd love to hear from you!