Status of Original Painting – For Sale

All prices are in Canadian dollars

Size: 15.75 x 20  inches

Price: Inquire

Medium: Watercolour on 300 lb Arches

Description:

This painting is a bit of a departure for me! I’ve depicted the surreal beauty of the aurora borealis over the skyline of St. John’s harbor, specifically Signal Hill (with Cabot tower visible just to the left) and the Outer Battery below it. When seen clearly, the northern lights are massive dancing or rippling curtains of many colors. When more distant, the sky may simply take on an unusual glow of yellow, red, or green.

For this painting I borrowed a magnificent view of the northern lights in Nunavut, where the sky was clear and the image quite sharp and brilliant. This was in November 2024 when a massive aurora was visible throughout much of North America. I’ve transposed that view of the aurora to the waterfront of St. John’s, adjusted the stars accordingly, and captured reflections in the water as they might have been. It’s an idealized view of what could have been seen, were it not for the overcast sky in St. John’s that evening…

Painting the aurora reminded me of the challenges involved in painting a rainbow for “Before or After the Storm.” Auroras and rainbows look surreal to begin with, and difficult to make them look real in a painting.

My thanks to Nam-An Hoang Dinh for use of his aurora photo, my son Jamieson for the nighttime view of St. John’s harbor (and for challenging me to paint the aurora), and Emma Walters and my wife Lisa for vetting the various ideas I had for a title.