Magnetawan Hill

By 3 pm, Lawrence Nickle had guided me to the north bank of the Magnetawan River to the east of Burk's Falls - on the western flank of Algonquin... more

by Phil Chadwick

Buy the Original Painting

Price

$595

Dimensions

14.000 x 11.000 x 1.000 inches

Title

Magnetawan Hill

Artist

Phil Chadwick

Medium

Painting - Oil On Canvas

Description

By 3 pm, Lawrence Nickle had guided me to the north bank of the Magnetawan River to the east of Burk's Falls - on the western flank of Algonquin Park. The biting bugs were waiting for us so I donned the bug jacket right away. Lawrence sat in the shade of a tree and painted his favourite scene looking directly across the flow. He seemed oblivious to the bugs but the welts on his legs said otherwise. So as not to block his view while staying close, I stood on the edge of the flow and looked westerly, down the rapid. The constant splash of the rapid and the occasional butterfly made it a very enjoyable afternoon.

My vantage is looking down the flow and downhill but it may be challenging to the viewer to discern this orientation given that the scene is entirely composed of variations of green and blue; light and dark. This explains the title which is after the famous "Magnetic Hill" of Moncton, New Brunswick. The Moncton Magnetic Hill is an optical illusion where sloping horizons make it appear as though your car is actually drawn uphill (by magnetism) against the force of gravity. This is one of my fondest memories as a kid on a family vacation to the east coast in the 1960's. In the painting, one might think that the water also flows uphill against gravity but be assured, gravity is still "king" and it is only my downhill vantage point.

Uploaded

July 13th, 2015