#PIPAF2022 Day Three and more from Day Two

The Jurassic Shore is truly epic

Special note: paintings from PIPAF 2022 are available for sale if you would like to acquire one, please contact www.ParrsboroCreatve.com and they will take care of everything that way during the festival. Parrsboro Creative’s phone number is: 902-728-2007 or email: director@parrsborocreative.com.

Day Three: Friday, I can’t believe it’s Friday already

It’s grey here today with rain forecast throughout the day. The window I’m looking out is covered in water droplets where the wind pushed it in towards the cottage. It pixilates the view. What I can see, barely, is a foggy distant island and closer one with a soft green-grey silhouette surrounded with grey water, grey sky. An inlet is missing the sun and shadows that illuminate it’s carved shore but I’m thinking the trees are enjoying a good drink. Obviously, the Bay of Fundy needs a little replenishing from time to time, just like the rest of us.

Things in Parrsboro close early, like 7:00 or 7:30 pm early. Luckily, last night I got into my best friend’s place for a bite to eat before he closed up shop. Even more luckily, he opens his doors at 5:00 am so I’m sipping on his coffee and eating a bagel he toasted for me on a quick drive into town. Many of you are familiar with him: Tim Horton. He’s bustling hero around here. So while this town goes to bed early, it awakens early too. Not a bad tradeoff. The prize? Stellar scenery, every way you look no matter the weather.

More From Yesterday (Day Two)

Here’s the start of a painting that didn’t quite get done. or maybe it’s done, sometimes I just need to sleep on things for a bit to see if they’re done. But I didn’t give it the time I would ordinarily give to a painting this large (or even a smaller painting, it all takes time and concentration).

Someone remarked here at the opening that coming to Parrsboro is a little like travelling back in time. Driving here is like driving back into my childhood, the roads are narrower, many of the homes that were there as a kid are still there, many beautifully maintained with their gingerbread trim. There’s a quietness here, which I like.

Then there are the dirt roads, which really take me home (anyone hearing John Denver’s Take Me Home Country Road, feel free to join in with with the lyrics now).

In a way, driving into Cape d’Or had me questioning my sanity. It’s about a 5 or 6 km long drive and it’s a bustling tourist destination (although I didn’t see another car on the way in or out) and the road completely covered in red gravel. I can remember driving to the Annapolis Valley, in the backseat of my parents’ car with a steady plume of dust kicking up behind us on the way, back when the highways were made of gravel instead of asphalt. So this scenario, the way your car shifts into some of the heavy gravel that’s been misplaced from the tires biting into it, really feels like a long time ago. There are steep gravelled hills, which are a little tricky to drive on and no cellular service. Kinda love it, kinda scary.

I kept asking myself, “did I take a wrong turn?” Turns out, I was on the right path. The pay off was a stunning view of the Minas Basin where you could survey from a steep cliff. And that’s where all the people were too.

But let me backtrack a little to earlier on Day Two.

In the morning, while painting by Partridge Island, I wore a long sleeves pullover, coveralls, a warm vest and eventually had to pull my winter painting coat out to wear. It was freezing. No bugs. A few artists painting nearby too.

Evidently, all the heat was being saved up for Cape d’Or. And that’s where all the bugs were too. And people — both the artistic and touristic type too.

Being smitten with the incredible rocky water and landscape before me, I pulled out my 18x24-inch linen canvas that I’ve had for years. I decided to push myself out of my comfort zone of smaller boards to paint on. All you can do is give it a try, right?

I smeared paint all over the canvas as fast as I could but the bugs and the sun hitting my backside, burning the calves of my legs and back of my neck made me rethink it. And the fun, yet distracting, conversations with everyone who passed by made concentration challenging.

So this is what I had after about 45-minutes:

This painting reminds me to be true to myself, always, when painting. I have a certain way that I can’t exactly put into words when I select a location to paint. Sometimes it isn’t the flashiest place that offer the best subjects (for me). I think this was one of those times where I would have been better off finding a more intimate, rather than flashy location paint.

But personal growth is a real thing and going out of your comfort zone is really the best way to move forward, knowing that the things you do are good enough.

Back to Day Three

My Tim Horton’s coffee is almost done and I devoured the toasted bagel with cream cheese while composing this note. Oddly, I’m eager for the coolness of the rain (soothing to my sunburnt, bug bitten skin from yesterday). Plus, I had a good night’s rest, something I didn’t have the night before.

Beyond Day Three

As the days progress in PIPAF 2022, the geographic area where we paint narrows. For example, during the first few days artists could paint from Soley Cove Road in Economy all the way through to Advocate Harbour, that’s a pretty wide swath of land to draw from. Today, it narrows, I think it’s around Two Islands to just past Diligent River.

Tomorrow we will paint within the town limits and the show and sale takes place tomorrow afternoon too. If you can make it to Parrsboro for tomorrow, I’d highly recommend it — beautiful weather is forecast and there are some incredible paintings being created on the spot here by 30 talented artists.

There’s a map on this page, showing the competition boundaries and how they change over the days.

A Tech Note

Posting from here is a little challenging, I have to upload the images from my cell phone using my data (LTE, not any of the “Gs” and then open up the note on my laptop to post because for some reason the “publish” button doesn’t work in either Chrome or Safari on my cell phone.

So I’ll try to post again tonight or tomorrow morning but the window to paint is closing, so I need to focus on that.

Thanks again for your support and encouragement, really appreciate it.

Stay tuned.

M.A.