Of breaks, bruises and the message behind it all...

Painting with my cat Sasha

"The world breaks everyone and afterwards some are strong at the broken places." 

~Ernest Hemingway

Nine days ago I broke my foot. Six days ago I put my hand through a glass window, badly cutting it in the process. Granted the glass in the window was old and my hand slipped off of the wood frame, but this injury and my foot in an aircast after fracturing my fifth metatarsal have caused me to wonder about what the universe is trying to say here. There is a message and meaning to everything that happens to us in life. The answers I know will be revealed in good time. Patience, ever the virtue and something I struggle with, will win in the end. 

The irony is that for weeks this summer I trekked through some of the burliest country in North America in the Alaskan Interior, slashing and hacking, climbing and slipping. Yet, here not ten minutes from my homes, the simplest of twists when I was not looking where I was going changes your life in a large way. However, instead of wallowing in the situation I am trying to use the time to accomplish some solid work and continue to prepare for the Newfoundland Portraits exhibition which is now less than three months away. I am also continuing work on paintings based on Christopher McCandless' photographs of his odyssey around North America which will eventually form an exhibition as well, happening in either 2011 or 2012. 

My physician advised me to keep my cast on as often as possible and to elevate my foot frequently. I have had to devise a way to paint with my foot raised up, which is no feat (pun intended). However I think the greatest lesson that I can discern from this break, at least for now, is how much we take mobility in life for granted. I realize now that running is out of the question, that moving quickly is not in my vocabulary for the next while, how fortunate we are when we can move as swiftly as our feet can carry us. It makes me appreciate each day and each task that we can do ourselves with even more humility and gratitude. Plus, it is an opportunity to focus energy that might have been spent on other things, towards my painting. I have included a photo of the cast on the edge of my easel while I paint below. Not terribly exciting but fortunately I have a job where I can work in this condition. 

I have about five weeks left with the cast and other than learning to hobble as well as possible with this aircast my work is coalescing and paintings are being completed, new ones begun and I am thankful for the support of friends and family too. My friend Gayle brought some fresh vegetables from her garden and some  homemade  vegan! chickpea salad for me. Thank-you almost doesn't do justice to these beautiful acts of kindness. 

In terms of what is happening in the studio I will include two pictures of paintings in progress for you to see what I have been up to. 

This is not a great photo but you get the idea here. This gentleman is a great character and kind soul who I met while in Wesleyville, Newfoundland last September. I loved his small shed with the low door frame and asked him to stand in that space. I enjoyed the darkness behind him and love to do paintings with doors and frames that are echoed in the shape of the canvas itself. Thus George posed for me for a few minutes and I am working hard to have this painting completed by month's end. 

This painting is one that is very near and dear to my heart. I expect to have it finished in one more solid day's work. It is a painting based on Chris McCandless' photo of his backpack on the Stampede Trail in the Alaskan Interior on or around April 28th, 1992. He had just been dropped off by Jim Gallien, an electrician who gave him a lift as far as he could down the uneven Stampede Road that becomes Stampede Trail eventually. Chris would have been alone on the trail for the first time and probably his pack was the first and logical thing to take a picture of as a symbol of himself, his journey, his philosophy. There is almost an Ansel Adamsesque quality to his shot, a quality that I wanted to capture in my painting as faithfully as possible. I will post the completed painting on my other blog, Heather Horton Artwork as soon as it is finished and Chris' parents have seen it. 

On a side note, I am trying to start thinking about a way to make the exhibition of paintings related to Chris' life and photographs a traveling exhibit. Christopher was a traveler, and I thought how appropriate a traveling exhibit would be for such a peripatetic man, a beautiful soul who turned thought into action and his incredible odyssey is a testament to that philosophy. I am sure Chris would agree with Henry David Thoreau, a hero of his, to "not lose hold of your dreams or aspirations. For if you do, you may still exist but you have ceased to live." Therefore if anyone reading this blog entry has any ideas about publicly or government-funded galleries looking to exhibit these paintings about Chris' life and journey, please send me a message. I would like to start planning this exhibit now, because the time to show them will arrive soon!

Here are some other paintings I have done based on Christopher's photographs so far. 

"Chris' Canoe, Near Golfo", oil on panel, 18"x24"

"Odyssey By Train", oil on panel, 18"x24"

"To The Sea", oil on canvas, 24"x36"

My apologies for the delay in blogging lately. A constellation of factors have contributed but I wanted to let you know about why I have not written in that it really is a time of production and distillation..a quietly exciting time, a time like no other :) 

Take care and have a beautiful weekend,

Heather

"We could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world"

~Helen Keller

Here is some information on my solo show, Portraits Of Newfoundland. This exhibit will focus on the beautiful people and places I encountered on a journey there last September. I hope to see you at the opening! 

Portraits Of Newfoundland

November 5-22nd, 2009

Abbozzo Gallery, Oakville, Ontario

Opening Reception November 6th, 7-10pm

On Chris, Alaska, Bus 142 and meeting new friends

"Bus 142", 2008, Oil On Canvas, 30"x24"

"Happiness is only real when shared". ~Christopher J. McCandless

I firmly believe that you can accomplish anything if you put your mind and heart into it. With all of your energy invested, the chance of failure is slim. I think we are rut-prone by nature...habits form and routines are carved out, just as water slowly shapes rocks. These patterns are comfortable and safe. There is nothing wrong with this but to boldly step off the beaten path and extend yourself beyond what you thought you could do is liberating and helps to carve out one's character in bold strokes.

I am heading to the Alaskan Interior in less than a week. I am traveling there in search of Fairbanks Bus 142, the bus where Christopher McCandless culminated his two year journey of self-discovery in 1992. Tragically Chris perished at the end of his odyssey, but in my heart I believe that his memory will live on forever. He has touched countless lives and serves as inspiration to many who feel the call of the road; to those who need to reach what lies beyond the horizon and to all who want to "live deep and suck the marrow out of life" as Henry David Thoreau famously wrote.

I recently returned from a trip to visit Chris' parents Walt and Billie. They were so generous and kind to allow me into their lives for a time. We hit it off immediately and I feel strongly that we will be lifelong friends. Walt and Billie also introduced me to some of their friends, all of whom exuded a warmth and demonstrated that Southern Hospitality is not a cliché but a bona fide truism. I plan on doing some paintings inspired by Chris and his life. To have their support and encouragement in this endeavor means more to me than I can convey here. I want to honor his memory as best as I can in the paintings that I do. Clearly he was an intense, intelligent and very brave young man, someone who made things happen for himself, someone who saw obstacles as opportunities and made an indelible mark upon the lives everyone he met along the way. Clearly, most assuredly, he will never be forgotten.



My friend Ed is going to accompany me to the bus. It is a very special place, and I am hoping that it will lend me some insight into Chris and his life by retracing his steps on the Stampede Trail near Healy, Alaska. I am so grateful to Ed for helping me with this most important journey. It would be simply be out of the question without his expertise and companionship.

The bus lies about 20 miles west of the George Parks Highway, on the border of Denali National Park. Our plan is to head out early on Monday morning and bike the first 5 or so miles along the trail until we arrive at the Savage River. Ed has aspirations that we will carry our bikes across the river and continue riding beyond it but we'll see how that goes when we get to that point. I am a back-country neophyte and know that I will really have my work cut out for me. The big challenge will be the Teklanika river, the river that Chris was unable to cross in July of 1992. Ed and I have packrafts and we intend to bushwhack down to the braided section of the Tek and ford the river there. Beyond the Tek we will hike the remaining 12 miles to the bus and hopefully reach it by sundown (around 10:30 pm at this time of year in Alaska). We plan on staying for a day and night at the bus and then make our way back to the highway on the third day. I have heard that the topography is not too challenging but that it will be wet going as it has been a rainy summer in Alaska and there are many beaver ponds to be negotiated. Needless to say the sheer distance to the bus is intimidating but I am determined to reach it. Once there I will shoot reference for possible paintings, explore the surrounding area and reflect on what it might have been like when Chris spent time there in 1992.

Today, as I frequently do, I was thinking about Chris. I was wondering what it is about him that that resonates so strongly with me. Many people shuffle off this mortal coil every day but yet Chris and his memory live on. I believe that it is not the circumstances of our deaths that should define us but what we do with our lives that matters most. Chris did not wait for life to happen but seized the day and made it happen for himself.

Here are some paintings that I have completed based on Chris' photographs from his odyssey thus far:

"Chris' Canoe, Near Golfo", 18"x24" Oil On Canvas

"Odyssey By Train", Oil On Panel, 18"x24"

"Chris' Pack, Stampede Trail", Oil On Panel, 24"x30"

"To The Sea", Oil On Canvas, 24"x30"

"The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun." ~ Christopher J. McCandless