Inuksuk: Painting of Hardy Lake

Last week, we spent a restful week in the Muskoka region of Ontario. I started a painting yesterday of a scene I saw when we hiked around a lovely trail on Hardy Lake.

Someone had made an inuksuk (also spelled inukshuk), a stacked-stone navigational landmark with a human form, on the shore just off the trail we were walking on. I love the way it looks like the inuksuk is admiring the landscape.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the Muskoka region, it is an area of gentle landmarks and soft contours. There are no mountains and few rugged rockscapes. While this sameness could seem monotonous, the effect is actually one of calm and peacefulness. It's a lovely region full of beautiful lakes and is worth visiting.

I think my painting is finished but it always takes me a few days to know. I need to stare at it at different times of day to know if I need to add any small details or shadows. Usually, I will start another painting while I am considering the 'finished' state of my last one.

Here is another view.  The colours of my painting are a little more delicate than what is showing in the photos.