The Picturesque and the Pastoral
During the "Great Age of British Watercolours", romantic artists such as John Sell Cotman, Thomas Girtin, Constable and Turner manipulated the landscape to elevate it to a higher ideal of beauty. The Loyalist and early British settlers who landed on the shores of Lake Ontario imposed the ideal of the "pastoral British landscape" onto the topography of Southern Ontario.
As succeeding generations of Canadians become more removed from their rural roots, and the rural landscape, the allure of the quiet village and countryside beckons. Debra searches out areas of rural Southern Ontario that have remained untouched by time - that are dotted with small hamlets and villages tucked into valleys, farmsteads with stone fences wending their way over rolling hills, and stone mills that rise up out of river beds. Although her work always starts with a reference to a particular locale, she manipulates the landscape before her, adding or altering elements to "create" the picturesque.
Blue Dusk 2010 - 20" x 5"
Farmstead Evening 2010 - 3" x 4"
Near Hoard's Station 2010 - 29" x 8"
March Morning 2010 - 16" x 22"
January Fog 2 2008 - 10" x 29"
January Fog 1 2008 - 21" x 29"
January Fog 3 2008 - 10" x 29"
January Mist 2008 29" x 14"
Evening Swell Amhurst Island 2008 - 29" x 4"
Thumblatch 4" x 16" 2010
Caw - 36" x 26"
A Gathering of Crows 2008 - 24" x 29"
April River Bank - 12" x 16"
Still Yellow - 29" x 21"
Lake Ontario Farmstead - 31" x 10"
Winter Sparkle - 15" x 22"
Along the Riverbank - 22" x 30"
Autumn Trek - 22" x 30"
Autumn Scene - 9" x 10"
Lazy Afternoon - 22" x 30"
The Mill Stream - 15" x 22"
The Old Mill Lane - 15" x 22"
Sailing Club - 15" x 22"
Wash Day - 15" x 22"
When Evening Falls - 15" x 22"
Winter Outing - 15" x 22"
Please note that these galleries are for reference only, and the paintings shown here are no longer available for sale. Visit "In the Parlour" for new and available work. Thank you.