Storm Clouds

Title: Storm Clouds ~ 8x10 acrylic on canvas board.

As a fishing guide I spend a lot of time on the water and have experienced a lot of stormy weather. I can remember a storm when I was on a fishing trip on Lake Superior. We were in a canoe fishing for speckeled (brook) trout on a small inland lake and not very far from shore. The wind picked up and storm clouds started moving very fast in our direction. We picked up our lines and paddled very quickly to shore turned the canoe over and crawled under it. The storm only lasted for ten minutes or so...(a summer storm) but gave us quite a thrill! This painting is my memory of the sky and water!

Listen to Don's music here at http://www.doncharbonneau.com

Good Friday 2009/ Canoes and Portage Days

Title: Canoes and Portage Days (Red Canoe Series) 8x10 acrylic on canvas board/ created on Good Friday 2009 with poem.

Canoes and Portage Memories

Floating silently on this river
Dreaming of days yet to come
With gentle persuasion this current
takes me to places
I have no memory of
Only this beauty is familiar
And I want to remember


This river has bends and
Small bays that sometimes
Hold this fragile craft

and keep it from moving
for what seems like an eternity
And then suddenly
The wind picks up
And moves this canoe
Along
To continue on it’s journey
Of dreams

Birch trees clinging to
Rocky shores
Seem brave
And unafraid of a future
That has no tomorrow
Existing in an endless day
In this natural world
Filled with only a moment
To be cherished forever

There’s a waterfall up ahead
Another portage is waiting
Carrying my precious and fragile craft
On this trail

I remember
A portage I took in another
Time
And pause to reflect and understand
That this is the life

I have chosen.

Don Charbonneau Good Friday /2009

http://www.doncharbonneau.com/ for Don's music

puchase this painting by contacting doncharbonneau@sympatico.ca

Lake Superior Coastline

Title: " Somewhere on the Coastline" 8x10'' acrylic on canvas

There are many places on the Lake Superior coastline that celebrate it's beauty. This is a scene I painted from memory this past winter...somewhere on the coastline.

Superior Wind (from Songs from the Coastline/Safe Harbour)

There’s a wind blowing on shore tonight
Waves will be rolling high by the morn
Superior wind blowing in
Mishepezhieu I can see your form
I guess I’ll be staying here for awhile

I’ve been here nine days and you're still blowing strong
It’s cold on this island
But it’s warm in my heart
There’s a magic on this water
There’s a spirit on this air
Superior wind blowing in
Mishepezhieu I can see your form
I guess I’ll be staying for awhile
I don’t mind staying for awhile

With my eyes closed I can still see your stars
Silver birch you're glowing in my mind
There’s a power in this stone
There’s a power in these trees
Superior wind blowing in my soul
Mishepezhieu I can see your form
I guess I’ll be staying for awhile
Don’t mind staying for awhile
I guess I’ll be staying for my life.



Listen to the song Superior Wind here at http://www.doncharbonneau.com/

Purchase this painting by contacting doncharbonneau@sympatico.ca

Yellow Birch

Title: Yellow Birch 8x10" acrylic on canvas.



Song Fragment / The Luckiest Man Alive

..."I’m running late on this river again
Big old moon shining bright
Feels like I’m the luckiest man alive.
Silver birch on that other shore
all lit up like candles in row
lighting my way home.
I swear by God there’s been many a night
Where I’ve just reached up and touched a star
and brought it back to her world.
One of these days I’ll just keep going north
I’ll stay on this water till I reach
The land I’ve been dreaming of..."

Hear this song on Don's website http://www.doncharbonneau.com/

Changing Landscape

Title: Twin Birches / Whitefish Lake 12x16" acrylic on canvas.


Changing Landscape/Poem Story Fragment

It's going on ten years now since the summer of the big wind. I was out on Manitowick Lake with a fishing party when the sky turned an eerie colour of purple, pink and black.

The brisk south west wind that was blowing just died right off...something just didn't feel right.

Everything went absolutely quiet and it felt like something big and terrible was coming. I'm glad I listened to my instinct and got off the lake that afternoon.

Less than fifteen minutes after reaching camp a hurricane force wind came to visit and forever changed the landscape...ripping out trees that had been around for well over a hundred years.

I had a couple of new guests to take out fishing the next day. Once out on the lake every thing seemed normal compared to the chaos being experienced back at camp. Over sixty mature Jack pine and Black Spruce trees had fallen on the property. Fortunately, all the cabins had been saved except for one boat which had a huge 100 year old Black Spruce fall in it's lap.

Power had been knocked out and would remain so for three or four more days creating an atmosphere of old time camping at the lodge.

Heading north up the lake about seven miles from camp I looked for a familiar land mark that I normally used as a reference point for new guest. This was a good hole for early morning fishing. I couldn't believe my eyes...the two huge twin silver birch trees that looked like a big white "V" that had stood forever it seems...were blown over and laying with their crowns drowned in the waters of Whitefish Lake.

My soul's landscape is now forever change

I know they are gone

But yet, I always look in their direction

and see those trees in my mind's eye

forever etched in my memory where they live.

I don't stop and show this fishing hole anymore

It makes me sad.

I still mourn the loss of my two friends

I'm sure the pickerel still feed there.

Shikwanka River

Title: Shikwanka River / 8x10 Acrylic on canvas board.

The Shikwanka River is part of the Whitefish and Manitowick lake system . I guide on this river starting in the early spring and well into late summer. This river empties into the Michipicoten River system which flows into Lake Superior.
The location on this painting is one of my favourite spots to fish for post spawn walleyes in late May and early June. I painted this landscape using only a small palette knife.(I did use a small brush for the red canoe!)

Shikwanka River (Storyand Poem Fragment)

I'm up here early for this time of year
the pickerel are just coming off the spawning beds.
Slowly making their way down river
resting and feeding on minnows.
Another cycle completed
Another cycle just beginning.

There are still traces of snow on the north banks
sheltered (shaded) by mature Jack pine and Black Spruce.
Memories of winter cling to these young days of May
but not for much longer.

I came upon a young bull moose
swimming across the river this morning
he was heading for Sand Creek.
I approached him and shut off my motor.
I listened to his breathing and gently spoke to him
assuring him I meant no harm.
I watched him climb the bank
and instead of disappearing in the bush
he shook off water and turned to look at me
He seemed intent on listening to what I was saying.
Another memory.

Dock Pilings Michipicoten Harbour

Title: Dock Pilings Michipicoten Harbour / 8x10" acrylic on canvas

I painted this little abstract after a visit to Michipicoten a few weeks ago. The old dock pilings left this imagery in my mind.
I did a small painting of Michipicoten Harbour you can view in an earlier March Blog tiltled "Winter Michipicoten Harbour.

My music website is here at http://www.doncharbonneau.com/

Natural World

Photograph of Don in concert at Agawa Provincial Park. (Photo Credit J. Cooper)

Title: "Agawa Bay" 4x6'' acrylic on card stock.

Agawa Bay is located on Lake Superior about fifty miles south of Wawa Ontario on highway 17. The provincial park is right off the highway and has a beautiful campground. The Agawa pictographs are located minutes away and accessible by a 20 minute hike or a short canoe paddle from Sinclair cove. I've performed here a number of times in concert over past summers.

Natural World

There is a window
in my consciousness
that opens only
in the natural world.
Clutter and confusion
have no meaning here
although the light
in this world
does attract
colour.

Moose Horn Point

Title(1) Moose Horn : 8x10" acrylic multimedia on canvas board ~ Title (2) Moosehorn Point 8x10" acrylic on canvas.

Moose Horn Point

Fresh Tracks in the snow

It wasn't that long ago

you stopped here...perhaps

this morning or during the night

I can see where you rubbed

your rack on this young spruce

and dropped a horn

left a part of yourself

here on this point

How many memories

have fallen from your head

unoticed...witnessed only by

the silence of this wildwood

I will leave this one

here

undisturbed

but will carry away

it's memory.

Three Sisters Whitefish Lake ( Red Canoe Portage Series)

Title "Three Sisters / Whitefish Lake" 8x10" acrylic on canvas.

This point of land actually exits in the natural world and is located on Manitowick Lake. In late August the whitefish come to a shoal here to feed and this is one of my favourite areas to fish for them.
Although there are no pictographs painted on the cliff walls I believe this area to be a place of power. I always leave here feeling energized!

Water Reflection

Looking at water
is like looking for
my soul
mysterious
and slightly
out of reach.

music website http://www.doncharbonneau.com/

Mystic Waterfall

Title: Mystic Waterfall 16x24" acrylic on canvas with painted sides.

Mystic Waterfall

We could hear the waterfall

a good distance down river.

We paddled hard as the

current got stronger.

Around the next bend

we came face to face

with a wall of water.

We paddled to one side

of a quiet pool

and just sat there

in our canoe

listening to the water

coming down.

With a gentle power

it carried away all

of our troubles, cares

and worries.

You'll find them somewhere

downstream

all washed up.

music website http://doncharbonneau.com/

Train Stories

Photo: Don at Hawk Junction A.C.R. Station / Photo credit Jude Charbonneau

Title:"Somewhere on the ACR" 8x10" acrylic on canvas board./ Title: "Engine 49" 8x10"acrylic on canvas.

I'm in the process of writing songs for a new album which will have a train theme. If you have a train story you would like to share please send it along using the mail form on my website here at http://www.doncharbonneau.com/ and click on Train Stories.

These are two pieces I will be using on my new music CD "Train Stories". I plan on having a small painting for every song that will be on this new album.

Engine 49

I grew up in a small railroad town in Northern Ontario and have many fond memories of trains. Our house was just across the street from the Railroad Station. My step grandfather " petit Nan" was a night watchman for the lumber mill which used the railroad to ship their lumber.

I used to accompany him on his rounds and remember him setting his watch by his favourite train "Old Engine 49" ...was always on time. Great stuff for a song!

"Place of Power/Devil's Chair Lake Superior"

Title: "Place of Power/Devil's Chair Lake Superior" Acrylic on canvas with finished sides.

The Devil Chair is located at the entrance of Guargantua Harbour on Lake Superior. I spent time camping here while boating on Superior. This is a traditional place of power and the imagery is still very much alive in my memory. I recorded the song titled the Devil's Chair on my first CD in 2004. This song was used in a video that was filmed in this area a couple of years ago. You can view this video here (takes 15 to 20 seconds to load)
http://www.doncharbonneau.com/media/video/devchair.wmv

Video Credits: Paula Truss http://www.thenorthviewtv.com/

The Devil’s Chair

He was coming home in the early spring

With a load of fur in his old canoe

Guargantua he was heading for

Off shore wind was blowing fair.

He was two miles from the Devil’s Chair

He was two miles from the Devil’s Chair

Wind suddenly turned around

Gitchee Gumme now was blowing strong

He became afraid for his life Forgive me Lord if I have sinned

But my wife and children I do love My wife and children I do love.

He was two miles from the Devil’s Chair

Oh Manitou what have done

Have I not sang your praises enough

This last tobacco I do offer

For two more miles of safe water

He was two miles from the Devil’s Chair

Fragments

Fragments

You'll see them everywhere

once you learn how to look for them.

They are a part of our world

and exist at the very edge

of our perception.

Some artists attempt

to make them real

so that you can see

what they look like.

On their canvas they appear

as smears and blotches

colours that have no reason

to be blended together

Yet the very nature

of colour is abstract

but survives very well

in a real world

where really

there is only light.

This is where my

fragments exist.

Don Charbonneau

Don's music website here at http://www.doncharbonneau.com/

Red Canoe Portage Series

Title:"Red Canoe" 4x6" acrylic on card paper

Back in January I started painting a series of paintings titled Portage series. I wrote several small poem fragments to acompany these pieces. The red canoe can be found in several of the paintings sometimes just as a blur. This in an ongoing series as I find myself coming back to this subject.

The Red Canoe

The analogy of the canoe as a
human body
fragile craft
always moving
to it's destiny
we all eventually reach
but for each of us
at a different time
yet always at the same moment


Don's music website is located here http://www.doncharbonneau.com/

Fall Colours

Title: "Fall Colours" 8"x10" acrylic on canvas.

Birch trees make an excellent subject for painting. Each one has an individual characteristic...fragile but yet they are able able to survive on what seems to be bare rock and in the harshest of climate. I plan on doing a whole series on this species and have used them in song and poetry.
This story/poem was inspired by a fall fishing trip with my sons.

Birch Trees and Suspended Walleyes

It was early fall and
we were coming around a point.
Suddenly,we found ourselves
confronted by a wall of colour.
The birch trees had lost
their summer green
and transformed into these
electric colours
of gold, yellow and orange.
A few small soft maple
dotting the shoreline
seemed to be on fire
burning so bright
in this fall sunlight.
We tried fishing here
and found the walleyes
weren't feeding.
I suspect they were just suspending
and enjoying the fall colours.

Don's music website is located here at http://www.doncharbonneau.com/

Old Woman Bay Lake Superior

Title:" Old Woman Bay Lake Superior" 8x10" Acrylic on canvas.

My wife and I went for a ride down Highway 17 to Old Woman Bay yesterday. It was a beautiful early spring day with still plenty of snow on the ground. Old Woman Bay is located about 10 miles South (East) of Wawa on Hwy. 17. I've painted a few scenes from this area this winter and probably will do a few more in the coming years. I did this painting on my return and thought I would help spring along by not painting snow!

I have a memory of Old Woman Bay that goes back to my late teens. I owned a motorcycle and enjoyed taking trips down this coastal highway. One day a friend and I made an afternoon trip on our bikes to the Old Woman. There was an an artist camped there and doing some painting. He was in the process of cooking his lunch which he stated was his favourite...mushroom soup and a grill cheese sandwich! We stayed and had a cup of tea with this older gentleman. I don't remember his name...I know A.Y. Jackson of the Group of Seven used to paint in this area around that time...could that have been him?!!!!!!!!!!

This painting is available for purchase by contacting Don at doncharbonneau@sympatico.ca

View more of my art and music on my website http://www.doncharbonneau.com

Spruce Point Whitefish Lake

Title: Spruce Point Whitefish Lake ~ 12"x16" acrylic on canvas.

I spend a lot of time on Whitefish Lake guiding fisherman during the months of May right into late September. I never tire of looking at the shoreline as it is forever changing with the weather as well as the seasons. I believe the beauty of this country finds a way to exist in my consciousness and becomes another wonderful memory. This is where this painting came from.

This painting is available for purchase please contact doncharbonneau@sympatico.ca

Don's music website is located here at http://www.doncharbonneau.com/

Winter Michipicoten Harbour

Title: Winter Michipicoten Harbour/8"x10" acrylic on canvas. Created winter 2009.

I painted this from a photo I took a few weeks back at Michipicoten Harbour on Lake Superior.
This used to be a very busy port with ships loading iron ore pellets at this location. The harbour is quiet now since Algoma Ore closed it's iron ore mine here in Wawa ten years ago. The old dock pilings are deteriorating and Lake Superior is slowly taking it back one piece at a time. The harbour is located eight miles from Wawa and is accessible year round by a gravel road.

I will be doing more painting in this area later this summer as I plan on offering guided excursions on Michipicoten Bay. Interested in a painting excursion here or the Wawa area please contact me for more information.

This painting is available to purchase by contacting the artist at doncharbonneau@sympatico.ca

Don's music website is located here at http://www.doncharbonneau.com/