Local Farm
56 seconds
The sunflower fence line in Simcoe County, painted from the photograph: the barn and the field blocked in first, then the sky, and the flower heads last.
Making Of
Georgian Bay, one brushstroke at a time.
Each of these is a painting building itself up from a blank canvas to the finished work. They run under a minute each, and nothing downloads until you press play.
Every piece starts from a photograph James Portman took of a real place around Georgian Bay.
The style owes a debt to the Post-Impressionists, with directional strokes that follow the curl of a cloud or the run of a wave, and colour pushed a little past what the camera saw, in the saturated autumn palette this stretch of Ontario is known for.
The painting itself is made in Rebelle, digital painting software that reproduces how real paint behaves: oil that thickens and holds the mark of the bristles, wet colour that blends where strokes meet, and layers that dry and build on one another. The strokes usually go down the way an oil painter works, with a thin dark ground, the dark masses laid in first and the brightest accents last. A time-lapse recording captures the whole process, and after a final finishing pass, the last frame of each film is the finished print.
Manitoulin Island
56 seconds
The long view over the North Channel from the Manitoulin escarpment, the green foreground laid in first, the water and the far hills brought up behind it.
Peasemarsh
56 seconds
Autumn on the Georgian Bay shoreline near Craigleith, the first snow already down on the gravel.
Bridal Veil Falls
56 seconds
The wide curtain of Bridal Veil Falls at Kagawong, laid in from the dark limestone behind and finished with the falling water.
Inglis Falls, Owen Sound
56 seconds
The Sydenham River dropping off the escarpment south of Owen Sound: the rock staircase blocked in first, the white water last.
Top of Blue Mountain
56 seconds
Autumn maple at the top of Blue Mountain, built from the trunks outward until the canopy closes over.
Ravenna Canola
56 seconds
A canola field rolling over the Grey Highlands, the field blocked in dark green first and the yellow laid on over it.
The Grotto
54 seconds
The limestone cliffs and turquoise water of the Grotto near Tobermory, the cave mouth held back until the final passes.
Blue Mountain Sunrise
56 seconds
A winter sunrise over the Blue Mountains, the sky worked from the darks upward into pink and gold.
Near Killarney
56 seconds
A granite point on the Killarney shore, the pines massed in before the still water takes their reflection.
Scenic Caves
56 seconds
Low winter sun across the groomed trails at Scenic Caves: the bare hardwoods massed in first and the long blue shadows laid across the snow straight after.
Singhampton
56 seconds
Spruce bent under deep fresh snow near Singhampton, the field swept flat and empty in front of them.
Delphi Point
56 seconds
Limestone shelves running out into the waves at Delphi Point, the broken autumn sky worked up from the darks.
Lora Bay
56 seconds
Winter light on the hard blue water at Lora Bay, the open water laid in first, the escarpment behind it next, and the snow-covered spit after both.
Blue Mountain Trail
56 seconds
A hardwood trail near the Alpine Ski Club turning gold: the trunks massed in first, the leaf litter and the path itself left until last.
Alpine Ski Club: Fall
56 seconds
The slopes of the Alpine Ski Club before the first snow, the autumn trees blocked in first and the path and the sky opened up after them.
Council Beach
56 seconds
Winter light at Council Beach: the escarpment and treeline blocked in first, then the broken ice worked up under a low sun.
Northwinds Beach
56 seconds
A wave breaking on the wet sand at Northwinds Beach at dusk: the whole scene washed in pale first, the dark water worked over it, and the foam left until last.
Beaver River Access
56 seconds
The lily pads and reeds at the Beaver River access point, the water laid in first and the pads floated on last.
Blue Mountain Sunset
56 seconds
A bank of altocumulus catching the last light over Blue Mountain, worked from the orange cloud bank down into the pale sky beneath it.
Bruce Trail in the Grey Highlands
56 seconds
A cascade over moss-covered boulders in the Grey Highlands, the rocks massed in before the white water runs over them.
Bruce Trail at Epping
56 seconds
Deep snow on the conifers along the Bruce Trail at Epping, the dark trunks set against the sky before the snow is heaped on.