"The Canadian Way"
24" X 24"
Acrylics and Mixed Media
 Birch Panel

This past week has not been a good one for Canadians.
Two Canadian Soldiers were murdered, just because they wore uniforms proudly.
My country is in mourning for these brave and good men.

Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, 53

Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, 24, a reservist.

W/O Vincent was run down by a motorist (Purposely) and killed  in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu.

Cpl. Cirillo was gunned down as he stood guard (unarmed)  at the Canadian War Memorial in Ottawa.

Needless to say these type of happenings are not commonplace in my Country.
This painting is in Honour of these two brave men.
and
The people that selflessly put themselves in danger to try and save their lives,

To say thank you to the Sergeant at Arms in the House of Parliament

Ken Vickers
who shot and killed the person that murdered Cpl. Cirillo
I hope I have represented these brave people with a painting that shows us all.....
"That no matter how hard you try to rip the  fabric that holds Canadians together,

the good citizens of this country of all races/creeds & religions

will never be undermined by wanton acts of cowardice such as these."
The step by step process of this painting


In the beginning I wanted to represent all of Canada.
In our National Anthem there is a wonderful line
"From Sea to shining sea"
That is why the colours.
threads torn from a scrap of fabric to represent
what people such as these murderers want to do to our country.
As if to tear apart the threads that hold us together as a Nation.
Red paint representing blood spatters speak for themselves.

then I added a piece of fabric seemingly holding itself together to show our unity as a nation

the threads

Forming the Maple leaves with gel and paint

adding the Maple leaves

Each leaf is partially free of the painting as if they are falling down

side view of some of the Maple Leaves

Almost finished
What looks like light blue is actually an interference paint that shines when
passing

The Canadian flag is added
not too obvious as that is who we are as a people, quiet, reserved, just a country
getting it done in the best way we know how
"....In Unity"

detail of the flag

"Rebirth"

"REBIRTH"
Acrylics on Canvas
8" X16"

"SOLD"

If you are not familiar with Forest fires, there are some very interesting facts about what happens to the land after they have passed.
Firstly,

There are ground fires that burn up.
And secondly,
There are those where the flames skip across the canopy of the trees and burn in a downward direction on the trunks.

No matter what way the fire burns, the forest is devastated.
The interesting thing is, that either way, the fire heats the pine cones, and seeds that were laying on the ground, opens them and then they germinate and begin to grow.

From "Rising from the Ashes"
"In fact, fire is a natural part of the forest’s regeneration system. Most forest trees need to be exposed to fire every 50 to 100 years to invigorate new growth. As we found out in Yellowstone National Park nearly 20 years ago, suppressing forest fires too long can actually be detrimental to forests. Extreme efforts to prevent forest fires there led to a huge consumption of trees when fire finally broke out."
http://www.sciencebuzz.org/blog/rising-ashes-forest-fires-give-way-new-growth


Within days of the ground cooling new growth begins and the forest will (If left alone) begin to regenerate.
Many scientists believe that a wild fire helps regenerate the forest

and rids the land of all the previously dead remains from older trees.
In some National Parks in Canada there are "Controlled burns"
that do exactly this.

These fires do have a devastation effect on the local wildlife and human residents.

I called this painting "Rebirth" because when I posted a work in progress of this painting a friend commented
"it was such a sad thing to see."
My reply was...
"It is sad, I have seen this type of devastation all too many times, but the Forests give birth as soon as the Earth cools and it begins anew. There is always hope."

I hope you can see the hope in these paintings.
I hope that you can see the new and diseased free rebirth of what is to come.
I hope that you can understand that Nature has a way of balancing itself out.
And I hope that, what may look like devastation to some remains, and always will be a clear path to the future.
~~Kathleen
Afterword:
For some reason I have not been able to receive or post the comments many of you have made lately.
Here is my email if you cannot.
I would love to hear what your opinions are on these posts.
ptunys@gmail.com