Baffin Island 1931

Lawren Harris made this painting of Baffin Island with oils, and wow, does it feel like he's building a world! Look at how the mountains push upwards, layer upon layer of this icy landscape! You can feel the smooth chill of each surface as it catches the light. I can imagine Harris, out there in the cold, layering brushstroke over brushstroke until this otherworldly place emerges. What was he thinking as he painted those peaks, those crisp lines? Was he trying to capture the silence, the majesty, the sheer awesome power of nature? It reminds me how much painting is about seeing, really looking, and then trying to somehow translate that feeling onto canvas. I think the best paintings show us how to see and feel in new ways. It’s a conversation across time, across canvases, a constant back and forth of inspiration.