Promise of Spring 1930

Frank Johnston's "Promise of Spring" is a landscape painting built with earth tones, whites, greens, and a dash of turquoise. It’s so descriptive, you can almost feel that late winter chill! I wonder, when Frank was making this, what was on his mind? Was he thinking about the Canadian landscape, or what it means to be Canadian? He must have loved being outside, like, really loved it, and this comes through in the surface, in the way he’s used the paint to capture the light filtering through the trees. Look at the browns and greys of the bare branches against the snow. A gesture, an embrace even. The bright blue stream flowing through is a hopeful moment, that little dash of spring. Johnston's work reminds me of other painters who’ve found their own language for describing the landscape, like Tom Thomson. I feel like all these artists are in conversation, each one responding to the other. And, like them, this painting is a deeply felt response to the world, full of ambiguity and life.