Introduction by Leonard Pizzey

For the artists whose images grace this book, the landscape of Georgian Bay is much more than a visual experience. It is an uplifting, challenging, emotionally charged environment, characterized by wide expanses of ice polished rock, shimmering, constantly moving water, brooding skies, wind-sculpted trees and tenaciously thriving junipers. It is an extraordinary place of islands and coves and narrow passages that delight recreational mariners, canoeists and kayakers: one of only a few, easily accessible landscapes in Canada where the power of nature to shape the primal materials of the planet can be so viscerally and humblingly savoured. It is a landscape that excites the senses and soothes the spirit. It is also home to a wide variety of creatures that bring life to the ancient forms of islands and shoreline forests. These, too, touch the minds and hearts of artists, who, in depicting them in their natural setting, strive to remind us that nature stands apart from our temporal cares and stresses.

Creating visual art is a solitary pursuit. Its practitioners are driven by an ineffable but unceasing passion to transform what they see, and what they feel, to images on canvas or paper. Yet it is also a communal activity, stimulating emotions, memories and quiet joy unique for the viewer. 

Landscape painting is a relatively new genre in the plethora of artistic expression. Its origins date back to the Renaissance. Before nature became a subject to be celebrated in works of art, landscape was depicted in the background of scenes dominated by human portraiture. Earlier religious art was intended to tell Biblical stories to people who could not read.
As society became more secular, and freedom of thought flourished, so too did an appreciation of humanity's humble place amid the powerful forces of nature and the beauty they created. Among its greatest exemplars were English painters John Constable (1776-1837) whose depictions of bucolic scenes are considered to be some of the greatest ever painted, and JMW Turner (1775-1851) whose impressionist studies of light, colour, churning skies and turbulent, often violent seas, were imbued with 'the sublime', a quality that inspires awe and wonder. Later artists such as Claude Monet, transformed landscapes into impressionistic paintings that celebrate colour more than form. Vincent Van Gogh is revered for his ability to depict deep emotions in bold brushstrokes of sky and light.

Canada, too has its own tradition of landscape artists, most famously the Group of Seven who found their inspiration in Canada's rugged topography and dramatically changing seasons.

These pages celebrate works by talented artists who complement that Canadian tradition, striving to capture the essence of Georgian Bay: the palpable energy of its winds, waves and ever-changing skies, its variegated greens and blues and tawny hues, its thriving wildlife. Each seeks a unique artistic identity, but each challenges viewers to share strong emotions of joy and wonder, and uplifting perceptions of beauty. As the famous Victorian art critic John Ruskin put it: "Fine art is that in which the hand, the head and the heart go together."

Art is a calling for those who create it, but it finds its purpose when it is shared and appreciated. The images included here are beautiful in their own right, but the energy and talent they express can only be truly appreciated when they are viewed up close. If you are stirred by the style and skill of these artists, you will reap a great reward by seeking out their works, either by visiting their studios or by browsing in the numerous galleries that grace the Georgian Bay region.

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By Leonard Pizzey