Place of the Ancients by Ronald William Bolt

Provenance:
Nancy Poole’s Studio, Toronto
Private Collection, Ontario

Adopting contemporary painting practices, Bolt continues the tradition of Canadian landscape painting. Residencies in Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland, the Mohave Desert, as well as a fourteen day expedition down the Snake River in the Yukon, all played a role in this new preoccupation with showcasing the Canadian wilderness. Focusing his practice on coastlines and rivers, the artist creates dramatic perspective in the vantage points he chooses. Whether viewed high above, or looking up at cliff sides from below, Bolt imbues the viewer with the sense of the sublime, in awe of the natural landscape. Utilizing a dark and dramatic colour palette, “The Ancients” exemplifies the artist's devotion to creating powerful landscapes as the water sparkles with movement from white highlights on the tips and ripples of the waters waves, contrasting with the deep blues, greens and inky blacks of the rock forms.