That beautiful morning, we arrived at the beach. The sky was a deep infinite blue. The waves were coming, going and shimmered under the warm sun. The wind was soft and cool. A perfect morning. Hirtle Beach, which we love so much, was just deserted enough. Between the sand and the tall grass, a dozen artists, their easels and their colors, were peacefully busy, seizing the moment. On the beach that morning, time stood still.

The tide was low and the beach seemed endless. We walked… Just walked… With no real goal other to find… the perfect rock. Coming back, once again, with loaded bags and pockets filled with the most precious treasures.

As we were about to leave, I approached one of the artists, who was just finishing her morning painting. She explained that she is part of the Lunenburg County Plein Air, a group of artists sharing their passion for outdoor painting, every Tuesday of the Summer season. She added that if I wanted to know more, I should visit Sharon Fox Cranston‘s website.

What a funny coincidence! I tell her that I had already been in contact with Sharon and that we were going to visit her studio for the Opening of her Art Show, 100 paintings /100 days. She said that if I hurried, I might still find her in the parking lot… and I did. So, it was there, in the Hirlte’s Beach Parking Lot, that I first met Sharon Fox Cranston.

It seems that in Lunenburg, on the South Shore and perhaps all over Nova Scotia, it happens all the time. We meet people we know, recognize or have the pleasure of getting to know.

Sharon and her husband Guy Cranston, both Artists, left Bloomfield, Prince Edward County, Ontario, a little over five years ago, to settle in Lunenburg and open the Cranston Gallery. It was Barbara Högenauer who painted our Beautiful ”Safe Harbor II”, who first told me about Sharon and Guy.

A few weeks before our departure, we had already reserved the date on our calendar, June 10th 2022, at the Artist’s Studio. Instantly, her colorful and expressive landscapes brought back my most beautiful and tender, maritime memories.

For the first article of my Coups de coeur Nova Scotia 2022 – Serie, I wanted to tell you about this very special project, which literally melted our hearts.

100 paintings /100 days – Sharon Fox Cranston

It was at the beginning of February 2022, that Sharon Fox Cranston undertook the impressive and ambitious project of creating 100 paintings in 100 days. Small sizes. Grand emotions. As you entered the space, seeing all the paintings displayed on the walls of the artist’s studio, you could begin to understand the extent of the whole project. A beautiful and great story, made of captured moments and colorful emotions. The graphic effect, the contrast between the perfectly aligned rows and the expressive style of the paintings, each of them, different and unique; was simply remarkable!

Who doesn’t love a good challenge?
I know I do.

A challenge is an opportunity for adventure and growth. It encourages you to explore the truth of the matter, to expand your world, and how you perceive it.

100 Paintings/100 Days is a collection of Nova Scotia inspired landscape paintings created using oil and cold wax medium. Each of the paintings in this series was created on a 6″ x 6″ cradled board.

The project began February 1st, 2022 with Day 1 – The Gloaming. Each day after for the next 99 days, I played with oil and wax transforming it into light and shadow, clouds, rocks, trees and sand. 

My Muse…/ Nova Scotia.

Sharon Fox Cranston

Through short a serie of 30-second videos, the Artist presents a window on the creation of each of the 100 paintings. A unique and simply brilliant way to experience a part of the creative process, to which we very rarely have access. I invite you to browse the Artist’s Facebook Page to see the 100 videos, presented over 100 days.

We also had the pleasure of discovering the works of Guy Cranston. His beautiful and unique birds, vibrant with colors, attitude, humor, wood and metal wires. I also invite you to visit the Cranston Gallery to discover more, of his creations. There is a bird, in Lunenburg… that is still waiting for us!

That evening, we had several Coups de coeur. Four of them, came back home with us. We were happy to meet several art enthusiasts, who like us, one day, fell in love with Nova Scotia. Anita & Terry, Brad & Barry, Lisa & her aunt and of course, Sharon & Guy Cranston. We were greeted with kindness, humor, wine and several delicious chocolate marshmallow creations, divinely prepared by the artist herself!

Back home, our four paintings, however chosen individually, by Barry and by me, found themselves together, inseparable, on the blackboard in the center of our house.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing many of our Nova Scotian Coups de coeur. Next Tuesday, come and discover my next article. I will take you for a visit of Gisela’s Cottage, the two-hundred-year-old house, nested in the Hirtle Beach and Kingsburg Seaside Community, where we stayed for the two most memorable weeks.

See you next week, in Hirtle Beach…