Hills at Great Bear Lake 1953

A.Y. Jackson made this painting of the Hills at Great Bear Lake with oil on canvas. Imagine the scene—ochre skies, reddish-brown hills, and shadows suggesting a vast landscape of the Canadian Northwest Territories. You can see how Jackson laid down thick strokes of paint, almost like he's building up the surface to match the ruggedness of the terrain. I'm curious about what the place felt like to Jackson. Was he battling the elements? Or was he transfixed by the dramatic light and the sheer scale of nature? The colors feel both earthy and a little bit unreal. I wonder, was he exaggerating the hues to capture the feeling of the place, or was it really that intense? Painters learn from each other, even across time, and they take inspiration. Jackson reminds me a little of Cezanne, who used to build his paintings up with faceted brushstrokes. What I love about Jackson's paintings is that they don't try to give you easy answers. He leaves space for feeling and interpretation.