The Barrens, Mt. Uniacke, acrylic on canvas, 4' x 4'

The parklands of the Mount Uniacke Estate include trails through Acadian forest, wetlands and the barrens.  The trails wind through woodlands, sometimes with deep undergrowth.  However, along the Barrens Trail the woods are dominated by red spruce.  The survivors reach above the unsuccessful fallen trees whose trunks and branches create a pattern of white bones across the forest floor.

installation shot of "Woodlands" at Gallery Page and Strange

  

Visual Viewpoints: Tooke invites viewers to Woodlands show

the Chronicle Herald, Arts and Life, September 18, 2013 - 5:41pm 

BY ELISSA BARNARD ARTS REPORTER

I have been to Hemlock Ravine, but I have never seen it the way 
Halifax artist Susan Tooke does.

Her woods teem in colour and line in a cheerful and exciting new 
show, Woodlands, at Gallery Page and Strange at 1869 Granville St. 
in Halifax until Sept. 27.

The side of each wood panel is painted in the acrylic colour — red, 
or teal, or royal blue or green — that will dominate the background 
of each image. With eye-popping colour, outlines and a visceral 
energy in her lines and abstracted forms, Tooke continues to create 
an exalted experience of the land that she first introduced in her 
show, Transformation, two years ago at Page and Strange.A scarlet 
line races along a fallen blue log, mauve water and ice dance before

rust-coloured pines, dead, jagged vertical trunks are built out of 
vigorous blue lines. The award-winning illustrator of children’s books 
and creator with Veronique Mackenzie and Lukas Pearse of the 
interactive installation Motion Activated, opening Sept. 27 at 
ARTsPLACE, also exhibits paintings of rushing streams in the woods
 of the Cape Breton Highlands. Two are hung together in an
intriguing conversation of colour and motion. Tooke, who is
influenced by artists such as Emily Carr, aimed for a softer, 
springlike tone in painting of liberating greens. 

Her intent is to express the “soul” of the landscape,
                                                                       and she succeeds.

Back to elm street studio.
Summer has lots of distractions.  It is a time for gathering ideas, working in the garden, traveling, hiking, socializing.  
Ideas from Shannon Falls, BC have stuck with me... Here is the latest work from the studio.

Three years of hard work have come down to this!  Working with these wonderful artists has been my pleasure.  
Motion Activated: an interactive installation 
Saint Mary's University Art Gallery through July 28th
created by 
Lukas Pearse:interactive composer and multimedia designer 
Véronique MacKenzie: dancer/choreographer/initial concept 
Susan Tooke, visual artist, video and animation
curated by Robin Metcalfe
The following are stills/video from the installation.

        

I had the great pleasure and opportunity to work with the poetry of George Elliott Clarke earlier this year. Lasso the Wind: Aurélia's Verses and Other Poems will be out this fall.  Here are several illustrations... a bit of a preview!

On March 25, my father, George Harold Tooke died.  I haven't posted since then, but have continued to create.  Here is a photo of my father and mother, Esther Van Schoick at their home in Colombia shortly after they married in 1944.  Mom was an operating room nurse and Dad an accountant.  I miss them both every day.

Bog Trail, Cape Breton

Lately, I have been working on paper, creating pieces for the Paper show at Gallery Page and Strange.  The show opens on Friday, February 15, 6-8 p.m. 

To quote the gallery:

"This exhibition is focusing on paper. We bring elements of the artists studio into the gallery so you can see parts of the process too. Sketch books and initial works on paper are on display to give you a sense of what really lies behind the artworks that you love. Not only is it fascinating to see the history of a work of art, it is beautiful. This exhibition is fantastic for a new collector. Works on paper will be available and often cost significantly less than a fully realized canvas. Work on paper in a private collection loans a sense of sophistication and deeper appreciation of what it is an artist does."

Hope to see you there!