Bon Echo /Mazinaw Rock Project by Shelley Leach

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" The Shapeshifter " 

Painting 1 

completed Sept 1, 2024 

16 x 20"

Acrylic on canvas

This painting captures the natural geological outcropping on Mazinaw Rock, which intriguingly resembles various forms of wildlife native to Bon Echo and Mazinaw Rock. Upon first glance, I saw shapes in the outcropping reminiscent of a frog or a turtle. It seemed to be fitting sitting on the edge of the cliff looking out over the lake. Spending enough time there it really can lead to using ones imagination. The painting I guess becomes a metaphor for how nature, when if given time and attention, invites us to see things in our own unique way and the endless possibilities that everything could be something different if we just looked at it long enough.

When I arrived in the canoe at Bon Echo after touring the Mazinaw Rock there were discussions with other visitors to the park on what it might best resemble. It really is a unique geological feature. The other side of the rock is actually completely flat and looks nothing like this so it can only be seen from one side. When I paint an area I truly stive to create unique purposeful and respectful art. The feature inspired me to paint it, then a title? I wanted the title of the painting to be descriptive.

The combination of discussions, seeing the natural feature and introspection hands down this painting needed to be called the shapeshifter.

" Echo's of Last Light " 

 Painting 2

 This painting was started in July 2024 

completed Sept 7, 2024 (Acrylic on canvas)

"Echo's of Last Light"  capturing the serene moments of the last minutes of daylight casting over Mazinaw Rock/Bon Echo. This painting is set outside Bon Echo Provincial Park, located in Mazinaw Heights. 

As day transitions into night, the rock on the cliff emanates a beautiful warm glow, transforming from soft peach and orange hues to crimson at the very last minute before the darkness of the night sky sets in. The shadows gradually envelop the cliff, creating a truly mesmerizing experience that evoked a sense of peace and warmth. 

It was explained to me the glow of the cliff at this time of day is due to the presence of Feldspar. Feldspar is most commonly found in igneous rocks, particularly in granite and rhyolite, feldspar itself doesn’t glow, however, it can create beautiful visual effects in 'natural light' as it does at Bon Echo. 

The title "Echo's of Last Light" is meant to convey the same sense of tranquility that captured 'my inspiration' and was then infused into the artwork. A truly mesmerizing experience. The title "Echo's of Last Light" is meant to elicit the same sense of peace I felt.

" Camping" 

Painting 3

24 x 24"

oil on canvas

completed Nov 28, 2024 ( oil on canvas)

Bon Echo Provincial Park, is a protected wilderness of over 20,000 acres, its landscape serves not only as a backdrop but as a sanctuary. 

While Mazinaw Rock, with its towering cliff and pictographs, captures the imagination, there's something grounding about camping within these spaces.

In this painting, I began with a specific campsite then the scene  expanded, I was reflecting on the Canadian love of camping. I spent much time speaking with return campers of Bon Echo and this painting was inspired by them. 

 It is Bon Echo however it captures the essence of 'Camping'. 

Bon Echo, with its sprawling forests and lakes, is a place where so many can escape the demands of modern life and experience a true connection with the wilderness.

Bon Echo has a fascinating history. The Bon Echo Inn, once a thriving gathering spot of the  elite, is no longer and the land and setting for most parts has returned to a natural state, offering visitors of all walks of life a chance to reconnect with something more as it was. 

The painting of a campsite within Bon Echo is a reminder of the peace that comes from leaving behind the modern world and immersing ourselves within nature…camping

This painting step you into the landscape with Mazinaw Rock in the distance and reflections of experiencing nature. I hope it evokes a sense excitement as well as the harmony solitude and connection. It’s a place to unplug, tune into the world around you, and reconnect to nature.

Camping in Bon Echo, and in places like it, speaks to the essence of why people have been drawn to nature for centuries. It’s an invitation to explore who we are in relation to the land and to deepen our appreciation for the wild places that remain.

'Between Stone & Sky'

Painting 4

completed Dec 21, 2024 

8 x 10" 

( oil on canvas)

Initially I decided not to explain my inspiration for this painting, I'm not sure I fully could. It was most certainly inspired, but more by my entire experience — what I saw, learned, and felt.

However, many thoughts went into this pieces not one specific thought or feeling. 

It was a combination of the poem, the pictographs and the entire experience. The pictographs themselves were thought to be vision quests, and then painted on the rock. So I started to paint.  This is a more expressive work of art, and there are no words that can fully capture its meaning. In some way painting this took me back to earlier years where my work often was abstract expressionism with landscape. It felt like a return to something familiar. I think or hope for Bon Echo this is a modern and contemporary view of Bon Echo today.

If you’d like to discuss this work and others, I look forward to conversations in the spring of 2025.

'Bon Echo'

Painting 5

completed  Jan 1, 2025 

16 x 20" 

( oil on canvas)

There is no other title for this painting other than...Bon Echo. I started this painting before working on Between Stone and Sky so its been many hours, weeks and over a months worth of work ( to paint it, that doesn't include visiting and sketches). I thought should I call it Mazinaw Rock. No, although it is Mazinaw Rock, its Bon Echo and anyone who 's seen Bon echo or seen and visited Bon Echo would call it Bon Echo. It is the most recognized view of Bon Echo from the Narrows as described in my narrative. My project wouldn't ever feel complete without a painting of this view of Mazinaw Rock from Bon Echo. 

Five paintings, I could do many more, this was my last painting of 2024 and first painting of 2025. I plan to take a little break from Bon Echo to work on some other paintings. There is still someplace  I'd really like to visit at Bon Echo to paint or possibly take my time to photograph and sketch but I needed to wait until winter to see the view I was told about. So...I'm hoping to go back Jan or Feb ( the cold days of winter). Bon Echo currently doesn't have winter camping, but you never know what the future could bring. 

This coming April you will be able to find me with my Bon Echo work at the Ottawa Outdoor and Adventure Travel Show with all my Bon Echo work.

April 26 - 27, 2025 

More details in March ..Hope you can visit my booth!

(I will be returning to Bon Echo in the 2025 season, I'm currently planning for a small group workshop where we'll have more time to discuss some of the art history of Bon Echo as well as visit some of the key locations highlighted in my project. Full details will be provided in April)

If you have interest in this group workshop feel free to get in touch at windrockridgeartiststudio@gmail.com

Subject: Bon Echo 2025 

I did a short video interview at the end  of October 2024 while setting up my art for the Art Show at the Art Factory Warehouse in Renfrew, Ontario. I wasn’t fully prepared—who ever is? 

In the interview, I spoke about two of my on-location watercolors and the paintings I created from that experience.

As anyone who's done an interview knows, looking back, I realize I didn’t quite say what I intended. When I was posting this video on my project page, I thought, 'Wow, not often do we get to re-interview ourselves with what we'd like to have said!

In the interview, there was mention of  the shadows and 'light play' being responsible for the effect on the rock face at Bon Echo/Mazinaw Rock. I said yes, but in the moment, I didn’t fully process the comment. 

I understand where that idea comes from, but it’s not simply about the changing light or shadows. What I’m really trying to convey in my work is how we each perceive and interpret the landscape based on our individual experiences.

The area I’ve depicted in my painting can only be seen from one specific viewpoint on the cliff. From the opposite side, you wouldn’t even know it’s there. And when viewed from across the lake, it takes on an entirely different appearance. It’s this uniqueness of perspective that I wanted to capture—not just the shifting light.

 I’m very grateful for the opportunity to have had the short interview and to share a portion of my project as it progresses at Art Factory Warehouse. It continues to be a very special project for me, and I’m looking forward to continuing to share my work as it evolves. Thank you, Art Factory! 

I participated in the 3rd Bon Echo Bird Count on Dec 14, 2024. While I was at what’s referred to as the Narrows, this pileated woodpecker appeared and worked tirelessly on the nearby cedar tree. Such a nice sight to see. It briefly flew to the cliff side of the Narrows then returned right back to the same cedar. A true highlight of the day, to be standing quietly with nothing else in sight not even a human then see this woodpecker. This specific pileated woodpecker was a female and seemed to be the only one present.