Frank Johnston: The Autumn and Spring Landscapes

Autumn Scene mostly likely on the Muskoka Beach Road between Gravenhurst and Bracebridge

A nice late summer scene in Muskoka painted by watercolour artist Frank Johnston

A place to pull up your canoe. Spring lakeland by Frank Johnston

THE AUTUMN OF FRANK JOHNSTON'S WATERCOLOR LANDSCAPES

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED,  BUT AN AMAZING TRAVERSE IT WAS!

FRANK JOHNSTON RETROSPECTIVE

     IF I'D BEEN SITTING BESIDE FRANK JOHNSTON, AT HIS HUGHSON STREET HOUSE, HERE IN GRAVENHURST, AND SUDDENLY BLURTED OUT MY FIRST IMPRESSION OF THE AUTUMN LANDSCAPE, (TOP IMAGE), PAINTED MOST LIKELY FROM BENEATH THE CATHEDRAL MAPLES, ON MUSKOKA BEACH ROAD, IN GRAVENHURST, AND IT INVOLVED THE WORD "POET" OR "POETIC," HE PROBABLY WOULD HAVE SET DOWN HIS DRINK, STARED INTENTLY, GOT UP, AND KICKED MY ASS OUT THE FRONT DOOR. IN HIS ART WORLD, TO SUGGEST TO HIM, THAT HIS AUTUMN LANDSCAPE WAS POETIC, LIKE A ROBERT FROST POEM, WOULD HAVE BEEN, IN A NUTSHELL, TO HAVE UNDERESTIMATED THE WHOLE POINT OF HIS PAINTING EXERCISE. IF I'D BEEN GIVEN A CHANCE, SAY FOR EXAMPLE, IF HE'D BEEN STRAPPED TO A CHAIR, AND COULDN'T GET AT ME, I MIGHT OFFER THE OPINION, THAT HIS IMPRESSION, TO OUR EYES, WOULD BE A PARALLEL, TO A READER, WHO HAD JUST CONSUMED THE ROBERT FROST POEM ABOUT "BIRCHES." FOR THIS I WOULD HAVE POINTED TO THE SECOND PAINTING, ABOVE, WHERE BIRCHES ARE PROFILED AGAINST THE PLEASANT BACKDROP, OF A CALM BAY, OR POND. OF COURSE, BEING FAIRLY ASTUTE AT THE ART OF DEBATING, HE WOULD HAVE RESPONDED, TELLING ME, THAT WHEN ROBERT FROST WROTE ABOUT LEANING BIRCHES, HE WASN'T HIGHLIGHTING A PRETTY PICTURE. THERE WERE MANY HIDDEN MEANINGS IN THOSE FEW, WELL CHOSEN WORDS. "DO YOU SEE ANALOGIES IN MY WORK," HE MIGHT HAVE ASKED. "WHAT DO THEY (ART PANELS) MEAN TO YOU?" I'M REASONABLY SURE FRANK WOULD HAVE RELAXED FOR THE MOMENT, AWAITING AN ANSWER; REALIZING HE COULDN'T BREAK FREE OF THE TETHERS. PATIENT FOR A FEW MOMENTS OF HIS LIFE, TO LET ME EXPLAIN.

     I WOULD HAVE SAID TO HIM, THAT HIS LANDSCAPES ARE "INVITING." WELL SIR, HE COULDN'T FIND ANY OBJECTION WITH THIS CLAIM. "THEY REMIND ME OF MY OWN TRAVELS THROUGH MUSKOKA, AT THESE TIMES OF THE YEAR." THIS WOULD HAVE RELAXED HIM FURTHER. "THEY INSPIRE ME TO PUT MYSELF ON THAT LANEWAY THROUGH THE AUTUMN MAPLES, WHERE I CAN FEEL THE WARMTH OF THE FILTERING SUNSHINE, AND THE COOL OF THE CORRESPONDING SHADE." I MIGHT HAVE EVEN GOT A MODEST NOD AT THIS POINT IN THE CONFESSIONAL. "YOUR LANDSCAPES ALLOW ME TO CLEARLY PERCEIVE THE SCENT OF THE AUTUMN AIR, THE EVERGREENS, AND THE PERMEATING AROMA OF WET, FALLEN LEAVES. I CAN FEEL THE BRUSH OF WIND ON MY CHEEK, AND HEAR THE SOFT CRUNCH OF LEAVES UNDER-FOOT. I CAN HEAR THE TELL-TALE SOUNDS OF FALLING LEAVES, HITTING BRANCHES AND OTHER LEAVES, ON THE SPIRAL DOWN TO THE GROUND. I CAN HEAR THE RUSTLING OF SQUIRRELS AND THE CAWING OF VENERABLE CROWS, THAT GUARD THIS PLACE." I WOULDN'T HAVE EXPECTED A SMILE, OR A CHORTLE. BUT I THINK HE MAY HAVE REFRAINED FROM ANY PROFANITY, THAT WOULD HAVE MADE ME CRINGE, OR CRY. AND WITH ALL THAT, I NEVER USED THE WORD POET OR POETIC, TO DESCRIBE HIS PAINTINGS.

     FRANK JOHNSTON WAS A SENSITIVE GUY. HE GAVE THE APPEARANCE OF GRUFFNESS, AND IT BECAME HIS CHARACTER REFERENCE, TO BE TOLD HE WAS ARGUMENTATIVE, OR STUBBORN, SOMETIMES IN THE SAME SENTENCE. HE DIDN'T HAVE HUNDREDS OF FRIENDS, BUT ONLY A FEW GOOD ONES, WHO KNEW THAT BENEATH THE SCALEY EXTERIOR, AND STERN EXPRESSION ETCHED ONTO HIS FACE, THE SOUL OF A LAMB DWELLED WITHIN. IT WAS THIS SENSITIVITY TO NATURE AND HISTORY, THAT MADE HIS WORK DIMENSIONALLY PLEASING. IT MAY HAVE BEEN HARD, FOR SOME WHO KNEW HIM, EVEN CASUALLY, BY HIS ART MORE THAN PERSONAL CONTACT, TO FULLY APPRECIATE JUST HOW SENSITIVE HE WAS, WHEN IT CAME TO HOW HE TREATED HIS SUBJECTS, AND HOW MUCH HE WANTED THEM TO BE ACCEPTED BY HIS PATRONS. MOST WOULD AGREE, THAT HE WAS A CONTRADICTION IN TERMS, BECAUSE WHAT HE PORTRAYED, AS A CHARACTER WORTH KNOWING, WAS VASTLY DIFFERENT, THAN WHAT CALMING, INSPIRING IMAGES HE PRESENTED IN HIS WATERCOLOR PANELS. BUT WITHIN, THERE WAS NO CONTRADICTION WHATSOEVER, AND HE WANTED TO CREATE WORKS OF ART THAT PEOPLE WOULD WISH TO FRAME AND HANG ON THE WALLS OF THEIR HOMES, COTTAGES, BUSINESSES, AND IN THE BOARD ROOMS OF THEIR INDUSTRIES. THESE IMAGES, YOU SEE, CHALLENGED THE VOYEUR TO BE HAPPY, AND CONTENTED. I'VE NEVER VIEWED A FRANK JOHNSTON ART PANEL YET, THAT PISSED ME OFF.

    WHILE, UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL, HE MIGHT HAVE SEEMED A GUY WHO WOULDN'T CARE, IF YOU LIKED HIS WORK OR NOT, IT WAS THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE. THOSE WHO SAT WITH HIM, TO DISCUSS THE POLITICS AND CULTURE OF THE SO CALLED MODERN ERA, HAD SOME BLUSTER AND ARTISTIC PATINA TO GET PAST, TO FIND OUT WHO THE REAL "FRANK JOHNSTON" WAS, BUT STILL, IT REALLY NARROWED TO THIS FINE POINT OF REALITY. FRANK HAD TWO DISTINCT PERSONALITIES. THE PRINT-MAKER, WHICH WAS NO-NONSENSE, MECHANICAL AND OPERATIONAL. THE ARTIST SIDE, WAS PASSIONATE, COMPASSIONATE, NATURE-LOVING, HISTORY-ADMIRING, AND WELL, YES, "POETIC." THERE, I SAID (WROTE) IT. WHILE I'M RISKING A SPIRITED VISIT FROM THE FORMER GRAVENHURST ARTIST, I DON'T CARE. I LIKE GHOSTS, AND I LIKE ART WORK TO BE POETIC. WHICH MEANS, TO ME, I CAN WRITE A STORY ABOUT EACH OF HIS ALLURING, SEASONALLY REPRESENTATIVE LANDSCAPES, WITHOUT EVER ONCE, FEARING I MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO WRITE A COMPANION SHORT STORY. YES, I CAN SEE ROBERT FROST, STROLLING DOWN THIS COUNTRY LANE, IN THE MUSKOKA HEARTLAND, AND ENGAGING HIS SENSES, TO THE ENVIRONS AROUND HIM. JUST AS FRANK JOHNSTON WALKED THAT SAME PATH, AND SETTLED ON ONE LOCATION, FROM WHICH TO IMPRINT HIS IMPRESSION, OF THE CHANGING SEASONS. MAYBE MY UNFULFILLED STORY-LINE, IS THAT FRANK JOHNSTON MAY HAVE OWNED A BOOK OF ROBERT FROST POEMS, AND OCCASIONALLY READ ONE OR TWO WHILE HAVING A DRINK. ME THINKS, HE WOULDN'T HAVE ADMITTED IT ANYWAY. HE WAS STOIC THIS WAY. HE WAS AN ARTIST NOT A POET. BUT SHOULD A POET HAVE TAKEN ONE OF HIS PAINTINGS, AND APPLIED VERSE AS A VISUAL AID, THERE'S NO QUESTION, THE ARTIST WOULD HAVE FELT HUMBLED. MAYBE A LITTLE MIFFED, BUT CERTAINLY FLATTERED. AS LONG AS IT DIDN'T COME UP IN CASUAL CONVERSATION.

     IN HIS STUDIES OF THE FORESTED LAKESHORE, I KNOW THE PLACE, AND I FEEL SURE, LOOKING AT IT FOR AWHILE, THAT I HAVE, ONCE LONG AGO, PULLED A CANOE UPON THE SAME SHORE, IN MY TRAVERSES OF REGIONAL LAKES. I SWEAR HE HAS SHOWN ME AGAIN, THE INSPIRING PLACES WHERE I ONCE SAT FOR A PICNIC, WITH MY PARTY OF TRAVELLERS, OR WHERE I HIKED UP THE HILLSIDE, ENJOYING THE EARLY SUMMER SCENE UNFOLDING BELOW. FOR ME, THESE ARE PAINTINGS THAT EVOKE STRONG EMOTIONS, ABOUT OUR PAST TRAVELS, ONWARD FROM CHILDHOOD; ALL THOSE LOVELY NATURAL PLACES, THAT MADE US STUDENTS, AND FOSTERED OUR LEARNING ABOUT HABITAT, AND ITS WELL BEING. I DON'T KNOW WHETHER FRANK WAS ENVIRONMENTALLY ACTIVE, EXCEPT VIA HIS ART PANELS. I SUSPECT HE WAS, AND CAPTURING NATURE, AS HE DISPLAYED IN HUNDREDS OF HIS PAINTINGS, SHOWED A TREMENDOUS RESPECT FOR COMPANION NATURE. IT'S EVEN QUITE VISIBLE IN HIS ARCHITECTURAL, AND HERITAGE-THEMED ART PIECES, WHERE NATURE ALWAYS PLAYS A ROLE. SUCH WAS THE EXAMPLE OF HIS PAINTING OF BETHUNE HOUSE, IN GRAVENHURST, WHERE HE OPTED TO PROFILE THE FORMER CHURCH MANSE IN A PARK SETTING, OF FULL HARDWOODS, INSTEAD OF OPTING FOR A STRICT ARCHITECTURAL STUDY OF THE BUILDING. HE DID MUCH THE SAME WITH IMAGES OF SAINTE MARIE AMONG THE HURONS, IN MIDLAND. SO HE WAS CASTING HIS OPINION, POETIC OR NOT, ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF NATURE, IN THE DAYS OF OUR LIVES; PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE.

     FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF THIS SHORT VISUAL BIOGRAPHY, ENHANCED BY THE RECENT ACQUISITION, OF AN ASSORTED SELECTION OF HIS PRINTS, AS DONATED BY THE JOHNSTON FAMILY, I HAVE OFFERED AN OPENING APOLOGY, ABOUT MY LACK OF NEUTRALITY, WHEN CRITIQUING HIS WATERCOLORS. A TRUE BIOGRAPHER SHOULD OFFER A LITTLE CRITICISM, OR OTHERWISE, WHATEVER EDITORIAL CONTENT HITS THE PRESS, IT WILL BE CONSIDERED NOTHING GREATER OR MORE PROFOUND, THAN A PROMOTION-ONLY BROCHURE OF PAST ACCOMPLISHMENTS. I FIND MYSELF IN THE DELICATE POSITION, OF FEELING, FIRST OF ALL, THAT FRANK JOHNSTON WAS NEGLECTED BY HIS HOME TOWN. I BELIEVE HE WAS TAKEN FOR GRANTED BY THE ART COMMUNITY GENERALLY, AND HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS A PRINTER, OF NATIONAL REPUTATION, GAINING NOTHING MORE THAN A BARE MINIMUM OF ACTUAL PUBLISHED RECOGNITION. IN FACT, IT WASN'T UNTIL I READ IRIS NOWELL'S BIOGRAPHY, OF GROUP OF SEVEN ABSTRACT ARTIST, HAROLD TOWN, "HOT BREAKFAST FOR SPARROWS," THAT I WAS ABLE TO LEARN JUST HOW PROFICIENT, TOWN THOUGHT JOHNSTON WAS, AS A COMMERCIAL PRINTER. THERE'S EVEN A PICTURE OF TOWN AND JOHNSTON, LEANING OVER A PRINTING PRESS, LOOKING AT THE LATEST TOWN ART PIECE TO RUN THROUGH THE SYSTEM. TOWN WAS NOT SOMEONE WHO WOULD MAKE A COMPLIMENT, WITHOUT AMPLE REASON TO DO SO. HE HAD TO ADMIT, THAT JOHNSTON, NOT ONLY KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING, BUT HE TRUSTED HIM TO RE-CREATE HIS ART, WITH AN EYE FOR PERFECTION. TOWN EVEN EXECUTED A PORTRAIT OF FRANK JOHNSTON, WHO HE USED TO SAIL AND DRINK WITH, ON GEORGAIN BAY, ABOARD THE PRINT-MAKER'S BOAT, "THE CARAMIA." I'LL RE-PUBLISH A WATERCOLOR OF THE BOAT, IN TOMORROW'S BLOG.

     SO WITH THE WEIGHTED FEELING OF BIAS ABOUT THIS, WITH CONSIDERABLE EVIDENCE FRANK JOHNSTON WASN'T GIVEN THE CREDIT HE DESERVED, BY GRAVENHURST, IN PARTICULAR, I MADE IT A MISSION A LONG TIME AGO, TO MAKE SURE HIS ART WORK ISN'T LOST IN TIME AND NEGLECT. WHILE THERE IS A GREAT EFFORT LOCALLY, TO DESIGNATE HISTORIC ARCHITECTURE, THERE IS LITTLE TO NO MISSION, TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND CELEBRATE THE WORK OF ARTISTS LIKE FRANK JOHNSTON; WHO, WITH HIS HUGE WATERCOLORS OF STEAMBOATS, EXHIBITED IN THE FORMER SLOANS RESTAURANT, ON MUSKOKA ROAD, OFFERED A TOURISM OPPORTUNITY, AND A TOWN HERITAGE ADVANTAGE, OVER OTHER COMPETING MUSKOKA TOWNS, ON HIS DIME, AND THE SLOAN FAMILY'S OFFERING OF WALL SPACE. EVERYONE HAS THEIR HEYDAY. SOME SHORTER, SOME LONGER. BUT FRANK'S STEWARDSHIP OF MUSKOKA HISTORY, HISTORIC SITES, AND NATURE, HAS EARNED A PLACE IN OUR CHRONICLE, WHETHER SOME CHOSE TO INCLUDE HIM OR NOT. WHEN I LOOK IN THE MIRROR EVERY MORNING, AND JUST BEFORE BED, IN SOME CASES, JUST TO MAKE SURE I'M STILL CASTING A REFLECTION, I SEE MYSELF AS A FACILITATOR AND CONDUIT, (JUST AS FLATTERING TO ME), WHO STILL, AFTER CLEARING ALL THE OBSTACLES, GETS A RUSH OUT OF RE-CONNECTING HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY, TO MODERN TIMES; JUST IN CASE THERE ARE THOSE AMONGST US, WHO NEVER KNEW SOMEONE OF THE CALIBRE AND CHARACTER OF FRANK JOHNSTON. ALREADY, SINCE THIS BLOG SERIES BEGAN, A WEEK AGO, I HAVE HAD LOTS OF FEEDBACK ABOUT FRANK, AND READERS' MEMORIES OF HOW THEY WERE INTRODUCED TO HIS ART WORK. THE NAME HUGH CLAIRMONT COMES UP A LOT, IN THESE CASUAL CONVERSATIONS, BECAUSE FRANK AND HUGE WERE GOOD FRIENDS; HUGH BEING THE LIFE OF THE PARTY, AND FRANK BEING THE PLAYFUL CURMUDGEON, WHO LIKED TO SPIN STORIES; AS HUGH LIKED TO HEAR THEM. ABOUT THE OLD DAYS, YOU SEE. GOOD TIMES WITH GOOD PEOPLE.

     AS TIME GOES BY, AND I CONTINUE TAPPING AT THIS KEYBOARD, I WILL COME UP WITH MORE JOHNSTON ANECDOTES AND BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, MAYBE EVEN SOME MORE DONATED OR LOANED ART PANELS TO RE-PUBLISH. I AM NOT A FAIR WEATHER BIOGRAPHER OR HISTORIAN, AND I WILL RETURN TO THIS STORY AS MANY TIMES AS NECESSARY, TO OFFER ALL THE CHAPTERS IN THE FULL STORY, OF THE ARTIST'S LIFE. JUST AS I DID WITH FORMER MUSKOKA ARTISTS, ADA FLORENCE KINTON, PIONEER PAINTER OF HUNTSVILLE, BOB EVERETT, BRACEBRIDGE, RICHARD KARON, LAKE OF BAYS, AND NOW FRANK JOHNSTON OF GRAVENHURST. THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING TODAY'S BLOG. BEGINNING THE FIRST OF THE WEEK, I WANT TO SHARE ANOTHER STORY, ABOUT A SMALL COLLECTION WE HAVE RECENTLY BEEN OFFERED, THAT WHILE NOT NECESSARILY VALUABLE FINANCIALLY, IS PRECIOUS WITH BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION, FROM VICTORIAN IRON TOY SOLDIERS, TO COMMENDATION RECEIVED FROM BUCKINGHAM PALACE. NEVER A DULL MOMENT IN THE ANTIQUE AND COLLECTABLE TRADE. SEE YOU AGAIN SOON.