Study the subject up close first before painting from afar

1915 Evening #tt1915 http://ow.ly/i/797Md

Sometimes I paint as if my life depended upon it. Sometimes I fail.

My sketching style evolved quickly because the North demands quick adaptation to its environment.

I picked raspberries on one side of the bush, while a bear was picking on the other.

1915 Maple Woods Bare Trunks #tt1915

After a while in the City, I had enough of being a dandy - I wanted to get back into the bush

Second-hand ideas about Impressionism mixed in the with brittle air of the North - that's never been done.

As artists, we were all influenced by the Art Nouveau movement: lines, loops and whorls.

When Jackson enlisted and left Toronto in 1915, Frankin Carmichael moved into the Studio with me

1914 November Rain, fall 1914. Oil on plywood, 21.6 x 26.8 cm. 1914NovemberRain.jpg

I feel like it is my duty to paint canvases but my real joy is sketching my boards,

Annie Fraser always thought I had something going for Daphne Crombie

Nothing in the natural world is meaningless.

On Saturdays, Varley and I hiked the outskirts or took the ferry to Centre Island.

1916 Wild Geese #tt1916

Disregard for the proper rules of painting was considered a slap in the face by some members of society.

I would lose interest in painting in the summer. Uninteresting greens gave way to other pursuits. Fishing, women and dancing.

In 1911 I had my first solo exhibition at the Arts and Letters Club.

Jackson had only known me for a year - but I became his best friend.

I am generous to the point of being careless about money.

Jackson said of Bill Beatty, 'He is so soaked in monochrome that mild things excite him.'

I would freely give away my sketches if admired

Those who go a-borrowing go a-sorrowing.

Arthur Lismer was mesmerized by the Canadian landscape - so different from England

1917 April in Algonquin Park #upclose No. 4 #tt1917

I think Daphne Crombie had the eyes for me. Trouble was, she was married and I was not

Electric light of the city does look beautiful - when refracted through filthy air.

It was in the autumn of 1915, after Carmichael had married, that I moved into the Shack behind the Studio.

In my early days back in Toronto, I enjoyed the city immensely. I was a bit of a dandy.

The smell of balsam fir is much preferable to coal smoke and raw sewage

I was keenly interested in the work of Van Gogh

There's no place for a sketch outfit when you’re fire ranging.

Lawren Harris said I was a fine companion - direct, straightforward, and naturally at home in the lakes and woods.

I was accused of going to the Dufond Indian Farm whenever I wanted to do the Rain Dance.

1915 Maple Sapling, Algonquin Park #tt1915

My hair falls in a shock over my forehead