It is a painter's duty to become absorbed in nature. ~ Vincent Van Gogh

My preferred footwear - available from Eaton's http://bit.ly/1TrOozy

Jim MacDonald is a fan of Van Gogh. Me too.

Canada is real. It's not just a collection of dingy shanties or a valley of trees to be cut.

1915 Silver Birches, Snow #tt1915

Recent headline http://bit.ly/1N2QKmR

Dominion troops seize crater. globedfavvaf.jpg

1915 Approaching Snowstorm #tt1915

Toronto has become too military for my liking. Even the children dress as soliders.

1916 Chill November #ttcanvas

Eaton's behooving everyone to consider the important question of Christmas presents eatonadfadfa.png

Dec 5, 1916 THE GLOBE: ROUMAINIAN CAPITAL IS NOW UNDER BIG GUN FIRE.

Nature is not poor, she gives me joy.

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

1902 Snow Scene with Houses

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

After I finished my fire ranging job in late summer of 1916 I camped for the better part of two months.

Is my duty to be in the trenches, killing or being killed in the name of love of country?

I do not philosphize nor do I analyze myself.

1911 Darkening Sky, Near Owen Sound

Someone described me as an artist with limited funds and a drinking problem.

No need to shout at the Almighty, he won't listen

That an artist needs to be depressed and drunk to do his best is utter myth

Guiding yourself to bed by candlelight makes life feel less complicated.

It is better to be true to yourself than be a groomed puppet of insincerity and falsehood

I was impressed by Jackson's 'Edge of the Maple Wood' at the 1912 OSA Exhibition.

I still have the sketch that I painted into the canvas 1915 Moonlight #tt1915

Every man passes his life in search for friendship.

I had something that nobody else could acquire - the north in my blood.

I was more than an aging farmboy - pulling eggs from chickens I've never seen

MacDonald liked to write poetry, then tear it up.

1916 Islands, Canoe Lake #upclose No 4. #tt1917

1916 White Birches Round Lake #tt1914

Why does a Nation have to define itself by War? Why not by Art?

Man is many things, but he is not rational

Jackson and I were so poor that we could only afford the occasional film at the cinema.

you get your blankets wet and if you spread them out to dry it is sure to rain again.

I can never keep straight who is fighting whom overseas

English art is a generation behind. Canadian art, a century.

My father wanted to get his money's worth from me. I had to stay on the farm until I was twenty-one.