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Magic of Canada: Famous Canadian Cities and Landscapes in Art Paintings, Prints and Photographs by Canadian Artists Reviewed By Bani Sodermark of Bookpleasures.com
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Bani Sodermark








Reviewer Bani Sodermark. Bani has a Ph.D in mathematical physics and has been a teacher of physics and mathematics at the university level in both India and Sweden. For the last decade, her interests have been spirituality, healthy living and self-development. She has written a number of reviews on Amazon. Bani is a mother to two children.



 
By Bani Sodermark
Published on September 1, 2017
 

Author: Dr. Alexander Khomoutkov

Publisher: Dr. Alexander Khomoutkov

ASIN: B0739PW36C


Author: Dr. Alexander Khomoutkov

Publisher: Dr. Alexander Khomoutkov

ASIN: B0739PW36C

                                            A Love Offering to Canada

This ebook is a love offering of the author, Alexander Khomoutkov and his wife, Elena, to their adopted country Canada and its inhabitants, on the occasion of Canada’s 150th birth anniversary. It consists of a collection of more than fifty paintings of different scenes drawn from the author’s favourite places in Canada. These include Ottawa, Quebec, Montreal, Vancouver, Victoria and Mount Tremblant. There are also some paintings of scenes from Nature, among them Maligne Lake and Meech Lake. The artist in each case is Elena Khomoutkova. 

The author has presented the collection of paintings according to the seasons the depict. He starts with the city of Ottawa in winter. The first picture shows the clock tower glowing with lights in the city square, with pine branches heaped with glistening snow in the foreground. Another shows children skating on the canal while another shows a couple huddled together because of the cold, walking alongside the same while children skate. There is a late winter picture of cars driving in slush caused by melting ice on Elgin Street. Another shows children making a snowman in a snowdrift outside a lighted building.

The next few paintings depict springtime in Ottawa. There is the street corner pub called “Dubliner” in the rain., followed by  the barges on the canal, gearing up into action for the coming season. There is a picture of the clock tower seen from a distance, followed by another picture showing lights over an open market. A horse driven carriage appears with regularity alongside the automobiles. The ambience suggested by these paintings is that the evenings are longer as the twilight hours have increased.

Spring paintings are followed by summer scenes. There is a picture of outdoor cafes full of people. Another shows a picture of an outdoor cafe full of customers. That the barges on the canal are in use, is the theme of  another, while another painting shows.rain drenched streets full of people going about their daily business. The last picture with the Ottawa summer theme shows the clock tower and the canal and a busy market place.

Fall scenes involving the clock tower and canal come next. The above locations are repeated but under autumnal climatic conditions. There are far fewer people sitting at the cafes in the pictures in the pictures in the pictures and the trees are changing color as the twilight hours get shorter.

The next city that is taken up is  Quebec. The theme of the  seasons is repeated, some locations are chosen and the paintings reflect the location in that particular season. The first to come is winter, this is represented by Christmas trees decorated by lights outside the door of a house.There is a picture of snowdrifts on a deserted road, another with the ubiquitous horse and carriage, a few scenes involving children carrying out Christmas errands, among others. The next on the line are a few summer scenes for the locations that have been chosen earlier, depicting the winter landscapes,

The next city to be presented is Montreal. For this city, there are only pictures of winter landscapes at different locations. More winter landscapes follow, e.g.  in Mont Tremblant  and Vancouver.

The rest of the book contains depictions of pristine Canadian wilderness e.g. Meench Lake and Maligne Lake.

The pictures are very recognizable and evocative. Indeed, the author encourages the reader to make time for a visit to them. The style is impressionist in character, instead of clear sharp lines, there are more blobs of light coming together to form a whole.

I recommend this book warmly.