For the past 11 years, local plein air artist Christy Smith has been spending one month every year on a painting retreat by herself in a rustic cabin on the edge of her wooded property in between Wanup and Wahnapitae.
She sees her husband once per week when he brings her fresh food, but other than that, she’s not in touch with civilization — no cellphone, no television, no radio. Smith said she does bring art books along to study when she’s not painting.
If there were to be an emergency, she’d have to walk two kilometres through the bush to get home.
Smith’s yearly art retreats are part of her 12-year-long project to paint the natural world 365 days of the year — she’s now 11 years in. Each year, she chooses a different month to spend painting in the great outdoors.
In 2021, Smith is spending the month of February (this month) on her art retreat. She’ll complete the project in 2022 by spending the month of September in the bush — a lovely way to end her mission.
Before she went out into the bush, Smith sent an email to Sudbury.com.
“I leave tomorrow at dinner time and am back March 1,” she said.
“I plan to paint plein air for the next 30 days straight, no matter the weather … although warmer than colder will be preferred.
"This being year 11, I have now completed 303 days of outside painting, of my 12-year goal, to be outside painting and documenting the Sudbury environment for 365 days in the bush.
“I am proud of my achievements to date and I am excitedly looking forward to this next challenge of winter outside painting. We, my husband Thom Pepin and I, have hauled all the wood, 3.5 cords of maple.
“I have pre-cooked and packed all 30 days worth of food and frozen it. I have packed and hauled all the art gear and cabin gear for a month.
“Tomorrow we will bring out the last of the 40 gallons of water and my fresh food. Then the fun starts, as I begin painting Feb. 1 till March 1, when I return home. I have learned so much and improved my artistic skill level immensely over the past 10 years.
“I have taken great pleasure in having the privilege of being able to document this beautiful Sudbury landscape in paint. I have also learned that isolating is not such a bad thing, in fact, I thrive on it. Being one with nature is a real blessing. I enjoy my solo art painting experience a great deal and I look forward to each one. This February is no exception."
