Stories from the Road

Ten canvases, countless kilometres, ferries, changing weather and some unforgettable encounters along the way.

The South Coast - Painting Beyond the Road

There are easier ways to make a painting. You could stay in the studio, where the light is controlled, your supplies are close at hand and there is very little chance of having to carry a wet oil painting down the side of a steep hill in the dark. 

But that wouldn’t be nearly as much fun.

In September, Peter set out to explore and paint Newfoundland’s South Coast. This was the second part of Peter’s 2026 Newfoundland plein air journey, following his summer trip through Northern Newfoundland.

The plan was fairly simple: explore, find places that inspired Peter and paint. Of course, travelling around Newfoundland with large canvases, wet oil paint and an ever-changing weather forecast is rarely simple.

Harbour Breton — The Journey Begins

Our first stop was Harbour Breton. Rain greeted us on arrival, but by the next day the skies had cleared and Peter headed up Gun Hill to scout for a place to paint.

At 135 metres above the harbour, the view made the climb worthwhile. Looking over the community, harbour and surrounding coastline, Peter knew the Gun Hill view had to be painted.The challenge wasn’t only getting the large canvas and painting supplies up the hill. Once Peter began, changing light meant working quickly to capture the scene — and eventually carrying a wet oil painting back down again.

Belleoram — Painting Until There Was No More Light

The next day we headed to beautiful Belleoram. Peter found a composition that immediately caught his attention and set up for another day of painting.

Belleoram has a long history as a South Coast community, and its historic Anglican church is a striking landmark overlooking the harbour. This is where a familiar pattern began to emerge. Peter painted. The sun started setting. Peter kept painting. The light faded. Peter kept painting. Eventually there really wasn’t enough light left to see the colours properly.

Only then was it time to pack up.Then came the  drive back to Harbour Breton — in darkness and fog, keeping a close eye on the road and hoping a moose didn’t decide to join the adventure. Another perfectly normal day of plein air painting.

Back to Harbour Breton — “Are You Dr. Lewis’s Son?”

Our third painting day brought us back to Harbour Breton. One of the things people don’t necessarily see in the finished painting is how much time Peter spends simply looking. Finding the right composition can take time. He walks. He looks. He changes direction. Sometimes he comes back to the same place several times.

On this day he was drawn back to an area he had painted before. He set up along the main road, so it wasn’t long before people began stopping to see what he was doing. Some came over for a chat, and a couple of people even recognized him from previous painting trips.

Then came one of my favourite moments of the entire trip. One gentleman heard Peter’s last name. “Lewis?” He looked at him and asked, “Are you Dr. Lewis’s son?” And yes, he is. Peter’s father, Dr. John Lewis, had worked as a doctor in the community years ago. Only in Newfoundland can you be standing on the side of a road painting and suddenly discover a connection reaching back a generation.

Pool’s Cove — Racing the Weather

Our next stop on the Connaigre Peninsula was Pool’s Cove, somewhere Peter had never painted before.

He found a beautiful view of the cove and set up alongside the road. But the sky was becoming part of the story. Bad weather was coming, and you could see it approaching.

The changing sky created a wonderful atmosphere for the painting, but eventually a decision had to be made. And then something miraculous happened: Peter decided to stop painting early. Anyone who knows Peter’s tendency to paint until the last possible minute will understand why this deserves mentioning. We packed everything up and headed out, hoping to beat the rain. The rain did come, but for once we weren’t standing outside in it with an easel.

That night we stayed in Grand Falls-Windsor and left the wet paintings with friends. We needed the space because there were more paintings — and quite a few more kilometres — still to come.

Burgeo to François — Sometimes Getting There Is Half the Story

Our next destination was François, which meant getting ourselves, our luggage, groceries and painting supplies onto the ferry from Burgeo. The weather had other plans. Forecasted high winds cancelled our ferry, so we spent the night in Burgeo and tried again the following day. This time we were off. The approximately four-hour ferry journey included a stop in Grey River before continuing along the South Coast to François. What a day.

We were able to spend much of the journey outside on deck, watching Newfoundland’s coastline unfold around us. Grey River and François are remarkable communities, accessible by ferry rather than the provincial road network. Then we entered the fjord leading into François. It was stunning. Steep hills rise around the harbour with the community nestled below.

Then reality returned. We had to get everything off the ferry: suitcases, painting gear, canvases and groceries. Lots of groceries.

With no grocery store in François, everything we needed for our three-night stay had to come with us. Thankfully, an ATV met us and transported our mountain of supplies to the saltbox house we had rented. Living somewhere this remote would certainly have its challenges. But as a place to explore and paint, it was extraordinary.

François — Too Many Paintings to Choose From

Everywhere we looked in François there seemed to be another painting. Peter eventually chose two.

Painting outdoors is about much more than copying a scene. The light moves. Boats move. Clouds move. Reflections disappear. Colours change. Peter has to work quickly, capturing what he can while the light is there and relying on observation and memory when it changes. That direct connection to the landscape is central to his work — responding to the weather, colour, movement and atmosphere of a place while actually standing within it.

We also found time to hike Friar Hill. The climb involved a bit of scrambling, but the view from the top looking down over François and out toward the ocean was spectacular. Naturally, we looked around and thought: Peter could paint from here. Then we remembered the large canvas, the easel, the paints, the palette and everything else we’d have to carry up. Maybe not.

After three nights in François, we packed everything up and headed back to Burgeo.

Burgeo — Capturing a Moment Before the Light Changes

We spent the next two days painting around Burgeo. One painting captured Small’s Island. Another was painted at Muddy Hole, looking toward White’s Island and Crocker Island. Morning light doesn’t wait for an artist. Peter has to work quickly to capture a particular moment before the sun shifts and everything changes.

That’s part of what makes these paintings special. They don’t simply record a location. They record a particular moment in that location.

Ramea — We Were Car Number Eight

From Burgeo it was time for another ferry — this time to Ramea.

There was one complication. Only a limited number of vehicles could get aboard. We watched the cars loading and waited. We were number eight. We made it.

Ramea was worth the worry.

Peter chose a scene in the harbour that I think anyone who lives in Ramea, grew up there or has visited will immediately recognize.

And once again, Peter painted until the light was almost completely gone. The afternoon became evening. The light disappeared. The streetlights came on. Peter was still painting. Eventually he was scrambling to get the last paint onto the canvas when it was becoming difficult to even distinguish the colours on his palette.

The following morning we decided not to gamble with the ferry. We took the first one out.

When an Art Trip Becomes a Trip to Staples and Kent

Next stop: Corner Brook. Not to paint. To engineer a way of transporting ten wet oil paintings.

We needed bubble wrap and tape, so we stopped at Staples. Then we went to Kent for screws and narrow wooden strips that could act as separators between the paintings.

Salvage — One Last Canvas

Our final destination was Salvage, on the Eastport Peninsula.

Peter has painted Salvage before, but returning to a place doesn’t mean repeating a painting. There is always another viewpoint, another sky, another light and another composition waiting to be discovered.

This time Peter found one he hadn’t painted before.

And after hauling large canvases around Newfoundland, climbing hills and navigating ferries, something remarkable happened.

Peter chose a small canvas. Finally. And with that, our South Coast painting adventure was complete.

Ten Paintings — And a Lot More Than Ten Stories

Ten paintings were started during this journey.

But when we look at them now, they hold much more than the landscapes Peter painted.

They hold the sunset from Gun Hill. The fading light in Belleoram. A conversation on the roadside in Harbour Breton about Peter’s father. The storm clouds approaching Pool’s Cove. Standing on the ferry deck watching Newfoundland’s South Coast pass by. Our first glimpse into the fjord at François. Climbing Friar Hill. Morning light in Burgeo. Streetlights coming on while Peter was still painting in Ramea. And one final canvas in Salvage.

There was rain, wind, fog, cancelled ferries, wet paintings, groceries, garbage bags, bubble wrap, a few questionable packing arrangements — and countless kilometres of Newfoundland in between.

That’s part of plein air painting too. Now the ten canvases are back in Peter’s home studio, where the work that began along the road will be completed. Together with Peter’s paintings from his Northern Newfoundland journey, they will form a body of work celebrating Newfoundland’s landscapes and the small communities that give this province so much of its character.

These paintings will be part of Peter's solo exhibition Explore Newfoundland En Plein Air. The opening will at held at the Peter Lewis Gallery on Friday November 13, 2026. All are welcome.

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