Pic Island Point

Lake Superior, 30” x 18”, oil on panel, 2004

From the Coast To Canvas Project

Beyond this point lies the first campsite that we stayed at during our project. It was beautifully tucked away from the elements, with sand beaches that greeted us with caribou tracks as the bow of our canoe slipped ashore.

Here is where the grip of civilization began to melt away, and we started to get into a rhythm more in tune with nature. The adjustment process is one of the nice parts about camping out for longer periods. You start to forget about phones, schedules, televisions, meetings and all the busy hubbub of daily life. The weather, especially the winds, become a source of focus, and daily activities revolve around the environment, instead of taking place within artificial, modern bubbles.

This painting for me then represents many of those qualities. The long, light-coloured limb that lies across the rocks has molded itself to the shape of the surface over time. Similarly, the land forms our existence, at least for a while, when one spends enough time living in it away from modern amenities. It’s a place not to escape life, but to experience it in a deeper, meaningful way.