abandoned Motel masthead and grounds
There was an abandoned motel west of Perth Ontario (near the
Salmon River) called the Land O' Lakes. It is a rather pleasant
combination of grass, trees and a lodge-style environment, complete with a diner.
The painting title refers to the irony in the masthead, that
there is indeed a vacancy, a vacancy of proprietor let alone tenants.
Time, rain, snow and sunshine have dried out the lawns, bleached and peeled
the paint, and oxidized the iron in the masthead. The lack of
someone to care for the place has opened it to vandalism
and other animals seeking home or shelter.
There are a number of motels along Highway 7 that have suffered
the fate of the Land O' Lakes. It must be extraordinarily
difficult to run a small motor hotel business and attract the modern traveller for an overnight rest.
Update 2012: The motel has now been demolished and the pieces hauled away. Only the stone base of the sign remains.
Please do not reproduce the images in this display.
Irony
Acrylic on panel, 16 x 20 in. (1998)
Contact Douglas Laing Arts & Letters for further information.
P.O. Box 659, Winchester, Ontario. K0C 2K0 613-774-5180
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© 2012 Douglas Laing