water lilies and macrophyte underpinnings
acrylic on masonite, 30 x 20
July 2007

A boon to water-bourne insectivores and a bane to outboard motors the so-called "weed-infested" waterways are a fantastic community of aquatic life. "Weeds" are a point-of-view; and like their land-based neighbours, they also have names like Elodea (Elodea canadensis) and milfoil ( Myriophyllum exalbescens) among many others.

This is a complex neighbourhood, no different than downtown in a rain forest, or high in the boughs of coastal redwoods! The abundance of aquatic vegetation, in part, is an indication of the nutrient-enriched waters or sediments, often due to human activities such as farming and general cottaging. Aside from plants it is the home of the fundamental food chain, from root and frond dwelling midges right up to the people catching their limit of fish.

In this case the waterway is the Kemptville Creek north of Kemptville Ontario. It could be any waters in the world for that matter. Life for all its inconvenience to boaters and swimmers beckons the paddler to stir this soup of tentacles to look for an amphibious pair of eyes staring back.

This painting has been SOLD.
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