Downtown Manotick in early spring
Acrylic on canvas, 60 x 24 inches (2009)

This is a scene of the downtown Manotick Ontario intersection of Maple, Main and Bridge Streets at the end of March 2009. Spring has finally taken hold, and the meltwaters mix with the remnant road sanding of the winter, producing a layer of filth for every car wading through.

The painting was created as a celebration of Manotick Ontario's 150^th anniversary. I was trying to celebrate more of the village of Manotick rather than that of Watsons Mill per se. While the Mill is an important cultural part of Manotick, its anniversary would be a year later!

The painting is about life in early spring, where the drabs of late winter are gradually turning to the initial browns of spring. The rays of sunlight hang longer in the sky, focusing now on waking tulip bulbs and melting the piles of ploughed snow.

The style is a little unusual for me, as I am trying to exercise a more interpretive view of colour and light. A painting should engage the viewer, inviting them to find their own shapes and shadows, and conjure their own warmths and appreciations of what is not exactly a beautiful time of year. Concrete constructions, steel and asphault take on a sheen of colour than is constantly changing. To a playful eye (and possibly over-worked imgination) it is a lovely sight to behold.