Downtown Manotick in early spring
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 150th 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.
Maple, Main and Bridge
Acrylic on canvas, 60 x 24 inches (2009)
Please do not reproduce the images in this display.
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