#2585 "Singleton South Shore Paddle"

#2585 "Singleton South Shore Paddle"

This painting is from an October 2021 reconnaissance paddle of Singleton Lake, checking on the welfare of the two loon chicks. The water was a mirror and the reflections reached out from the shore to envelope and embrace my canoe. The depth of the colours were what interested me most. 

BCIVS End of School Year Canoe Trip 1970

I have always been in love with the canoe. For me, the quiet, unobtrusive canoe is more about romance than that other Canadian qualification some people refer too. The silent stroke of the paddle in a secluded lake surrounded by nature is as close to paradise as Canadians can get. Courting canoes were designed for stylish leisure and affairs of the heart and I remember those days fondly after almost fifty years. There is something about being out in a canoe that connects the occupants to each other as well as nature and the landscape. 

I carved my favourite paddle out of a mahogany plank when we still had Watershed Farm in Schomberg. The voyageur design has a very long blade and the edges are knife-sharp for Canadian stroking. There is an arborite splice in the bottom of the paddle to overcome any split in the wood. I think of my wood -working friend every time I pick up my paddle. I was reading the series of books by Bill Mason at the time and painted "water walker" within the water of the decoration on my paddle.

A paddle in a canoe can bring back as many memories as a painting... 

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