#2900 "Boathouse at Red Horse Lake Narrows"

This was the second work of the three-day International Plein Air Painters (IPAP) WORLDWIDE Paint Out. There was not much of an "internet" in the autumn of 2001 to facilitate the forming of the International Plein Air Painters Organization. This plein air painting group was simply started within "Yahoo Groups". Small gatherings of artists responded to the horrific tragedy that was 911 throughout the United States, Canada, Brazil, Italy and some islands in the Caribbean. In 2024 International Plein Air Painters celebrates its 23rd Anniversary. I am a Charter and Honours Signature member of IPAP joining immediately in October 2001 when approached by the founder and my friend Jacq Baldini. 

#2900 "Boathouse at Red Horse Lake Narrows"
Oils on burnt sienna oil tinted commercial canvas panel - 8 X 10 (inches).
Started 9:15 am Friday September 13th, 2024
from very near N44.527096 W76.091022 

After painting #2899 "Grippen Lake Creek Finds Long Reach", I headed to the other end of Long Reach in order to keep the sun on my back. The Narrows is the quaint community at the end of Red Horse Lake Road. The Narrows straddles the beautiful Red Horse Lake which has been a favourite destination for eons.

The anguish of the sinking boathouse at the Narrows always catches my eye. One end of the once-level structure continues to sink into the mud of the shallow bay. The boat launch is paved into the water. The homes always seem to have some activity going on with people talking and moving stuff from here to there. The slam of a screen door punctuated the activity while I painted. The sound carried well on the September morning. The bustle of activity and the Carolinian Forest provided quite a beautiful backdrop for the idyllic location. 

The subtle current took the pontoon boat in a slow cyclonic tour of the northwest shore of Long Reach. This time the pontoon boat was on the other side of the "jet stream current" as compared to the outlet from Grippen Creek. That gyre is consistent with the current which is half blocked at the exit to the next portion of Red Horse Lake. The entrance to the rest of Red Horse Lake was indeed "narrow" but back in the 1950s, it was double what it is now. 

In The Rear of Leeds & Lansdowne : the making of community on the Gananoque River frontier, 1796-1996 by Glenn J. Lockwood, from 2012, it is recorded that a road was proposed to link Gananoque to the Narrows in the early 1800s. Apparently ... 

"Such a road was built as far north as the eighth concession of Leeds by Joel Stone in 1815, with Truman Hicock arranging to build the section north to the Narrows. At best it was a poor, winding link between the front and rear of Leeds. By the time it was built the administrative boundaries of Leeds and Lansdowne Rear had already taken shape. 

On page 202 of that book: 

"At a time when travel of any distance on area roads was fraught with difficulty, the forwarding of crops to market in boats down the Gananoque from Charleston, and perhaps from other points in Leeds and Lansdowne Rear, allowed Gananoque to offer some limited competition to Kingston and Brockville for the forwarding business of the back country. As late as 1832 it is possible to find maps showing the road constructed by Joel Stone and Truman Hicock in 1815 from Gananoque to the Narrows, but it was such a winding difficult route, that its use, if it ever was extensive, was curtailed almost completely, first, by use of the Gananoque River, and then by the opening of the Rideau Canal." 

I have yet to locate a map detailing the path of that early and historic road. Perhaps it might still be found somewhere... I would love to add more to the history of the area in this post should anyone wish to share their experiences and knowledge. 

1861 Map of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, Canada West

The history of the Narrows certainly goes back much further for thousands of years. Red Horse Lake and area has apparently always been a wonderful and enchanting destination. We call it home...

For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go straight to the Collections. Here is the new Wet Paint 2024 Collection. 

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick