Month: February 2016

“The 30,000 Island Archipelago, stretching along the eastern shore of Georgian Bay, has been the inspiration for my work as a painter, printmaker, and photographer for over 50 years.  This bay of Lake Huron, called La Mer Douce by Champlain, is so large is could be considered the sixth Great Lake.  Glaciers have scraped away the earthen mantle along its island-studded coast, revealing ancient Precambrian rockscapes which have been smoothed by ice and kept free of more recent deposits by the continuous polishing and cleaning of the action of waves.  These rock formations, older than life itself, provide a record of the processes of creation.  I have been most particularly influenced by the banded metamorphic gneiss structures found in the Manitou and San Souci areas south of Parry Sound, where I have my island studio on Bartram Island.”

I first met Ed and and his wife, Mary, two years ago when I also introduced a group of 13 French artists to them on a trip to Bartram Island.  When we arrived, Ed invited us to hike the island’s southern edge. He gave us a brief geologic history of the landscape and its inspiration for his paintings. At the end of the hike, we enjoyed a wonderful lunch prepared by Ed and Mary.  We ended the day with a swim in the crystal clear waters of Georgian Bay. This trip was in early October, and Indian summer was in full splendour of color and warmth. This visit was a highlight of our week in Georgian Bay.