Everywhere in the outports of Newfoundland there are old salt box houses, sheds, outhouses and countless other remains of the old way of life. With the nearly complete closing of the fishing industry hundreds of tiny villages, once bustling with the activities of hardworking families have become a shadow of their former selves. (However they are still loaded with charm and have found new life thanks to the resurgence of interest in preserving the past.)
I grew up in one of those villages and often explored anything I found abandoned. Nothing seemed to be torn down or thrown away rather it seemed to just be part of the landscape, on its way to becoming as integral as the gnarled trees and rocks surrounding it.
The type of painting I am drawn to create reflects my endless hours of staring at a particular house or wharf. I want to give it its due, to notice it once more before it fades into the background as if it was never there.....
