This quiet, peaceful scene of white boat with cerulean blue trim tied up at the wharf caught my eye in Trinity, Newfoundland. I’ve painted a lot of scenes of boats and wharves despite the fact that I’m not a boating person. There’s something that appeals to me about boats, wharves, reflections in the water, ripples on the surface, and so forth. Plus you can’t escape such scenes wherever you go in Newfoundland; it’s not a land of skyscrapers like in downtown Toronto or New York. I’ve written before about how I enjoy contrasts of textures, objects, and colours in the scenes that I choose to paint, and this one has it all. Contrasts of light and dark; smooth versus rough and paint-peeled surfaces; the battle of nature vs. manmade structures; a variety of colors, and so forth. The wharf’s losing battle against nature is revealed by its warped and broken planks and beams, and the creep of colors near the waterline. The water shows several shades of blue and is almost completely still with intact reflections of the boat and the wharf; there are some ripples on the surface.Importantly, the scene should convey a sense of peace and calm to the viewer, just as it did to me while painting it.

I’ve done multiple other paintings of scenes from Trinity, which include Duo in Trinity; Rising Tide; Filleting the Catch; and Calm Reflection.