Painting In France
When I was painting in Pointe Courte, France, it gradually became apparent that in many ways, I could be on the shore of an outport in Newfoundland. The similarities were cultural and not geographic. The landscape in France is tightly packed, urban and ancient. The landscape around a coastal community in Newfoundland is vast and dominating.
I was captivated by the idea of first exhibiting the French paintings in France, accompanied by support material about a parallel Newfoundland outport (Champney’s West in Trinity Bay), and then doing the reverse back home. Both communities were founded in the fishing industry. Houses in Pointe Courte were once fishing stores. With the depletion of fishing stocks, both communities are in transition to a new economy which includes tourism and a growing influx of seasonal residents. I am one of those residents in Champney’s West.
