18x24 resin-coated + glitter
Lake Superior is the largest and northernmost of the Great Lakes of North America, and among freshwater lakes, it is the world's largest by surface area and the third-largest by volume. It holds 10% of the world's surface freshwater. My Sister lived in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Those visits were magic.
When she got married there it was the end of September in Northern Michigan. The whole bridal party took photos on the cliffs overlooking the lake. It was SO cold. One summer my Parents and I visited. There was a glass bottom boat tour - one of my favorite things I’ve ever seen. Because the Lake is so clear you can see hundreds of feet down. Because of the way the lake freezes solid in the winter many boats have sunk over the hundreds of years. I was thinking about that boat tour, a decade and some later when I started reaching for and pouring the blue paint. The resin coat reminds me of the sparkle of the glass and the way they described the ice.
There was this shop right by the shore that had millions of really old photographs for sale. Those were my favorite afternoons, flipping through photos of everything from the 1800 to-1900s. The collections of the lighthouses in winter, covered in 15 foot long icicles, were always the most interesting. The shop had a smell to it too, like really old parchment. The smell of time really.
Once I thought it would be cute to climb the entire breaker wall out to the Presque Isle Harbor. I can’t believe I made it there and back without falling in. The rocks of a breaker wall are just like the waves in the ocean - they look fine from some distance away. With that lighthouse, at first you’re on nice concrete - but you have to climb the rocks to get to the lighthouse.
You never see the risk until it’s too late. So that was the first and last time in my life I got drunk, climbed a 200-yard breaker wall of rocks out to a lighthouse, and lived to tell the tale.
Anyway, this painting reminded me of the magic of my family being all together on Lake Superior. I always loved it because it is the coldest and deepest of the great lakes. Instances of my life and what I remember are frequencies that get stored inside of me and eventually come out as art. This painting - in all of her depth, sparkle, and contrast, is a reminder of a place and time that is very close to my heart.
