Highway 7 Revisited

Highway 7 Revisited

16" x 16" - acrylic on canvas  
This is for sale - contact me for price if interested.

Highway 7 - just where is that? Well it could be anywhere, but in this case it's the two lane section of that highway  in southwestern Ontario, linking the small cities of Guelph and Kitchener. The former is where I have lived for most of my working life, and the latter is where (well, near there) I worked when I was teaching visual art. It took me a half hour to drive the distance from home to school and then back again each day. I was always struck by the the way the fields and open spaces lining the road, appeared throughout the seasons and at different times of the day, and I always wished that I had the time to stop and at least take photos. Eventually I found the time and did take photos one fall, but I am not sure they really do the views justice. 

Combing through my photos last weekend I came across some of these images again and decided to paint a bold and colourful version in honour of summer. I take great pleasure in the words of Matisse (I think it was him, though I can't tell you where I saw the quote) that 'nature should inspire colour, but never restrict it'.