Storied Waters - Titles & Statement

The Storm is Over

Original Watercolour, 2015 

by Renée Anne Bouffard-McManus

for the solo exhibition Storied Waters

at the Art Gallery of Algoma

Opening night is Thursday April 30th, 2015 at 7pm 

until June 7th, 2015
Now extended until July 6th!

In no particular order, here are the titles of the paintings in the exhibition.

1. crossing the lake at dusk 

2. the truth of the lake 

3. the softness of waking 

4. we drifted through an afternoon 

5. the frostbitten cottage 

6. the sweet smell, the rain left 

7. the storm is over 

8. rain on the horizon 

9. starlit waves 

10. that night we laid in the boat 

11. the waters were furious and we kissed 

12. in the swim 

13. prone to wander

I created this collection of watercolour waterscapes to tell a story of varied emotions, moments and memories associated with the presence of water. These paintings are from my ongoing experiences with water in Northern Ontario that started when I was a child. For this exhibition I challenged myself to paint much larger pieces than before in order to truly immerse the viewer in storied waters.

I used the word storied because of its relation to the words remembrance and memory, not so much for its reference to narrative. This is not a fairytale. My intention was to paint enough of a recognizable waterscape to inspire recollection and allow the viewer's own similar memories and emotions to fill in the blanks. Each title gives structure and a starting point to evoke that experience. The work as a whole imitates life -- while some pieces don't ask too much from the viewer, others demand quite a bit more.

I play with various themes like mortality, faith, life, love, loss, fear, hope, peace, and desire. The movement of the themes creates a push and pull within the individual works and within the whole collection. The lightness and darkness of the paintings are equally important, neither holding more weight than the other while moments of ethereal graceful magic also flicker through the exhibition offering a sense of hope.

Sponsored by the Ontario Arts Council.