Lake Friends II Painting

From the 'Things We Found at the Lake' series which explores the imagery of bathers at the lake. As an immigrant to Canada, the artist has become intrigued by the pastime of swimming in lakes, an activity she perceives as quintessentially Canadian. As a new Canadian, Cath finds herself between two cultures, looking back at her British cultural heritage from a distance with some nostalgia, whilst in a sense remaining an outsider in her adopted land. There is an element of voyeurism as she observes people engaging unselfconsciously with the landscape, or interacting with one another. 'Lake Friends' depicts two female friends relaxing in a cool mountain lake on a hot sunny day. The artist was inspired by Georges Seurat's painting 'Bathers at Asnieres' from the National Gallery in London with its quiet contemplative atmosphere. The surface of this painting is richly built up in layers with thick impasto used along with glowing glazes of oil colour. Oil pastel drawing on the piece adds an extra dimension and reflects light in a different manner to the oil paint, thus creating more surface interest.