During a recent log cabin break in Wawa, Ontario I was given a thank you card by our hosts. The card showed a painting by the renowned Ojibway artist Norval Morrisseau. It was titled Keeper of Visions : “The keeper of visions of the Wabinonwiin society of the three fires”. A few days earlier I’d noticed the card on the wall behind their reception desk, and remarked on what amazing colours it had. They thoughtfully gave it to me as a leaving gift!

Back in Toronto, still inspired by that fabulous painting, I really wanted to experiment with some of those crazy, eye-catching colour combinations myself. Naturally a black background (as always!) was the best choice to make those colours sing out. The final result is called ‘Awake’ and is acrylic on canvas. You can check it out below. Those black circles which aren’t really visible head-on are concrete gel medium. Below my painting is the Norval Morrisseau painting that inspired me so much (apologies for that image quality, it’s a scan of the card)…