Many thanks to Julia Gray for her new purchase. This piece, entitled ENSEMBLE (together), was in an auction to raise funds for BLEU MASSAWIPPI. Our common goal is to safeguard the waters of our beloved Lac Massawippi. SAMSON
ENSEMBLE – 36” x 48” – Acrylic and mixed media on canvas.
From a young age, I’ve always had a sense of belonging to the majestic Lake Massawippi. I used to visit the area with my parents, my sister and my brother. As a teenager, I would make it by bicycle with my friends, jump in the lake and go back home to Sherbrooke.
After residing for nearly 30 years outside the Eastern Townships, I am now proud and grateful to come back and call the charming village of North Hatley, on the shores of Lake Massawippi, my permanent home.
This brings me to this abstract creation that is part of my AZUL collection. Since it is essential for me to preserve the waters of Lake Massawippi, I thought I had to do my share to raise funds in order to help BLEU MASSAWIPPI to fight a possible invasion of zebra mussels. Unfortunately, these small molluscs invade the waters of the lake and threaten its ecosystem on several points. It is therefore for this reason that we must all act now and work TOGETHER on this cause.
Embedded within the layers of paint, you will find newspaper articles (on the fight against zebra mussels), which the ex-general director, Michèle Gérin, has collected over the years. As part of the texture, you will find sand, as well as pebbles picked up on a beach near my home.
I named this piece ENSEMBLE because saving the lake is a major project that the whole community of Lake Massawippi have to undertake seriously in order to control the potential harmful effect of zebra mussels. Everyone must do their part so our efforts make a big difference down the line. This menace faced by Lake Massawippi is not only a regional problem but rather a global one. I can only hope that our resilience will evoke and motivate the rest of the planet to react to this kind of ecological threat.
May this painting make you smile every time you look at it and remind you of the importance of keeping our rivers, lakes and oceans healthy in Quebec and around the world.