dready art ‘deck house life’ – 72×24 – original commission on canvas

this group of houses were inspired by the ‘cottages’ and boat houses north of toronto, because the original developer was canadian … people go to the lakes, north of the city, pretty much every weekend, sun, rain or snow, or all of the above, to; muskoka, huntsville, lakefield, barrie, parry sound, tiny beaches …

they call it ‘cottage country’

I’ve heard someone call their 14,000 sq foot house by the lake the ‘cottage’ …

some areas have big cottages, some small, some are carefully planned … Georgian Bay for example is closely guarded from mega mansions, planning allows only one ‘kitchen’ and house/cabin/cottage sizes are limited as are toilets and other structures …

it’s pretty lovely, it’s not british columbia dramatic lovely, but it is ontario lovely; gently rolling landscapes, farmsteads and lotsa lotsa lakes.

i was a small boy when I first went to ‘cottage country’; a business associate of my grandfather’s, a man to whom he sold pimento/allspice I think, had invited us to canada and to his cottage, and we went – in my memory it was called ‘loon lake’, which exists, but I wouldn’t swear that was true – the water was cold, colder than this little jamaican yute had ever experienced – I watched a loon dive in chasing fish …