This is exactly the kind of place that makes me slow the boat down.

A tiny piece of rock. A handful of pines. A cabin that looks like it has been holding its ground for decades. I've seen places like this all over the Rideau system and I'm always drawn to them. Not because they're grand or impressive, but because they feel personal. They belong to the landscape in a way that newer places often don't.

What fascinates me is how little land is actually there. Just enough room for a cabin, a few trees, and a dock. Yet for the people who spend their summers here, it's probably the centre of their world.

I often find myself imagining the stories these places hold. The first family that decided this tiny island was enough. The years spent building and maintaining it. The kids jumping off the dock. The fishing trips, card games, campfires, and rainy afternoons spent watching the lake through the window. Over time, a place like this becomes more than a cabin. It becomes part of a family's identity.

The title At the Edge of the Evening came from the feeling I wanted to capture in the light. That moment when the day is starting to wind down and the lake begins reflecting the last warmth of the sky. Everything feels a little quieter. The water settles. The colours soften. The cabin becomes a beacon on the shoreline.

Like the other paintings in my Rideau Canal Cabin Bunkie Series, this work is inspired by real cabins and real places I've encountered while exploring the Rideau Lakes. They're not portraits of specific buildings as much as they are reflections of the character and spirit of the places that make this region so special.

These little cabins may sit on the smallest pieces of land, but they often hold the biggest stories.

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