“Last Boat Up, Restigouche,” Oil on Cradled Panel, 18″ X 24″, 2015
by Galen Mercer
Artist Galen Mercer lives along the Battenkill in West Arlington, Vermont. Canadian by birth, he’s the grandson of two painters and the son of another, so it’s kind of in his blood. (He’s also married to Orvis’s own Jaimie Mercer, the subject of one of my favorite fly-fishing photos.) Of this work, Mercer says:
This painting, from a series of Gaspe salmon scenes on some larger rivers there. The nature of these waters is majestic, often formidable, always compelling. Their capacity can be sensed by looking behind you while fishing and observing the enormous, bleached trees left high up the banks by spring floods. The scale is wonderful, if daunting. Painting them at dusk softens this quality, casting them in a more reflective mood.
You can see lots more of Galen’s art, including great landscapes and nature scenes, at the Galen Mercer Sporting and Fine Art website.