It was the summer of 2015, and there was one week when everything was just not going well. Some family relationships were strained, the car was broken, it was hot as hell… So the weekend was approaching, and all I wanted was to leave - to go somewhere different, to get a change of scenery, and to empty my head.

Friends invited me and my family for the week-end in their cabin in Maine. It is a small cabin with no running or drinkable water, right next to a large lake.

They took us on a tour of the lake in a fishing boat, and I couldn't help but notice how beautiful the water and the trees were. I started taking pictures and in my viewfinder, I saw the unexpected opposition between the tip of the boat, the rope and the beautiful nature surrounding us. I started shooting and three hundred pictures later, I had my inspiration for this paintings series.

I started with 6 canvases and the photos I took. I printed the photos and tore them apart, then I replaced them on the canvas. I then painted over them to enhance the scenery. All of the boats are hand painted, without the use of pictures. The horizontal and vertical lines in the background are intentional to remind the viewer about the disconnection between the boat and the surrounding nature, the ups and downs of life, and the beauty around us.

Did you ever have a “crappy” experience that turned into an inspiration?