Tracy Frizzell

Waters Rolling Over Archimedes Library was painted from a series of photographs I had taken while fishing in Lake of the Woods, Ontario, Canada. Although bright and sunny when we headed out that morning, the weather quickly changed. The clouds rolled in and we became drenched. Just as we were about to head back to the cabin, the sun came back out in brilliant force. It was one of those changeable, unpredictable summer days that made dramatic highlights and shadows and was perfect fodder for a painting. It’s easy to get lost in the Canadian wilderness. To try to help navigate, my family had adopted the habit of naming un-named islands on the map so we could reference them. The island in the foreground of this painting is comprised of volcanic rock that formed in a unique way. Just below the water’s surface the rocks look like stacks of large books tipped over. It reminded us of the Disney movie “The Sword & the Stone” where young King Arthur is tutored by Merlin the wizard. Merlin’s pet owl is named “Archimedes” and he hangs out in the library which is filled with precariously high stacks of books ready to tumble over. I’ll admit the naming in this instance was a bit fanciful, but it helped us distinguish this particular island’s location on the map and reference it.