Description
Swimming, leaping and diving salmon inspired the abstract shapes found in this dynamic painting. The title, Ouananiche (pronounced waa-na-neesh), is a name used for landlocked Atlantic salmon. These fish are known as jumpers due to their tendency to go airborne. The painting’s surface is built up with many layers of translucent colour which are contrasted with a spontaneous handling of paint and a relatively strict compositional structure. Though this piece is dedicated to the principles of abstract art (colour, line and shape), Sharpe kept a close affinity to the energetic movements of nature as the subject. This painting was commissioned at a time when Sharpe was using elongated triangular forms to reference water, watery environments and the life forms found in water. It was installed for the reopening of the Jack Purcell Community Centre in 1989.