Where the Waters Remember
Emerging Indigenous Artist Laura Graves— Castlegar, British Columbia
Acrylic on Canvas
24" x 36"
Where the Waters Remember is a richly layered celebration of aquatic life, connection and continuity. Filled with fish, flowing plant forms, circular patterns and a commanding orca, the painting creates an underwater world in which every living thing appears connected to what came before it and to everything that surrounds it.
The orca immediately draws the eye. Moving powerfully through the upper centre of the composition, it is rendered in deep charcoal, black and muted green, its body decorated with delicate fields of white dots. There is strength in its form, but the artist gives it a sense of graceful movement rather than aggression. The orca seems to travel through the painting as a guardian presence, surrounded by the smaller lives that share its waters.
Fish appear everywhere.
Some are large and brightly patterned; others are tiny silhouettes tucked into the centre of the composition. They swim in different directions and occupy different depths, creating the feeling of a living ecosystem rather than a static scene. Each is treated individually, with its own combination of markings, stripes, dots and colour.
At the heart of the painting is a circular blue passage containing several small aquatic forms. Surrounding it are rings of pattern, vegetation, flowers and organic shapes. This circular structure gives the work an almost cyclical rhythm—the eye travels inward and then outward again, just as water moves continuously through rivers, lakes and oceans.
The title Where the Waters Remember speaks to that sense of continuity. Water travels. It carries life, nourishes the land and connects places that may appear separate. In the painting, generations of aquatic life seem to occupy the same visual story, suggesting that the waters themselves hold memory—the memory of migration, abundance, survival and renewal.
Throughout the composition, the artist uses repeated dots as a unifying visual language. They trace the body of the orca, decorate fish and plants, define circular passages and appear like bubbles moving through the water. Their repetition creates rhythm while visually connecting one creature to another.
The palette is wonderfully complex. Deep slate blue provides a quiet foundation for turquoise, lavender, coral, orange, mint green and earthy brown. Bright passages emerge unexpectedly from darker areas, while curling green vegetation moves around and between the fish. Nothing feels isolated; one form continually leads into another.
Toward the lower portion of the painting, the imagery becomes increasingly expressive. Large stylized fish forms emerge among brilliant reds, purples, oranges and greens, while smaller fish continue their journey across the canvas. There is almost a sense of moving deeper into story and memory as the eye travels downward.
What makes Where the Waters Remember particularly engaging is that it works first as an exuberant visual experience and then invites a slower exploration. From a distance, the orca and swirling circular composition dominate. Up close, dozens of smaller discoveries appear—tiny fish, flowers, bubbles, patterns, leaves and repeated marks that may not be noticed on the first viewing.
At 24" x 36", the painting has an intimate enough scale to encourage close examination while still possessing considerable presence. The acrylic on canvas allows the artist's crisp graphic forms, layered colour and intricate pattern work to remain vibrant and immediate.
As an emerging Indigenous artist from Castlegar, British Columbia, she brings a distinctive and developing visual voice to Peachland Village Art Studio. Her combination of wildlife, water, pattern and storytelling creates paintings that are immediately colourful and accessible while leaving room for viewers to discover their own connections within them.
At Peachland Village Art Studio, we are proud to create space for emerging Indigenous artists alongside established local, Canadian and international artists. Part of our purpose is discovery—not only discovering a piece of art, but discovering the artist behind it and having the opportunity to follow their work as it develops. Where the Waters Remember is a wonderful example of that philosophy: a vibrant original painting filled with life, movement and details that continue to reveal themselves each time you return to it.
