25 April, 2026 0 comments Leave a comment

Bon Echo Provincial Park has been shaping my work quietly for months, but this spring, it’s also becoming part of where my work lives. I’m thrilled to share that Greystones Gift Shoppe & Café in Bon Echo Provincial Park will be carrying prints, cards, and original paintings from my Bon Echo collection. 

Although my husband and I have explored a good portion of the Canadian Shield during our lifetimes, some exceptionally moving encounters have stayed with us. As an artist, I find they gently shape what I create next.

Our camping stay in Bon Echo Provincial Park, near Cloyne, Ontario last fall was profoundly memorable. The park's iconic feature - a tall granite cliff soaring over the pristine blue waters of Mazinaw Lake - has kindled a creative fire in my soul.

Pictured here are two of my new varnished watercolours in the Bon Echo collection: Mazinaw Morning, 9 x 12 inches (above), and Mazinaw Mirror, 6 x 12 inches (below).

I shared the scenic highlights of our Bon Echo visit in my previous blog post The Magic of Mazinaw. If you view the photos and video therein, (or if you have visited this famous park) you will understand my enduring sense of wonder.

Seeing the park in person makes me want to capture this incredible landscape in watercolour, but an unexpected chain of events led to a deeper relationship with Bon Echo, and to my work being available at Greystones.

The Backstory

In 2024, I created this large painting of Mazinaw Rock (Echoes of Summer, varnished watercolour on 18 x 24 inch panel), inspired by a spectacular photo taken by my friend Kate. 

I loved the moment of morning light she captured, with a tiny kayaker paddling in the distance to show the massive scale of the cliff face, and featuring Turtle Rock, a prominent outcropping. 

Our mutual friends, Rob and Lynn, who have camped in Bon Echo Provincial Park every fall for at least 20 years, acquired the painting. I decided I just had to see this landscape in person, booked a camping spot, and we joined them the following fall. Kate and her husband were there too.

We spent ten wonderful days exploring the park on foot and by kayak and enjoying visiting with our friends.

Greystones Gift Shoppe & Café

The park store, called Greystones Gift Shoppe and Café, is housed in this historic log cabin, operated by Friends of Bon Echo Park, a non-profit volunteer-based group.

Greystones was a hive of activity during our September visit, offering tour boat tickets, ice cream, pastries, coffee, maps, books, games, souvenirs, park branded clothing, and an impressively fine selection of paintings, prints, and note cards created by regional artists.

All profits from Greystones are used to assist the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks and Bon Echo Provincial Park staff in achieving their goals for the protection of park resources and in furthering educational and interpretive programs.

Our friend Lynn was certain that Greystones would want to sell prints of Echoes of Summer and urged me to show a photo of it to the manager.

When I did so, the manager said it was the best painting she had seen of Mazinaw Rock.

That lead to an email conversation over several months where we worked out an agreement.

The Bon Echo Collection (Available at Greystones)

Here’s the exciting news: during camping season (mid May to mid October), Greystones will be carrying matted prints and note cards of Echoes of Summer, along with six small original varnished watercolours featuring Mazinaw Rock.

I have been busy this winter preparing the artwork as well as a selection of my most popular note cards of Canadian Shield scenery.

•          Matted archival prints: $80 each CAD
•         Note cards: $7 each CAD
•         Small original varnished framed watercolours: $450–$700 CAD

Pictured above is another of these paintings, Mazinaw Majesty (10 x 8 inches), and all six paintings in the Collection are shown as a group below.

As an artist who enjoys and appreciates the natural wonders of our world, it is a true privilege to be able to contribute to the sustainability of one of Ontario's most popular provincial parks, through my art.

The Bon Echo Collection asks viewers to pause, to notice, and to recognize beauty, not as an infinite resource, but as something fragile and worthy of care. This park is a sacred inheritance, and my artwork offers a quiet, heartfelt testimonial for why it matters.

Bon Echo Provincial Park is located at 16151 Highway 41, near Cloyne, Ontario and offers day use passes, boat tours, and overnight camping, all of which need to be booked in advance. If you’re visiting Bon Echo this season, stop in at Greystones Gift Shoppe & Café. It sits beside the Visitor Centre on the lake shore, facing Mazinaw Rock. This Bon Echo Collection is available at Greystones from mid May to mid October, while supplies last. 

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