Calm Bay by Jack Beder is a 15.5 x 23 watercolour signed bottom left. Blue pallet with nothing to distract. A distant land for discovery with a close-up of rocks for animals and people alike to perch on. In the foreground, we see the life of the bay’s shore with blue, earthy tone stones. The stones play gently around the painter's feet before the water fades them away. Across the water, the dark horizon slopes and curves, unlike the water that dominates the majority of the composition. The water has a still quality, no waves, just transparency until it merges into the horizon. The clouds above emit a brief glow with the same dark blue painted on the horizon. The wind blows the clouds eastward, with the bundle beginning to float out of view. Beder uses transparent washes to evoke the luminosity and fluidity of water. The absence of people adds to the calm quality easily found in this painting. The painting captures a quiet, expansive view of the bay, likely inspired by the Nova Scotia or Quebec shoreline, where Beder often worked.

This piece was displayed in our Rookleys exhibition, Jack Beder: Life and Art in Canada.