b"Paterson Ewens (1925-2002) career as an artist began in Montreal. He was involved with the Automatistes and Neo-Plasticiens before moving to London, Ontario, in 1968 where he joined yet another exceptionally innovative artistic environment that included the likes of Greg Curnoe and Jack Chambers. Rejuvenated by his new surroundings, Ewen abandoned abstraction in favour of figuration, generating a unique brand of landscape art inspired by his varied interests that included geology, astronomy, and meteorology, presented in a novel, hybrid medium that was a cross between painting, sculpture, and printmaking. In 1971 Ewen made his first work involving the gouging and painting of 4 by 8-foot plywood panels; it depicted a solar eclipse on a single panel. Ewen had finally landed on his own unique artistic voice.Day Moon (1987) is a gouged plywood work with a subject that Ewen associated with closely and painted frequently. He struggled with severe depression and anxiety his whole life. It was a reason why Ewen admired Vincent van Gogh. Ewens gouged plywood intentionally references Van Goghs thick brushwork, while his depictions of the moon may also have been inspired by the Dutch painter. For Ewen, the moon symbolized the differing aspects of his personality, echoing his changing moods. The Day Moon likely represents one of Ewen's better moments with the moon in full view during the day, despite its isolation.Dr. John G. Hatch is Associate Professor of modern art history at Western University. His research has focused on the convergence of art and science. He is the author of the Art Canada Institutes monographs on Paterson Ewen and Kazuo Nakakmura."