About thirty people live in the Sea Village houseboat community on the north side of Granville Island. These 13 floating homes are that rainbow-colorful in real life. Some of the houses took about two years to design and build before being delivered by towboat to their permanent location.

Living on the water has lots of advantages: scenery, freshness, walking distance to some of the best recreational facilities and markets around, plus an always unobstructed view. The water-wavey motion might be a gentle blessing in restless moments, or perhaps a less welcome sensation in queasier times. Moreover, given that this is one of the busiest waterways and tourist areas, there’s a lot of traffic.

One resident notes “Dragon boaters, rowers, tugboats, they’re all part of the atmosphere, and we wanted to be close to that. They see us, we see them, so there’s a definite element of being on show here. You have to be okay with living in a public space.” It gives a different take on the term, “showboating.”

Acrylic on canvas, 12″ x 24″
Spring, 2012
Located at: Private Collection