For Robert, sharing stories was a central facet of human experience. The idea in this image is that books open up the world and connect people to one another. The reading man and woman reflect a harmonious blend of body and mind. The wharf and ocean motif suggests the idea of infinity, a voyage of the mind, and travels to distant places. This image started as an illustration for the 1990 Lancelot Press annual catalogue. However Robert made a full size version as a painting on canvas—an example of how his commercial art and Fine Art ideas often intersect. The couple by a harbour was an important motif for Robert and appears in images throughout his career beginning with Harbour, 1984 and ending with Healing, 1990. Reading Couple on Wharf reflects Robert’s own love of books. It is a tribute to the family publishing business. It is a study of relationship and it uses a Nova Scotia seascape in an imaginative manner to suggest deeper themes of community, environment and imagination.