300 VICTORIA VIEW ROAD
Seldom do I paint “commissions”. And it seems, even more seldom do I paint buildings, or human-made structures. But this, as it turned out, was different. My friend Dave Burns asked me to consider painting his childhood home for him. I told him of my reluctance to commit to a commission, but I’d have a look. On a cool, foggy March morning in 2022, Dave and I made our way to the rocky point in Esquimalt, BC. I took photographs as a reference. Again, I told him I’d make no promise. But, when I got home and invested some time in those photographs, the artist within stirred and spoke. The rugged structure of the land, those rocks, the cement wall and the rockwork construction of the house and gatepost all demanded my artistic attention.
But, for me, that’s where this artistic journey ends. At the completion of the painting, the title and very personal meaning of this piece ultimately belongs to Dave. And so, I now turn to him to complete the story:
“On this spectacular rocky shoreline of McLoughlin Point, I spent the best years of my youth, from age 7 to 15 years.
My summers were spent exploring the wonders of the ocean shoreline. The intertidal zone is filled with life in every crevice and cranny. I spent hours rolling rocks in the tidepools to watch the scurry of creatures trying to escape, and teasing hermit crabs that would pinch and run.
My brother Rick carefully logged the details of every freight ship that arrived and departed Victoria’s harbour.
At high tide, we Burns boys were adventurous marine engineers. We’d lash stray logs into a raft. Then we’d row together, with our 3-year-old trusting sister Kathryn, our eager passenger, into the Victoria Harbour entrance. There, we’d all hold on tight as the huge wake from the international ferry MV Coho would rock and test our knots and lashings! I will never forget my mother Cassie’s shock, and Doug, our Dad’s response from his military posting in far off Cyprus. This painting brings me back to so many warm, salty summer days filled with wonder, curiosity and adventure.”
David Burns