FATHER/DAUGHTER
It seems the older I get the more I appreciate the small things in life, especially those times I have with family. My daughter Melanie lives in Langford, a suburb of Victoria on Vancouver Island. She too is an artist. We spend a lot of time just talking painting with each other, and I like to think I’ve had some modicum of influence on her artistic ventures over the years.
In the spring of 2018 I went for a walk with Melanie and her two daughters to Tower Point. As we walked and talked we came up with a plan. Together we’d find an image to paint. Together we’d find the subject as we meandered this beautiful landscape. We’d agree on not only the subject but also the composition of the piece, but from there we’d be on our own.
From the rocky shores of Tower Point we looked out over Juan de Fuca Straight to the navigation marker on Haystock Island with the Olympic Mountains as a backdrop. It was a natural. Quickly we agreed on our image. Returning to my home in Gibsons, I composed a sketch of the composition we’d found together. I duplicated the sketch and sent a copy to Melanie. Now, over the next few months, using that sketch and photographs taken on our walk that day, we’d each work independent of the other, on the very same painting.
Early in 2019 our projects were done. Having not ever seen or even talked about our individual progress with this project, our two paintings were completed.
I create my images in acrylic paint, while Melanie employs acrylic ink as her chosen medium. And though our mediums are divergent, it was interesting to see the similarities, and the differences in our final images. What a gift, what a treat, to have taken this artistic journey together. The two paintings will forever hang with each other in Melanie’s home, a demonstration of our mutual love and respect for each other. Hopefully, the two paintings will be passed on some day, always to be shown together with the title that’ll invariably explain their title – “Father/Daughter”.
