WHO KNEW?
It was sometime during the first 8 or 10 days of November of 2021. Indulging in a daily pleasure so many of us here in Gibsons, British Columbia enjoy, our daily walk along the ocean shoreline of Gibsons Harbour always provides time to let one’s spirit regenerate. The sound of lapping water, the clarity of the coastal air on a bright fall afternoon and so many friendly and familiar faces obviously enjoying the same gives one a sense of well-being. It’s easy to feel good on a day such as this. The fall leaves scattered on the trail provide the foreground, while the newly snow-capped North Shore mountains complete the image. My artist’s eye came into focus. I’d walked this seawall so many times over the years, but it was today that I found my image. Gibsons is such a special place to live, particularly during the confining reality of the pandemic. I had to paint the compelling image that was before me on this glorious day.
I started to paint this bright, energetic and vibrant image on the first day of a series of major rain storms here in southern British Columbia. Known as “Atmospheric Rivers”, we were to be victim to many days of relentless and seemingly never-ending torrents of water from the skies. Mountainsides would come down in cruel gushes of rock and mud. Rivers would reach and grab well above their normal courses and confines. They would change direction at will, taking with them roads, homes, businesses and countless farms, produce and livestock. Roads and railways would be wiped out and sadly, lives would be lost. Southern British Columbia would be changed forever in so many ways. And everybody, whether directly hit by these tragedies or not, would feel the tension, anxiety and stress. We were all watching the dark and angry skies with anxious trepidation. Unwilling and reluctant participants, we were all a part of a sad chapter of British Columbia history.
And through it all I painted. I painted, selfishly, for myself and for my own mental wellbeing. I painted that glorious day of only a few weeks ago. I painted the calm waters and sparkling sunshine. I painted tranquility and peaceful, vibrant colour. And as I did, the title for this painting became evident.
As I’d walked that day in the warm ocean air, and as I’d found my painting in the brilliant sunshine, little did I know what was waiting for all of us just a day or two later. As bright and cheerful as this image is to me, it’ll always remind me of when I painted it. It’ll always remind me of a sad and ugly time for all of us here in British Columbia. I had no way of knowing of the foreboding tragedies that awaited us. None of us did. And thus, the title of probably the last painting I’ll do in 2021 – “WHO KNEW?”
