Painting a Memory

Our dear friends Doug and Nora are following their dream and moving away from us after fifteen years. A group commissioned me to create a memento for them. Since they had invested so much of themselves into their cherry and apple farm and would have many fond memories of raising their seven children there I thought that the house and the surrounding orchard would be a great subject.
The first trick was to paint the scene from life without being discovered. I was granted permission by the neighbours to squirrel away in their orchard. My cover was nearly blown at one point but although my white umbrella caught their attention, Doug and Nora couldn't make out who or what I was.
Startng early in the morning I tried to catch the warm rising sun which cast a rich yellow hue over the scene and was beautifully intensified by the wild fire smoke. The up-reaching cherry branches at left indicate a fulfilled harvest and the apple trees on right are starting to show a promising crop ahead. Good neighbour Stan was able to photograph Doug in his beekeepers regalia and e-mail the image to me so I could include another personal element into the painting. I also included the airforce flag which is an important symbol from Doug's previous career.
Everyone seemed pleased with the resulting painting. (whew!)


Last week found me on a ridge high above Okanagan Lake. Spectacular setting. Bone rattling drive to get there though. Suzuki engineers have managed to design the perfect wheelbase/spring rate ratio that achieves maximum spasticity on washboard roads. Stay tuned for a suspension upgrade. Just click on the image a couple on times to get a bigger view.