Under the Westcoast Sky

Acrylic

12'x12"

2010 Olympics collection (please see http://www.muralmosaic.com/kunamokst.html)

I am delighted to be a part of this legacy project, a contribution by coastal artists to the 2010 Olympics.

When choosing a tile, I selected a piece which reminded me of the recent photograph [sent in another email] I took from my home on Mt. Belcher (Salt Spring Island), overlooking the Gulf Islands (including Galiano Island), and the Coastal Mountain range. Also, as Galiano Island is the final resting place for the mural, I wanted to include an image of the Island.

Adapting the image and media to the parameters of the mural was challenging. Usually, I paint experimentally with heavy textures, mixed media, and many glazes. Also, there were colours, shapes and tones which needed to be honoured, in creating this small piece of a much larger plan.

As artists, we tend to work uniquely on our own, independent of others. This historically significant project has brought us together as a unified and complementary whole, in celebration.

Under the Westcoast Sky" is the first painting I have done since my painting hand was seriously injured in January. The pain has been very distracting, and my digits are not stable enough to do all that I would like to. However, the invitation to participate in Kunamokst was too much of an honour to turn down. This little tile represents the hope of being able to fully get back to my painting in the near future.

Some comments about this painting:

"Congrats on being selected for this amazing project. I really like tile #40! It captures the mystic of distant winter slopes and those cool twilight days in the early new year." Michael Scott-Harston