Red Menu live painting

Coming out of last year's Red Menu Campaign in support of our local United Way, I had this idea of how I might be able to support the effort with my painting if they chose to do it again in the future. 

"What if I did one hour live paintings at each location," I suggested.  "The paintings could then be auctioned off near the end of the campaign."

As the idea took hold, the added twist that we added was to involve the staff members in suggesting potential subjects that represent LOCAL LOVE, which is the theme of this year's campaign.  The suggestions that have been coming in are awesome, everything from people and places to elements of nature that enhance life in the north.

Of course, part of my challenge as the artist is the amount of time I've given myself.  With only an hour, I have to be rather selective on what I decide to paint.  It needs to be something that is somewhat achievable within the very limited window of sixty minutes.

The folks at Boston Pizza Downtown made a number of great suggestions, but the one I'm going with is our provincial flower: the wildrose.  They've suggested that I paint it with a "diversity" twist.  I haven't figured out exactly what that means to me....yet.....but I will.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon, I'm going to go up to Chocolates and Candlelight at 1 pm and paint something that celebrates our forests.

On Friday evening, I'll be at Wood Buffalo Brewing Company painting something that captures the sense of connection and community that happens in your friendly neighbourhood pub.

Each painting will be donated to the United Way of Fort McMurray and Wood Buffalo and auctioned off in support of their #locallove community campaign.

You can bid on a number of great items in support of the United Way by clicking here.