Shawn Theriault had reached out to start the conversation about what we could possibly do, artistically, to help the community of Tumbler Ridge, his hometown in the days after the community and the nation were rocked by a terrible mass shooting event that left eight souls dead and many others injured back on February 10th.
Once we landed on the image that would best inspire the piece, Shawn had the brilliant idea of integrating northern lights and eight stars to represent those who had died. He then did the prudent thing of connecting with senior leadership in the community to make sure the concept was appropriate and would be well received. He also coordinated with the
Northeast BC Community Foundation who has set up a Tumbler Ridge Resiliency Fund to be the receiver and distributor of generous donations that will flow in as part of this initiative.
As Shawn's fundraising event in Fort McMurray was rapidly approaching along with our departure date for our spring break holiday, I jumped into the project on Friday. I started with sketching the structure of the Tumbler Ridge town office and the surrounding scene. Then I put down some colours in the sky. On Saturday, I dove in and started in on the details.
Saturday was a hard day. I'm not going to lie. I had to take frequent breaks and more than several naps throughout the process. Despite the fact that I had hoped to finish the painting that day, I had to take a self-care pause and walk away from it by about 4 pm. In addition to being emotionally drained, I was having a hard time finding the needed energy to inject the magic into the piece. I needed a good night's sleep and some recovery time.
I don't know if it was the weight of the tragedy that was affecting me, or just the energy in the world that was dragging me down, but Saturday felt like pushing a boulder up a mountain. Sunday was completely different.
I woke up that morning feeling energized, inspired, and optimistic. That energy found its way onto the canvas in the early hours and I quickly began to see where the painting was heading and the energy it would project. My mid-afternoon it was completed. It felt like the initial struggle needed to be part of the story of its creation.
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Tumbler Ridge
Where the light still shines
24" x 48", acrylic on gallery canvas
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We are offering high quality gallery canvas embellished prints in a floating frame for anyone interested. Fifty dollars from each print purchased will be donated by Heather and I to the
Tumbler Ridge Resiliency Fund. We were also honoured to donate the original painting to the fundraising effort. It will be auctioned off at a fundraising event in Fort McMurray with the intention that it will be gifted to the community of Tumbler Ridge.
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