2020 Social Distancing Exhibition
Merrilyn Laursen, Begbie Sentinels2
48" x 48", Acrylic on canvas,
The inspiration for this painting came from the view from our son and daughter-in-law's new home in Revelstoke. As they look out their living room windows, they see Mount Begbie in the distance and tall evergreens in the foreground with the Columbia River and estuary between them. I took some artistic license with the stylized interpretation of the trees. They look like sentinels standing guard with arms outspread. When Social Distancing became the new-normal, I was lucky enough to have this large canvas calling out to me so the work began. For several weeks, I worked on it 3-5 hours a day. What a blessing to have a creative endeavor to immerse oneself into. I was able to focus on the work rather than the daily bad news of the worsening pandemic. The joy and challenges of painting helped bring me calm and lifted my spirits.