Hi friends! Here we are in June, halfway through the year. Where we are in the Northern Hemisphere, we are just on the cusp of summer holidays. The story behind this month’s series of three paintings is partly a summertime story and I hope you enjoy it!
In 2020 when the world was in lockdown, our family wanted to do a little travelling that summer but I was hesitant to take a ferry or an airplane so we looked for someplace we could drive to. We ended up finding a beautiful vacation rental in Kamloops, BC that was up on a hill overlooking the North Thompson River. During the course of that week, I painted these three 8″x10″ pieces on canvas paper, inspired by the skies we saw during that trip.
When the owner of our rental suite saw my work she shared her own photos with me as well. I ended up painting a little 5″x7″ piece for her based on one of her photos as a thank you and brought these three larger ones home with me. I thought they looked really nice together as a set and that fall when the local framing place had a sale, I got them framed. I was undecided about selling them but when my friend opened a bookstore and asked if I had any art for her, I agreed to bring the series to her shop.
Fast forward to early 2021. As I was getting ready for my first group art exhibition at PoMoArts, the gallery manager asked me if I had any other work I could include in the show. I knew that this series was still available at the bookstore so I made arrangements with my friend and brought them over to the gallery. They were appreciated by many people who came through the show but no one purchased them.
After the show ended, I packed up the paintings and brought them all back home. Shortly after, a former colleague of mine reached out to me and asked if he could buy the Kamloops Sky series. He and his wife had taken the time to look through all my work online and read all the descriptions. They both resonated with this set of paintings for individual reasons and wanted it for their home in Ontario. I was touched to hear their response to my work and thrilled to know these paintings would have a good home with them.
I chose to include this set in my calendar for the month of June because these paintings remind me of summer and feel hopeful to me. In our home, the end of June marks the completion of the school year and the promise of some rest and a more relaxed pace of life. I hope these paintings invite you to look up and feel hopeful as well.
For those with the Scripture calendar
This month’s artwork is paired with Psalm 36:5 which says, “Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.” The perspective of these three paintings is that of looking up into the sky. I often feel small when I look up like this and this verse reminds me of just how big God’s love and faithfulness are.
Questions for reflection, if you want to go deeper: When was the last time you stood looking up at the sky? How does it feel to know that God’s love is that big? How does it feel to know that you are included in God’s big love?
Special Thank You to Author Mike Mason
I was recently contacted by best-selling author Mike Mason because he had written a piece about seeing God in small things and was inspired by my Tiny Expanses paintings. He had purchased Tiny Expanses #29 for himself and reached out to see if I would be ok with being mentioned on his blog and also part of his upcoming book. To be able to inspire another artist like this (especially such a well established author) is a deep honour and I’m so grateful to have had this opportunity. Mike Mason’s post is a lovely reflection on smallness and I encourage you to read it here!
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As always, I love to hear from you! If something in this story resonated with you, if you’re interested in commissioning a painting, or if you have other thoughts, feel free to email, or connect with me