The San Juan islands are considered one of the most beautiful places in the world, and they are here in my backyard. When shrouded in fog they are mysterious and mystical and quiet and still. An island escape that can seem as foreign to some of us as flying across the ocean.
That's what I wanted to represent in this painting; the awe of our own, the appreciation of what we have, the finding beauty in our everyday which has been so much more advocated with the lockdown and stay at home orders of this past year. A kind of meditation on what is right in front of our eyes, whether we can see it clearly or not. The color and name Aegean Teal may bring to mind something much more exotic than a pacific northwest style island mass jutting out to a sea of fog, but it is this native island and sea that make it so special to. me
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“Happy the man, whose wish and care A few paternal acres bound, Content to breathe his native air, In his own ground. Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread, Whose flocks supply him with attire, Whose trees in summer yield him shade, In winter fire. Blest, who can unconcernedly find Hours, days, and years slide soft away, In health of body, peace of mind, Quiet by day, Sound sleep by night; study and ease, Together mixed; sweet recreation; And innocence, which most does please, With meditation. Thus let me live, unseen, unknown; Thus unlamented let me die; Steal from the world, and not a stone Tell where I lie.” –Alexander Pope