This painting was commissioned for my dear friend Brenda
whom I met on my trip to the El Camino de Santiago.
This picture was my first day on the Camino and Brenda was among the first group of people I had met on my journey.
It was a secret birthday gift instigated by
Wendy, involving Brenda's husband in Saskatchewan and her sister, Dee,
as the accomplice, denying all knowledge of this in the making until
right after the moment of revelation.
This was when we all reunited for one night in Vancouver. It was a small get together of friends on the Camino. They were the only three I knew at the party but it was as if I knew everybody else. The spirit of the journey was still in each of us.
The figures in the painting are
part of an installation found on top of a hill on the Camino
called Mt. Forgiveness. This was a memorable spot for Brenda so I
thought it would be even more meaningful to her if I painted her in it. The second figure you see in this painting is Brenda.
Inscribed on the actual sculpture that this painting was based on reads: "Donde se cruza el camino del
viento con el de las estrellas": Where the paths of the wind and stars
meet. I am turly honored to have been given the chance to paint this for
her. Wendy, Dee, Brenda and I had been brought together again for one
night only, creating another special occasion, another lasting memory,
all because we took a long walk together some time ago, somewhere north
of Spain.
