Kitsilano Neighborhood

Acrylic on Canvas, 30" x 20". Done sometime in March, 2006. This is an example of making everyday scenes interesting and extraordinary through warped perspective and bright cheerful colors.

I think I'd like that to be my theme if I ever grow up and become a real Artist. I like the everyday stuff, scenes and images that people recognize because they walk by them everyday. Sometimes, there are days when something just ordinary becomes absolutely beautiful, due to whatever effects of light or season or one's own mood. That's what I was trying to capture with this Kitsilano neighborhood. It's a street in Kits on 7th Avenue between MacDonald and Stephens. I used to live near there about a decade or so ago. This is a picture for my brother's place: he lives just behind the red tree, actually. There's a wall in his place that needs a painting - a wide expanse that you see right when you walk in the door. So, I guess my goal was to create something cheerful that you see right when walking in the door after just having seen the real thing outside.

My husband noted that the interesting points are: why is that one house red? (I didn't invent that, it really is) and why would someone make their house red when all the other houses are blues and greens? And why does that one house on the left not have white trim? Again, that's how it is. He liked the sloping staircases, which reminded him of bridges. I like them too - it gives the painting some motion, some instability. That's also characteristic of Kits.

I think my favorite thing is the sky and I like the autumn tree. It wasn't autumn when I took the picture, but I've seen Kits in autumn. To me, this is one of those ephemeral September afternoons where everything is crisp and clean and bright and the trees are turning colors. The stage only lasts for about a week in Vancouver before the rain starts!