Nanaimo B.C. has been the home of an exceptional childrens' book festival for over 20 years. I've been privileged to be a part of it many times and have numerous fond memories of those visits. When Robin Muller approached me to be part of a poster to celebrate the festival I was both pleased and apprehensive. The poster will be comprised of small images that represent what the festival has meant to us as presenters. With so many memories of children's laughter, festival hospitality, beautiful B.C. scenery and the chance to meet so many of Canada's top authors and illustrators, the task seemed daunting.
In the end I chose to represent a child buried in a book placed against the evening sky with a B.C. ferry and distant island glowing in in the setting sun's light. The place would be one of the original organizers of the festival, book store owner Thora Howell's lovely house and property on Protection Island. At the end of the Festival, Thora and friends would throw a lovely dinner for all the organizers and participants of the day's festival, and often we would sit and eat and talk as the sun set casting it's glow across the Georgia Straits against Gabriola Island. Just as often a ferry would pass by, glowing in the sun too. Just as a book takes you away, so does a ferry and for me it was in the end the perfect combination of what the festival was about and the memories it carried long afterward.
I'm happy to say this painting along with the others will auctioned next year to help fund future festivals.
Note: due to timing and space limitations the image is not longer part of the poster.
