Last Saturday, June 21, the birthday party for William Baker, co-founder of the Outdoor Art Galleries Project being planned for Gibsons, turned into a launch event with the first outdoor mural being unveiled.
The 1.5 metre by three-metre mural, created by artist Elizabeth Evans and entitled Trilogy in Time, depicts ocean, sky and land with an eagle, a whale and a deer. The faint shadow of a bear reminds the viewer that as habitats disappear, so too will the creatures that depend on these habitats for their survival. The painting is executed in bright yellows, oranges and blues in Evans’s unique brickilism style — essentially bricks of colour that merge and blend into a seamless pattern of representational art.
“It took me about a month to create the work,” said Evans. “There were a number of artistic challenges to overcome in working on a painting this large, and I’m very pleased with the final result. I’m looking forward to seeing the painting located in a prominent spot in Gib-sons Landing.”
After officially unveiling the artwork, it dominated both the backyard and the conversation among the 35 guests present for the unveiling.
“While I would love to have this amazing painting remain in our yard, I feel it has to be shared with the rest of the town,” Baker added. “We have a few exceptional locations picked out and need to finalize the installation details. This painting will become a wonderful addition to the visual art experience that visitors and citizens enjoy when exploring the Town. We are continuing to work through the process of installing the rest of the 30 paintings that will be created by local artists, and we want to give everyone an idea of exactly what can be expected once all these original painting are sprinkled around the town.”
The Outdoor Art Galleries project was recently approved by the Town of Gibsons, thereby making available a number of public locations for installation of original artwork. The artworks will remain at the locations for about a year and then be exchanged for new work with the existing artwork being sold by auction.
“There is a lot of work yet to be done to bring this project to fruition, but we’re excited to be getting started with this first installation,” Baker said.
