Yesterday, following a rocky ferry ride, a power outage and in the mids of winds and heavy rain, business woman, Katrina Elliot and I slipped into the Terrill Welch Gallery. A painting had been set aside months ago, waiting for her final review and consideration. She said “yes!” 

You see, like people, my paintings have work to do. My paintings are not just a pretty face to dangle on your wall for others to admire or an accessory to balance or decorate a room. In fact, many collectors of my paintings hang the work in their bedrooms where few see them but the intended viewer. So, what is this important work that these paintings do? 

Well, like Katrina, many “Terrill Welch collectors” are leaders in fields that they are passionate about – it is demanding work, meaningful work. The risks are often high and the learning curves steep because these individuals continually reach for what is just at the edge of their ability, simply because the positive outcomes for change, in individual lives and in community, are great. It is work that will matter ten years and even a hundred years from now. These individuals give everything they have and then find that extra 10 percent. In these situations, my paintings frequently provide a focus for reflection, a chance to regroup and build resilience, an opportunity to dream and problem-solve. They provide confirmation that you are enough – just as you are. Finally and most importantly – hope. The paintings are a touchstone and buffer. They are a reminder of our ability to endure and navigate significant losses and the trials we all must face in living a full life, one that is well lived. 

We know this because firstly, it is the spirit in which the work is created and secondly, the paintings have been doing this work for so long that they excel in their partnership with the viewer to accomplish these tasks. In fact, Katrina attended and purchased her first work from my very first solo gallery show back in the mid 1990’s. Sadly, this initial painting was lost in a flood a few years ago. In 2016, wanting to replace the painting, Katrina did a google searched for me and the rest, as they say, is history. Since then she has carefully and thoughtfully added works to her “Terrill Welch collection” and I do trust and hope that these paintings will work as rigorously and hard as she does. The biggest bonus for me is that we have rekindled a friendship that now spans almost 25 years. The paintings consider this their valued-added contribution to the bottom line of life and community. The paintings can never guarantee this outcome but it is always a welcomed deliverable. As a painter, I think I love my work almost as much as the collectors and the paintings do! After all, we all have work we must do, that we cannot bare to walk away from or leave only half completed. 

So, let us congratulate “Centuries of Seasons – Heritage Road, P.E.I.” on finding the perfect home and Katrina Elliot on her new stewardship of this work. May they both thrive, give their best and always know how much they are appreciated. 

You can learn more about Katrina and Four Corners Management Consulting at https://www.4cmc.ca

Painter’s notes about “Centuries of Seasons – Heritage Road, P.E.I.” 24 x 30 inch walnut oil on wood… 

Centuries of Seasons might be said to have begun on a drive down the Currie Heritage Road on Prince Edward Island, Canada in May 2016.

It might be said that I only trust my brushes today and not my own words and convictions. This is true, though it is not uncommon, I would think, to seek the experience of wise counsel when processing ones own experiences.

It might be said too that I have begun with the first trees I ever painted. This likely is equally true because to know a tree well enough to paint it is to spend years in its company.

It might be said that the centuries of seasons in this painting have no beginning and no ending. This too is true as we can observe that the road has worn away from years of passage over its red dirt surface.

Regardless of what might be said, this is where the painting has come to rest with its centuries of seasons.

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