Eagle Painting Complete. Ommmmm.

24 Jun Eagle Painting Complete. Ommmmm.

THE EAGLE HAS LANDED!

It was an adventure, this Eagle painting.

Drew thought he’d have it completely painted in 2-3 days.  (It took 5.)

(Drew figured if he can paint a van in one day, he could paint an Eagle in two….)

So, the lovely Noelle Quinn, owner of HtO Surf Shop (and sponsor of this Eagle for the Charity)  flew us up to Victoria for 5 days.

We were sure that 5 days would give us plenty of time for Drew to paint the Eagle, and still have time to surf and explore this beautiful area of south west Canada.

Here’s the layout of the adventure:

Being the outgoing artist that Drew is, he painted outside the shop on the sidewalk for 3 days, talking to the many passers-by that stopped to watch and ask questions.

That slowed him down!

Noelle, shooting Drew painting

What also slowed him down were the curves of the Eagle, and the loads of detail that he decided to include in the painting.  (It could have been simpler.)

By day 4, I started to worry.

But Drew needed a break from working, so on the fourth day, Mick took us on a drive in the middle of the day to show us the best surf spots in town.  Turns out, the drive to and back was over 5 hours!   (We lost some time on the painting, but well worth it.)

Boats on the Beach!

Drew, Powering late into the night

It was great fun – we went to a few great beaches, we made boats then floated them and Noelle’s boat lasted the longest in the waves.  (I was surprised at how cold it can be up there in the middle of June!)

We got back to HtO Surf Shop about 8 p.m.  Drew was against the clock, as this painting HAD to be done by 10 the next morning.  He said, “I’ll have to power this out all night.”

Mick and our midnight snack

We brought wine and cheese and crackers to the shop, and we all hung out until Drew “hit the wall” about midnight.

The next morning at 7 a.m. Drew was painting again, trying to finish before we had to leave for the airport.

He felt like he could have done more to perfect the painting, but we had to leave or we would miss our flight!

Everyone at HtO was stoked, loved the painting, and it was another mad dash to the airport!

Mick, being the Ozzie he is, got us there on time (what speed limit?) and he and Noelle saw us off.  Whew, we made it!

Brophys and the HtO Crowd with the finished painting

NOTES on the PAINTING:

Drew designed the painting to “go with the flow” of the shape of the eagle.

He added in the “Om” symbol after the first day, when a yogi chick stopped to admire the artwork and suggested that Drew include the Om symbol in his painting.

The Om symbol represents the “sound of everything” according to some, and represents the “source of all manifest existence” to others, and there are other Hindu meanings as well.

You can see the Om symbol in the middle of the chest of the Eagle.  (See the top photo of the eagle showing the other side)

We hope you all enjoyed the journey of the Eagle.  Life is Good!  Drew and Maria

To see previous posts on the Eagle painting, click here.  Watch the slide show below: