37.25” x 45.25”
Acrylic on salvaged silkscreen.
 
This is my dad driving. Something I used to see a lot of growing up. I could have taken this slide, except I didn’t because Dad has a beard which means I was too young. He shaved every hair off his face, including his eyebrows when I was about 5, and let me tell you… that is an unforgettable memory! He was getting ready for a Halloween dress-up party and going as Fester Addams. He came out with no hair, white make-up on, and black circles painted around his eyes. I ran screaming bloody murder into my bedroom. Traumatic? Maybe, but the memory is hilarious now.

It's his tow truck he is driving. I got the idea to paint it twice, in reflection, because the screens had mirroring vintage car stencils left on them, probably from Uncle Don making decorations for a Teen Town Reunion which took place in Port Alberni about 20 years ago. That’s another story though. Here, there is a vintage car, with a vintage slide of my dad, driving through life, finding himself through the different roads he took along the way.

While painting these I was simultaneously taking a couple of graphic design classes. I was thinking about repetition, colour blocks, the feelings colours invoke, and about being thoughtful and intentional about what you choose to include and not include in design. I am glad this was the starting point for me using the old silkscreens. I learned along with them, and they influenced the paintings that followed.