Finding Currency - The story behind the painting

In 1997/98 my husband and I embarked on a sailing adventure with our two young daughters across the South Pacific to New Zealand, then on to Australia and finally to South Africa. The four of us sailed our tiny 26’ Haida to tropical islands and experienced life aboard a sailboat for a year that was like no other. One of our destinations was the island nation of Tonga which was the inspiration for this painting. As we navigated across the coral shelves and into tiny bays, my job was to sit on the bow of the boat and help direct us across the currents and over the shallows. The title of this painting, Finding Currency, is a play on words. In one way it means negotiating the currents that run over the coral. The other meaning, which is personal, is that during the course of this journey, I discovered my own personal ‘currency. I wasn’t an experienced sailor and as a crew member was taking direction from the skipper (my husband), but I realized I also had an important role beyond cook, school teacher, boat cleaner etc., which I hadn’t necessarily realized before. Finding my own personal currency and value was something I gained as a result of putting myself in a situation that was out of the ordinary, at times difficult, not always comfortable, risky and scary at times and in every way priceless in terms of friendships made and adventures had. This painting, recently appeared in UNTIL magazine published by the Victoria Arts Council inn Victoria, BC Canada. The theme of the issue was Memory.