Grandpa's Painting

My dad is a gifted artist for those of you who aren't aware. It's something that runs in our family and it's fun to see it carried on from generation to generation. One of his favorite topics to portray is Haystack Rock, found at Cannon Beach Oregon. Growing up, our family went there almost every summer to spend a few days in a lovely rented beach house with our dear Grandparents and fabulous cousins. Those are among my favorite memories and I think that my siblings share this love. I'm pleased to say that we still adore this place and have returned to it as adults and are planning a trip once more this summer, with our children. I can't wait to introduce Colin to the Oregon beaches as well as to the joyful hubbub that is our family as we saturate ourselves in salty air, windy days, gorgeous sunsets, and driftwood smoke from our beach fire. Have you ever sat on a log by such a fire, cozy in a sweatshirt, digging into the sand with your toes to find the warmer layers and watching the sky turn brilliant pink and gold?
But I am getting a bit off track singing the praises of the beach. I bring this up because we have two paintings of Haystack Rock by my dad. The larger one hangs over our couch and since we brought Colin home, it has been fascinating to him. Oh sure--the skeptics among you can say he just likes the contrasting frame against the wall, but you know, he looks at it EVERY day and as he gets older, he looks at it and smiles and waves around and gets generally excited.
I tell him that it is Grandpa's painting. I tell him that we will be there in a few months and that he will feel that sand on his little toes and touch the wet ocean. I tell him how happy our family has been there and how special that place is to us. And I repeat that it is Grandpa's painting--one of his best in my opinion. Sometimes I feel like Edmund and Lucy in Dawn Treader. I feel I could just walk into that painting and be on the beach and our family would all be there. If the there was a true Narnia according to Lewis, I like to think that when our 'holidays' begin, they will start with the true Cannon Beach. Thanks Grandpa.

Colin looks at Grandpa's painting