The painting is by Homer artist Brad Hughes. Of course because it’s me a story goes with this painting: I’ve been admiring another of Brad’s paintings of the Celtic in the Duncan House Diner here in Homer for years. We were all broke when I was a kid, no money for incidentals like cameras and film and developing, so I have no photos of that time. So I’d haul people down to the Diner to show them the painting and say, “See! That’s what I grew up on!”
In the meantime, Brad hooked up with Jim Cobb, a local gent who also spent time on the Celtic and who evidently has an eidetic memory, because he proceeded to sit down and draw Brad a schematic drawing that looks like it just came off the marine architect’s drawing board. From that Brad painted this painting, which was reproduced for the cover of the K-Bay Seafest insert in the Homer News.
Which was where I first saw it. And immediately bought it. It looks like it’s coming out of Bear Cove bound for Homer, with Chocolate Drop (pointy mountain that looks like a Hershey’s Kiss) off the port bow.
Brad’s a very talented graphic artist as well, his presence is felt all over Homer in the way cool signs for places like Alice’s Champagne Palace and Smokey Bay Natural Foods and Frontier. Click here to check out his website.
You didn’t know I was this hard-hearted, didya? What can I say, it’s the Alaskan in me.
Later–
Dana