In the Courtyard of the Goddess of Joy

It had been a cold, cold walk down the White Rock pier. Although the sun was shining, there was a brisk wind off the water, more wintry than we had expected. We were glad to get back to land, and the shelter of buildings.

Caticorner from the parking lot, I saw a riot of summer colour on a wall facing a side street. It warmed me just to look at it.

The front of the building, on the main drag, housed a couple of eateries; routine windows, doors, menus. But the entire side had been transformed into the home and "Courtyard of Flavia, Goddess of Joy".


This is the house:


And yes, the flowerpots are painted on. Only the electrical box and the door are "real".

Around the side of the (painted) house, facing the courtyard (and how this skews my sense of direction!), a couple of the residents lean out of a window, looking down on the festivities below.


And here is the courtyard proper, ...


... with a merry garden party in progress.

And it seems to me that this woman down in the bottom left corner just might be the artist herself, sketchbook on her knees...


... and wine in her left hand. (Compare to a photo of the real woman.)

The artist, Elizabeth Hollick, lives here in White Rock. Her work adorns many public buildings in the White Rock area, all exhibiting the same cheerful energy. I couldn't find a website by her, but some of her murals are in this Webshots album, and the Virtual Mural Tour (Vancouver); one of her paintings is here. The gallery brochure says,

"Hollick’s paintings are vigorous, highly charged and emotive: best seen from a distance."

Like from across the street. As is proper for a mural.

And the warmth of the painting had thawed out my chilled bones; I went on up the street and around the corner into the lane. And found that Hollick's enthusiasm had taken her around that same corner. A painted woman walked her dog down the lane. And you can't have a dog without an offended cat, can you?


Here he is.
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