#271 The 401
2003, oil on canvas, 31.5" x 75"

David’s mother died in January 2003. I had just finished her portrait. The 12" square portraits of his family were, originally, to be placed in my wall of images. As we drove to downtown Toronto from the airport, I reflected on how frequently we take this trip. The familiarity of the 401, the sense of being in a place that is not home yet is, in some sense, familiar like home. I wanted to capture that in the painting. The death of David’s mother was a cause later that year for a family reunion. Again, our first experience of this place was the freeway.