By Sanaz Busink
Published: April 10, 2015
It was in October 2014 that I saw bald eagles sitting on trees all over Squamish and I was reminded that the salmon must be spawning. I went for a drive and sat by the Mamquam river and watched the beauty of the salmon spawning dance. I am not sure what was it that evoked and inspired my passion for painting salmon that day. Maybe it was the energy in our rivers; or maybe it was the struggle for reproduction; or the power and wonder of the cycle of life. The echoes of the day continue to reverberate in my soul…the ripple of the water, the rustle of the fall leaves in the breeze, the shriek of a distant eagle.
I recall the smell and feel of the crisp fall air vividly striking my senses as I lost myself in that magical dance of life. Without notice, my emotions were effortlessly overpowered as I sat misty eyed on the bank that day.
My passion and empathy for the salmon merged into a powerful force compelling me into the studio that afternoon. The splashing of fish had turned into the splashing of different shades of blues and greens onto the canvas, recreating the emotion and beauty of the moment I had experienced earlier that day. Since then my creative explosion has continued to create countless paintings in a manner that verges on obsession. Several times a week I find myself realizing it is 2 am after a night lost in the art of putting my memories onto canvas. Some nights the entire floor was covered in canvases full of salmon, as if the spawning run had found its way into Home Base Studio.
The abstract river-coloured background needs a studio space that tolerates splashing, pouring, spattering and flinging the brush bleeding with paint. After each background dries, it is time to paint the green salmon head; and after the heads dry, I can paint the red, orange and pink bodies. The meticulous work is painting the fins, gills, tails, the beveled fish eyes and sharp, crooked teeth the salmon require going to war over their chosen mates.
I most enjoy painting the scars and bruises from these evolutionary battles of procreation.
Once the painting has reached its natural conclusion, it is time for the resin; the last, and most technical part of protecting and giving life to the salmon. This is the coat of gloss that goes on with the consistency of tar and requires a blow torch to remove the bubbles as it dries like glass on top of the fish. The resin gives the painting a three-dimensional look, and creates the feeling you are underwater witnessing the salmon swim right in front of you.
Each time I finish a new salmon painting and put it on my Facebook page, I receive numerous requests from people to purchase it. Recently I was honored to have our Mayor, Patricia Heintzman, ask me to create a salmon painting for her office. I had no idea our native fish would impact my mind and soul in such a profound manner, or generate the local interest that it has.
I am grateful to live in an area that teems with so much life and vitality. A place where the rivers run deep, the mountains stand tall, and the salmon perform their magical dance of life. I am proud to live
in Squamish.
