Eagle Aerie Gallery
The carved cedar plank longhouse stands out on the small main street of Tofino showcasing a painting of a red and black eagle on the front face of the building. The large imposing double doors made of beaten copper make you feel as if you are entering a forbidden “members only” enclave.
Once inside, your eyes adjust to the soft lighting and you are struck by the serene and calming atmosphere of the main hall. The walls are adjourned with beautiful handcrafted paintings, reproductions, calendars, and wooden carvings. The brilliant colors of the paintings contrast the dark cedar walls, and the black silhouette scenes seem to pop out at you as if they were 3-D. You heard this gallery was a must see if you ever made it to Tofino.
A nicely-dressed shop girl approaches you and asks, in a near whisper, if there is anything she can help you with. You decline and explain you are simply browsing. Only one other person is in the hall, a tall slender young woman starring longingly at a reproduction of a painting titled “Long Beach.” She has flawless pale skin and straight mousy hair tied back in low pony tail. One arm rests across her waist as the other supports her chin as she stares intensely at the painting on the wall. You wonder what she is thinking.
As if on queue the shop girl approaches the woman from behind and asks, “Beautiful isn’t it?”
Startled back to reality she replies, “Yes, yes it is, just beautiful. Every time I come to Tofino I visit the gallery and I am consistently drawn back to this painting. Good memories I suppose.”
“Yes, this is a classic Vickers favorite. I take it you’ve spent some time in the area?” The pretty saleswoman probes.
“Yes. Ever since I was a little girl we would come here with my family in the summertime to camp, play on the beach, build driftwood houses, and swim in the freezing cold ocean. Sometimes my mother would drive though the night to get us here at sunrise. We would all be passed out in the back of the minivan and she would back it into the parking lot at Incinerator Rock, facing the beach. We would wake up to the sound of the surf and the damp salty air. Then we would feast on blueberry pancakes we cooked on the camp stove. It became a bit of a tradition,” the pale-skinned woman sighs nostalgically.
“What a delightful story. It’s nice that you still find the time to come back here,” the shop girl says in a soft tone.
“I still come back every year. It feels like a second home in some sense. I met my husband here, and we were married here two years ago. It’s a very special place to both of us.”
Another customer enters the gallery, interrupting the moment of silence that overtook the large room. You snap out of your motionless eavesdropping state and carry on admiring the inspirational art that surrounds you.
BACK ON THE ROAD
Once inside, your eyes adjust to the soft lighting and you are struck by the serene and calming atmosphere of the main hall. The walls are adjourned with beautiful handcrafted paintings, reproductions, calendars, and wooden carvings. The brilliant colors of the paintings contrast the dark cedar walls, and the black silhouette scenes seem to pop out at you as if they were 3-D. You heard this gallery was a must see if you ever made it to Tofino.
A nicely-dressed shop girl approaches you and asks, in a near whisper, if there is anything she can help you with. You decline and explain you are simply browsing. Only one other person is in the hall, a tall slender young woman starring longingly at a reproduction of a painting titled “Long Beach.” She has flawless pale skin and straight mousy hair tied back in low pony tail. One arm rests across her waist as the other supports her chin as she stares intensely at the painting on the wall. You wonder what she is thinking.
As if on queue the shop girl approaches the woman from behind and asks, “Beautiful isn’t it?”
Startled back to reality she replies, “Yes, yes it is, just beautiful. Every time I come to Tofino I visit the gallery and I am consistently drawn back to this painting. Good memories I suppose.”
“Yes, this is a classic Vickers favorite. I take it you’ve spent some time in the area?” The pretty saleswoman probes.
“Yes. Ever since I was a little girl we would come here with my family in the summertime to camp, play on the beach, build driftwood houses, and swim in the freezing cold ocean. Sometimes my mother would drive though the night to get us here at sunrise. We would all be passed out in the back of the minivan and she would back it into the parking lot at Incinerator Rock, facing the beach. We would wake up to the sound of the surf and the damp salty air. Then we would feast on blueberry pancakes we cooked on the camp stove. It became a bit of a tradition,” the pale-skinned woman sighs nostalgically.
“What a delightful story. It’s nice that you still find the time to come back here,” the shop girl says in a soft tone.
“I still come back every year. It feels like a second home in some sense. I met my husband here, and we were married here two years ago. It’s a very special place to both of us.”
Another customer enters the gallery, interrupting the moment of silence that overtook the large room. You snap out of your motionless eavesdropping state and carry on admiring the inspirational art that surrounds you.
BACK ON THE ROAD