When I initially applied for the Neighbourhood Small Grant in April 2024, I knew I wanted to incorporate artwork into my project in some way. As a Fine Arts Diploma student at North Island College and working artist (my main income being pet portrait commissions), I felt that family portrait illustrations would be a fun challenge, and a nice service to offer to those who were interested.
However, it was important to me that these artworks would be given to people who may normally find services like these inaccessible due to cost. After hearing about the amazing and necessary work that the Campbell River & North Island Transition Society does for our community, I felt that it was a great fit for this project.
With help from housing managers Katie Suen, Karyn Kolkka, and their fantastic staff, our project was organized and scheduled for August!
Over two days, I created six portraits. This included three families, three individuals, and one furry friend in residence at the Transition Society.
I drew each portrait digitally, using my iPad and an app called Procreate. Then, I printed each portrait on-site with my printer and packaged each artwork for the participants to take home. Over months of planning and developing an illustration style, I found that working digitally was easiest when drawing under time constraints. Digital tools allowed me to easily make quick edits when people requested them.
This was important because my priority for the participants was ensuring that everyone felt beautiful seeing themselves in the artwork.
It brought me so much joy to see the look of excitement on people’s faces as they saw their portraits for the first time!
A special shoutout to my mother, Keiko, for being on-site with me and doing an amazing job entertaining children with arts and crafts activities that we prepared. I know that I deeply appreciated the help and that the parents did as well.
I also appreciated the care and time the staff at the Transition Society provided in making sure that the confidentiality of all residents was kept a priority. To follow these guidelines, I have provided a photo of my mother posing with her very own illustration, instead of including a photo of one of the participants from the event.
Thank you again to the staff at The Campbell River & North Island Transition Society, the Campbell River Community Foundation, and Neighbourhood Small Grants for making this project a reality!
-Yuma Bailey
