Vancouver is one of those cities that becomes like Oz when you see the setting sun reflecting off the buildings. At the “magic hour” when the sun sets, the usually unremarkable white and green buildings become uniformly iridescent and beetle-green against the dark blue mountain backdrop. It is a sublime effect reserved for late summer evenings.

I called it “Vanorama” as a pun on “Panorama,” and “Vancouver.” I know of no building or view in Vancouver that gives this view. It’s an imagined stitched-together view from multiple perspectives. You might be able to see all the bridges and mountains and major landmarks if you were hovering above Queen Elizabeth park or False Creek like a bird.

I also used metallic and pearlized paint to increase the reflectivity and add to the glowing effect on the water and buildings. The Lions mountains are visible and not covered in snow which indicates late summer. The Erikson building is there, too, as wiggly as the rest of the buildings wish they were. There’s a harmony to these remembered summer nights when the city is embraced by light and bridges.

Acrylic on linen canvas, 20″ x 50″
Spring, 2011
Located at: Private Collection

NOTE: Available via Denise Bezanson Art