The Story Behind My Kayaking Painting for the LKV Auction

When I was first asked to submit a piece of work for a fundraising auction, I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to contribute. I spent some time digging through unfinished paintings and older works in progress, trying to figure out what felt right for the occasion!?

(Also, the auctioneer was incredible; she had people ringing up their own bids! It was amazing to watch, and also apparently her first time doing it)

De Leidse Kunsthistorische Vereniging (De L.K.V.) is the study association for art-related studies at Universiteit Leiden, and it organizes a student-run auction each year, inviting both students and community members to contribute.

This year, Jeugdfonds Sport & Cultuur was selected as the charity, an organization that helps make sports and creative opportunities accessible to children who might not otherwise have access to them.

Eventually, after some deliberation, I thought about some of the activities I enjoyed as a kid. I came back to a painting I had started of two people kayaking across the ocean.

The original piece was inspired by a trip my husband and I took to Spain in 2021, but while working on the piece again, it started bringing back memories from much earlier in my life, too.

Growing up in the PNW (Pacific Northwest), my parents took my sister and me on countless kayaking and canoeing trips. Being on the water always felt peaceful and grounding to me, and I think some of that feeling naturally found its way into the painting.

(I’m absolutely living for it; you just can’t tell from my incredibly stoic expression)

The piece also became important to me for another reason: this year, I’ve been trying to reconnect with more analog art-making practices and spend less time creating exclusively digitally.

Painting this work reminded me how much I’ve missed slowing down and physically working with paint again.

And honestly, I’m really proud of how the final piece turned out.

One of the nicest moments from the evening was meeting the woman who purchased the painting at the auction. She told me she plans to gift it to a friend who is an avid kayaker, which somehow made the whole thing feel even more full-circle.

I really couldn’t have asked for a better introduction into the world of auctions.

It reminded me how meaningful it can be to share personal work in community spaces, especially when those spaces are centered around supporting access to the arts.