Port Hardy is not only a very pretty place but has an incredible variety of scenery within a small area. Thus it is, when I go there to paint I have two dilemmas facing me, probably because I often combine my trip there with a few chores. The chores mean that I have to go into town, which means that I am constantly running into people I haven’t seen for some time and we need to catch up with the latest in each other’s lives. As a result, I’ve run out of time to paint.
The other dilemma is deciding what to paint. I can go down to Tsulquate Park and paint the variety of views from there, or I can go over to the Government wharf and the various water craft. The views from within Hardy Bay, looking out are different again. Here are a number of vantage points that offer great scenes of all the action going on in this busy harbour.
If there is a stiff wind from the west you can retreat up the Quatse, the river that runs into Hardy Bay. What a wonderful twisty stream with all sorts of little coves and crannies in which to hide from the wind and enjoy the creatures that inhabit this waterway. You can get many vantage points along here simply by driving into the beautiful Quatse campground.
You can see my predicament of having to make a choice of a painting spot because, if you are a keen walker, all of the above are within walking distance of Port Hardy. One sunny day early in February, I found myself in this quandary. I usually look for a spot where there won’t be a lot of people looking over my shoulder, which ruled out Tsulquate Park where, on a sunny day, the flow of traffic is like the Stanley Park Seawall. Because there was very little wind from the ocean, I parked my car at the end of the street that runs past the post office, sat down on the shore, faced east and began painting after doing a preliminary sketch. The eagles in the big tree on the right demanded being included in the picture. The afternoon was wearing on before I was able to finish but I had enough done to complete it at home. How can you go wrong with scenes like this on your doorstep?
