Truck drivers have been in the news a lot in the last two years. Critical to the supply chain, we sure feel the distruption when things go off the rails for this important industry. I have certainly come to appreciate this line of work, and may even have a T-shirt with a truck on it in my closet.
I'll tell you the honest truth about this commission. I'm still not sure if the intended recipient has received it! Here's the story:
The owners of Arctic Fox Logistics reached out to commission a painting of the truck of one of their longest standing owner operators, Bob. After a long career in trucking, Bob was retiring, and Michael and Esther wanted to honour him with a gift. So they provided me with a few pictures of his rig, and asked me to paint a 9 x 12" commission of it, which I did.
The initial plan was for Bob to receive the gift at the company Christmas party (in December 2019), but that timeline didn't work out in the end. Then Michael and Esther held off, wanting to gift it to Bob in person, but of course, drivers are on the road for weeks at a time and even when in town, they don't exactly swing by “the office" much. So it was complicated.
And then COVID hit and life went off the rails.
All of this took place over many months. I don't ever post about commissions until I've received confirmation that a painting has been delivered, so every few months, I checked in. “Has Bob received his gift yet?"
It become somewhat comical as who the heck knew when the COVID dust would settle and life would return to normal for that (and so many other) industries? So they gave me the go ahead to write about it, not having a clue when they would see Bob again.
So what about Bob? Did he ever receive his retirement gift? Maybe he never actually retired, given the huge demand for truck drivers in the pandemic's wake. I may never know. But what I DO know is that many truck drivers take immense pride in their rig, and how could you not? It's 'home' for sometimes weeks on end. Many drivers even take pets along on their long journeys. It provides a good income, and heck. It may even be a gorgeous shade of green.
So happy retirement to you Bob! (whenever you get there).