Meghan DaSilva of Turns & Tales, Josh White, Vicki McFarland and Shyra Thibeault, also of Turns & Tales, show off the painting ‘Sweet Sunshine’ at the downtown Chatham store. The painting was given away by McFarland during Chatham-Kent’s first International Art and Found Day. Josh and his dad Chris White followed clues left by McFarland to find and become the new owners of the piece.
Despite the wintry weather, Chris and Josh White found some “Sweet Sunshine” in downtown Chatham on the weekend.
The father and son detective team were the first to discover a painting by local abstract artist Vicki McFarland in Chatham-Kent’s inaugural International Art and Found Day March 12.
The pair followed a breadcrumb trail of Instagram hints to discover the large, colourful painting McFarland had “hidden” at Turns & Tales.
More than 100 people turned out for the art hunt, said McFarland, with the Whites finding the piece in just 15 minutes.
“A few just missed finding it,” the artist said, adding that judging from the messages she received, a lot of people were interested, including some from outside of Chatham-Kent.
McFarland said she’s heard from several other local artists who hope to join in the event next year, plus she’s going to donate more than one painting.
“Hopefully we can make it more of a find for more residents,” she explained. “Next year I’m going to hide more than one piece.”
McFarland would like to thank local media for getting the word out and Turns & Tales for participating by hosting the painting.
