I remember sitting watching the credits in a movie theatre at the end of the movie 'Field of Dreams.' Emotionally, I recall my throat constrict with emotion during the final scene when Ray Kinsella asks to have a catch with his dad. I was angry that my emotions had been accessed and temporarily hijacked by Hollywood - but also was compelled to meet the creative force behind the story. As I was doing a lot of figurative painting, I contacted W.P. Kinsella, and told him that I needed to meet and paint him. He said that he would be happy to meet with me, and shortly after, my wife and I drove to White Rock B.C., where he was living in an apartment that overlooked the ocean. Our meeting with him played out pretty closely to the movie, as my wife stood at his apartment intercom, and he asked me who the hell I was (just like the character Thomas Mann), and what I wanted. Eventually I talked my way in, and he opened the door and let us in. It helped when I mentioned that he had taught writing at the University of Calgary with my mom, and he said ... "Ah, Beverly ....she was O.K. He revealed that he was diabetic and needed something to eat pretty quickly. Now we call someone in this cantankerous state of imbalanced blood sugar as 'hangry.' I did this painting of him from our visit, and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts bought it. Bill told me recently that he regretted not buying it. Field of Dreams is my favourite movie - and will likely remain so. Thank you for manipulating my emotions, Bill - the closing scene does it every time.
'The Writer,' 1990, Oil on Canvas, 36 x 36" by Paul Rasporich, Collection of the Alberta Foundation of the Arts.