Spirit Never Dies

Spirit Never Dies

24" x 36"

Acrylic on Canvas

February 2005
London, Ontario

Jim Kogelheide

During the winter of 2004, my wife and I were living in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.  The coming summer was being prepared to celebrate the history of the first settlers to this part of the world.  “Acadie 300” was the name of the celebration to recognize the Acadians and their 300 year history in this region.  A neighbouring village was completing the construction of a brand new museum for this reason.  They organized a national art contest to award the winner the opportunity to paint a large mural within the museum.  When I heard about this event I became very excited and immediately began to sketch ideas for my submission.  Soon enough, I learned that I would not be a finalist in this competition. 

Months later, we had returned to Ontario.  After we were settled I had time to listen to the nagging that I heard in the back of my mind, telling me to bring my wall mural idea to life.  I didn’t have a wall to paint the mural on, so I bought a large canvas to use instead.  This painting was created to honour the memory of the early settlers and the memory of our two and a half year stay in Nova Scotia. 

In 1755 a war broke out on the seas and land of Nova Scotia.  Both the British and the French wanted this beautiful land of farmfields, forests, lakes and coastline for their own.  Armies were sent throughout this land to gather all the Acadian settlers onto boats to be deported to the Americas.  Families were torn apart and many people died during the harsh winters.  Many years later, some survivors returned only to find that their lives had been changed into stories for our history books.  This painting tells their story… 

A beautiful morning sunrise graces the Atlantic shoreline.  Dark clouds of war are moving into this region to blot out the sun.  In the foreground you will notice a pair of military boots that have been extremely exaggerated in size to symbolize the might of the armies.  In the far distance a black ‘snake’ appears to slither throughout the landscape.  As this black image reaches the foreground we realize that the snake is a line of people as they are gathered and herded towards the shore.  These people are the Acadians.  They are painted in black to symbolize oppression.  You will notice that the snake is traced with oranges and yellows that look like flames.  These flames represent the spirit of the Acadians.  Throughout this war the Acadians were able to survive as best as they could because they never gave up hope for a better future.  Although their lives were forever altered, the spirit of the Acadians has endured and inspired many future generations… including mine.  By reading this story you have once again, brought these souls back to life as they remind us that with the sharing of any great tale the ‘Spirit Never Dies’.

Signed copies are for sale

This original artwork is for sale