Don & Isobel stories

Isobel is a fire cracker! I met her through putting on arts events and remember her and Don attending events with smiles on their faces. Isobel in her red leather suit as the life of the party. I am so excited to be working with her on this exhibition. Visiting her in her home and learning all about her life, funny tales about living in Whistler in the good ol’ days etc. She is so inspiring to me both artistically and in terms of “life goals” as she lives life to the fullest, travelling, meeting new people, laughing her way through life and always being happy. Isobel brightens up any room and I cannot wait for this opening on May 4th!

I first met Isobel when I went to interview her with Andrea for Arts Whistler. I had no idea what we were getting into! What an amazing person! We went for what we thought would be a couple hours and ended up spending most of the day there. We were supposed to ask her an handful of questions about art but we ended up just listening to stories for about an hour and to be honest I don’t know if she even answered one of our questions. After the interview she bounced up the stairs faster then I could and went and made tea and we had cookies she baked earlier that day! I hope I can have half her energy when I am that age! I’m so excited to hear we are getting to show off that amazing woman’s amazing life!!

First met Isobel when joining fellow board members at the Whistler Museum and Archives over 30 years ago .
If you visit Isobel at her home and studio you will have a hard time leaving . She’s one of those rare hosts that can keep you entertained with endless stories of her world travels . She has a huge map on the wall with pins marking all the places she’s visited around the globe . If she’s knows your hungry you most likely will get fed . This girl is always the life of the party and her energy is unlimited . Her amazing artistic talents run deep and its obvious she’s adept at painting pretty much every subject from wildlife , portrait , scenery and so on . Every park in Whistler has signage with her artwork and if you ride the ski lift will see her artwork on the towers .
A true Whistler Pioneer with late husband Don they built one of Whistler’s first homes where she still lives . Beautiful , kind , classy , talented , witty and a lot of fun . Someone who has set the community bar at the highest level . A true friend . Leader of the Arts as well the Whistler Museum and Archives . Countless involvement with fundraisers and community efforts .
A bright star and leader in a community where the standard is high .

Isobel showed with a handful of other artists at the first “Artrageous” in 1990 that I organized at the old Ski Club Cabin in Creekside. She was “the” local artist, and being relatively new on the art scene, I was told in no uncertain terms that I couldn’t put together an art show without her! True then, true now! What an honour to have shown with her, a wonderfully endearing Whistler icon! If I remember correctly, Don and Isobel danced the night away as well, putting the rest of us to shame on the dance floor!

Right now, I’m raising a glass of the finest to toast you and Don, Izzy! Congratulations on such an innovative show, it’s you and Don to the bone. To mark your opening night, I’m going to toss a couple of things out here. One, I think a lot of people don’t realize it [unless, maybe, they read Pique this week and saw the same pix with the cutline] but that fab piece of hand-painted furniture you’re sitting in in this pix isn’t some kind of folksy patio furniture. It’s your coffin — painted by you, of course, a fitting partner to your long-time-partner-in-life’s coffin that you also made and painted. It’s not the first time your coffin partied. [Eternally creative with a penchant for having fun, Don and Isobel threw their own fabulous wake in 2010 — a grand party with a grand attendance. The coffins were the glorious centrepiece.] My second tale is that you mailed me some this-and-that’s to the Whistler Question office when I had the paper and you two were touring New Zealand. I can’t remember what the hell you sent me, but I still have that envelope. You’d drawn and painted a whole herd of fluffy white sheep on the outside of that special envelope — with one very black, very prominent sheepish face sticking out. Across the bottom you wrote in your distinctive script: “There’s one in every family…” Question is, is it the sender, or recipient? Or both? Have a blast tonight, Izzy! CLINK!

Nearly 8 years ago, we bought Don and Isobel’s original 1959 family home in beautiful Glenayre Port Moody. They could have sold it to anybody else, there were multiple offers, but I believe they sold to us because we promised to keep the well-treed, well-landscaped property in good condition. We would never dream of letting that home be torn down. I hope Isobel would be comforted to know that the flowers are in full bloom, the pear trees are producing and we expect a bumper-crop of blueberries this year. We have put a lot of work into the home, ensuring another good 50 years for ourselves and future generations. Thank you McLarens for a wonderful home. We promise to pay it forward – The Wises.