AN INTERVIEW WITH COIN DESIGNER DOUG COMEAU

Doug Comeau has been able to make his passion for art a second career.

After 22 years in the military, he opened a gallery and studio in his home.

It was here where the design for the new 2016 twenty dollar fine silver coin was created.

Doug Comeau:
“It’s like a surge of adrenaline that hits you. Like oh my god… You’re proud and then you’re like oh no, I better do a good job.”

This is the second time Comeau has been commissioned by the Mint.

Back in 2013 he completed his first silver coin which also features a Bison.

Doug Comeau:
“It strikes a good note with me because I lived in Montana back wen I was a child, 11-12 years old and that was when I got inspired the most. When I was visiting Yellow Stone National Park, the work of Charlie Russell. All the Native art. Bison art for sure . So yeah, it was kind of a cool subject for me.”

It took about one month, lots of research and many, many hours to create the Bison image, which was chosen by the Mint.

Doug Comeau:
“It’s a good mixture of technique and removing the actual graphite for texture. It’s a lot of years of technique development and putting it together in a combination, in a format that makes it look real.”

Driven by passion, and inspired by nature Comeau says it’s a huge honour to have his artwork captured and turned into a piece of Canadian history.

Doug Comeau:
“It’s one of those things that comes up. You just keep plugging away and hopefully you do the right things and people notice. It’s a passion for me, so it’s nice to get the accolades but I’ll do it no matter what.”

The coin is now available for purchase by the Mint for $99.95. A little piece of Canada with a Quinte West flare.

To read the complete article, see:
Quinte West artist designs newest Canadian Mint coin (www.ckwstv.com/2016/09/13/quinte-west-artist-designs-newest-canadian-mint-coin/)

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