Skip to content

Sudbury illustrator breathes life into Gord Downie classic 'Bobcaygeon'

Tracy Baker said song calls to mind the magic of Northern Ontario (even though Bobcaygeon is in Kawartha Lakes)
201017_Bobcaygeon_Illustration
Sudbury illustrator Tracy Baker has commemorated Gord Downie with a poster referencing the song “Bobcaygeon.” (Supplied)

Sudbury illustrator and graphic artist Tracy Baker is a big fan of The Tragically Hip, especially the song "Bobcaygeon."

Although Bobcaygeon is actually located in the Kawartha Lakes area, Baker said the song reminds her of Northern Ontario, specifically the lines “it was in Bobcaygeon, I saw the constellations, reveal themselves, one star at time.”

She said it reminds her of lying in a grassy field with her brother and sister as a kid, watching the stars. It also brings to mind all the years when she lived in southern Ontario, and her joy when she visited home.

So with the Oct. 17 death of The Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie, Baker decided to put her artistic skills to use to commemorate his life.

She created a poster featuring an illustration of Downie under the stars and the line about constellations from the song "Bobcaygeon."

“I was up to about 4 a.m., knowing I had to get up at 7 a.m. with my baby, listening to Hip songs and periodically crying,” Baker said. “I spent the whole day feeling so sad, and I was like 'I need to make something.'”

Downie's death from brain cancer had an extra emotional impact for Baker, as she recently found out that a close family member has advanced stage cancer.

“It's part of why I ended up feeling so much more,” she said. “Celebrity deaths don't often hit me so much.”

If anyone is interested in purchasing Baker's poster, she's charging $15 for an 8 by 10 print and $25 for a 11 by 14 print. 

You can purchase them at the Merry & Bright Handmade Holiday Market, which runs 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 4 at the McEwen School of Architecture, or by contacting Baker at [email protected].

Half of the proceeds from every print sold will go to the Gord Downie Fund for Brain Cancer Research.


Comments

Verified reader

If you would like to apply to become a verified commenter, please fill out this form.




Heidi Ulrichsen

About the Author: Heidi Ulrichsen

Read more