Local artist, Maynard Halsey, is a rare individual. A combination of imagination, perseverance and talent, Halsey, who turns 80 on his next birthday, has turned a lifetime of memories into a stellar body of work.
Halsey began life in southern Saskatchewan.
"With so little to see on the bald prairies, but everything to observe, I trained myself to concentrate on the unusual," he said.
And it shows in his work. Ranging from the whimsical to the factual, the detail in Halsey's art is marvellous.
In one painting, Corfu Express, he captures the essence of an old Greek woman on the back of a donkey. Both her expression and the donkey's are priceless.
Another of Halsey's creations is a lighthouse with a ghost ship in the foreground. As Halsey explains, the ship represents those that ran aground before the lighthouse was built. He evokes the ghostly presence brilliantly.
Halsey began his art training many years ago with a correspondence course from Regina. Later his family moved to Ontario and he went to Windsor Vocational.
His art career was put on hold by the outbreak of World War II. Halsey signed up with the Navy. He was drafted to a minesweeper on the West Coast.
"And that was it. I took one look at this coast and said I'm not leaving," he said.
After the war, Halsey served a three-year apprenticeship in commercial advertising. There he learned sign lettering, silk screen processing, window display, airbrush and photography. And while raising a family and working left little time for painting, his camera helped save the memories for later.
And Halsey's memories play a large part in his art. A spectacular painting of an abandoned farm house east of Stettler, Alta. shows the results of a rain storm. Another large work of art depicts the West Coast Trail in charming detail.
After his retirement, Halsey's art again became a driving force in his life. He took several weekly workshops in Victoria where he lived for many years. Two of his favourite instructors were Zoltan Szabo and Jack Reid.
Early in his career Halsey's main mediums were oil and charcoal, but now he prefers watercolour, acrylic and pastels. He continues to experiment and learn about his art. One of his latest paintings is a pastel on velour.
Halsey has recently expanded into the print and art card business. His cards are lovely. In fact, one could easily mat and frame a card and have a perfect 5 x 7 work of art.
Halsey is part of a group of artists who meet every week on Thursday at St. Bart's church. In addition to welcoming folks at his studio in Woodcreek Park outside Gibsons, Halsey's art can also be found throughout Gibsons. The latest gallery to show his work is Daffadowndilly in lower Gibsons, next to Bay View Restaurant.
If a unique piece of art is in your future, give Halsey at call at 604-886-1505 or visit the gregarious artist at his studio, 1542 Islandview.
