What do Kraft Dinner, Bruno Gerussi, Nardwuar the Human Serviette, and Old Style Pilsner all have in common? Besides being Canadian, they’re all subjects that have been lovingly painted by Victoria artist and “hopeless nostalgist” Timothy Wilson Hoey. For the past 10 years, Hoey has been busy passionately creating his O-Canada series, mostly 8”x10” oil and acrylic paintings of Canada’s “icons, heroes, and collective kitsch”, according to his busy Facebook page. Hoey’s paintings have shown everywhere from Canmore, Alberta, to London, England. This Friday, his paintings will be featured in Vancouver at a one-night-only pop-up event called O-Canada Goes (West) Coastal.
One glance at Hoey’s work should make the average red-blooded Canadian stop in their tracks and mist up with true patriot love. Within the O-Canada series there are plenty of subsets, like the people series, complete with brilliant captures of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Terry Fox, Bill Vander Zalm, and Harold Snepsts. There’s the food series that includes vintage Canadian staples like Pink Elephant popcorn, the Big Turk candy bar, and Pop Shoppe pop. Tim has a signage series as well, some capturing Vancouver’s bygone neon era, with renditions of the Woodwards “W”, the Bow-Mac sign, and the recently departed Only Seafoods. Every painting in the O-Canada series is framed with wooden hockey sticks, and all of the paintings have the backdrop of the iconic Hudson’s Bay stripes.
“In all honesty, those Hudson’s Bay stripes are one of the few things that tie this country together”, Tim explained. “Our flag is way too new, as much as I love it, but it’s only 40+ years old. But the Hudson’s Bay blanket with its familiar stripes has been with us for hundreds of years”.
How did the O-Canada series begin? According to Hoey, a long time Victoria resident, it was all by happy accident.
“I had been known as an abstract painter, but about 10 years ago, on Boxing Day, my wife sent me downstairs and told me to just paint something different, because I was going stir crazy over the holidays”, said Hoey. “I painted Pierre Elliott Trudeau. A few days later, a gallery came by to pick up a bunch of the abstract stuff for a show. They saw the painting of Trudeau, loved it, and suggested I do a big Canada Day show. I had about half a year to paint enough for that show, and I’ve been doing it ever since”.
In preparation for Friday’s event in Vancouver, Hoey specifically chose subjects with our city and its iconography in mind. “I painted several Vancouver landmarks, like the classic Smilin’ Buddha Cabaret sign, the Tomahawk Barbecuein North Vancouver, and some of the famous neon signs. There’s also plenty of Vancouver faces, like Vander Zalm, Bill Bennett, Dave Barrett, Nat Bailey, Jimmy Pattison, Nardwuar, and Stan Smyl, to name a few.”
Hoey, a former punk rock musician in the 1980s, used to rail against figures like Bennett and Vander Zalm. The irony that he now paints them isn’t lost on him.
“Look, they’re icons. Whether you love them or hate them, they still made an impact. When I choose people to paint, I ask myself what sort of legacy do they have, good or bad?”
When I asked if Hoey had a current favourite painting for his Vancouver show, he didn’t hesitate. “Pat John, also known as Jesse from The Beachcombers. Thank goodness they made him such a key character. He was awesome!”
O-Canada Goes (West) Coastal is one night only, this Friday, Oct. 16 at the Beaumont Studios, 316 West 5th, from 4pm to 11pm.
