What a summer it has been: a new roof, renovations nearly wrapped, wild weather, and fresh drama from the United States, our future eleventh province. We'll start them out as a territory first to see if they can handle a proper Canadian winter before granting full province status. In the meantime, with Mr. Trump's new fifty percent tariff on art entering the United States, any Canadian work shipped south will now carry that cost at the time of purchase. It is not the news we hoped for, but we will manage with quiet Canadian resilience. If cross-border acquisition proves too steep, it may simply mean more high-value treasures stay north, keeping our finest work close to home. Barry Colpitts, who has been carving since 1989 and whose work appears in the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and the Nova Scotia Art Bank, was delighted to see his Walking Fish again. The entire piece is carved from a single branch, with the legs formed from natural offshoots. Barry pointed out the history tucked into the details: the teeth are square-headed nails salvaged from an old wall he tore down, and the eyes are bottle caps. It is a piece that only grows stronger with time. The gallery has been brightened this week by a jaunty little rooster carved by Cape Breton artist Jean Marc Poirier, a piece full of Acadian spirit and Maritime colour. Poirier was born in the Magdalen Islands and spent nearly a decade living in Cheticamp, where he worked nights at the local fish plant and carved during the day. This rooster has that same rough, colourful confidence that makes his work so recognizable. We also have a beautiful early owl by Garnet McPhail, who was born in the Magdalen Islands in 1926. McPhail carved for decades, and his work eventually entered major collections including the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. This owl shows why: the chip-carved feathering is precise, the lacquer has mellowed into a warm golden tone, the talons are shaped with real weight, and even the slight tilt of the head gives the bird a quiet intelligence. Leo Naugler's Love Boats (2025) has arrived, and it is pure joy. Leo is one of the most celebrated folk artists in Nova Scotia, known for his bold colour choices and his ability to turn everyday scenes into bright, stylized stories. His choice of colour and its interaction with other colours creates a vibrancy to his story that pops with excitement. The speckled yellow frame becomes part of the artwork itself, pulling you straight into Leo's world. Robert Lavender carved birds with no shine, and no whimsy. They were just the birds he watched from his window on one of those really cold Canadian winter days. Lavender worked in Nova Scotia through the mid twentieth century, and his carvings remain some of the strongest in the province because of that plain, direct observation. Gerald Croft, who died in Bridgewater in 2022, spent his working life as a mechanic and carved in his spare time. He built a small museum in his backyard to display his birds and animals, reluctant to sell them but proud to show them. The dove we have in the gallery carries his familiar smooth finish and the careful detail he liked to give the wings. Art Gallant's little porcupine sits right in your palm, a small, clever thing with toothpicks for quills and all the charm in the world. This piece has that unmistakable New Brunswick personality, a bit bristly and impossible not to love. Murray Gallant is remembered as one of the great folk artists from Cape Breton. Born in New Waterford, he worked as a coal miner and later for public works, and he began carving in the 1970s after being inspired by his grandfather's handmade windmill. His little dog in the gallery right now is part terrier, part Cape Breton mischief. Peter Rafuse's beaver is a classic. The teeth alone tell the story, ready to take on any tree in sight. Peter's wife Lisa's paint choices and Garnet McPhail's early guidance run through it, giving the piece a lively, familiar presence. The beaver's place in Canadian imagery goes back to the fur trade, the Hudson's Bay Company, and the first Canadian postage stamp in 1851. For our American friends, here is something that does not fall under Mr. Trump's new tariff: a whimsical scrap metal airplane whirligig by self taught folk artist Vollis Simpson, whose wind powered sculptures have become important pieces of American outsider art. Years ago we found this piece in Simpson's workshop after a long drive down back roads and half remembered directions, and Simpson, who died in 2013 and is now celebrated at the Whirligig Park in Wilson, North Carolina, showed it to us himself. Built from the kind of discarded parts he spent a lifetime saving while repairing farm equipment, moving buildings and running a machine shop, it has the unmistakable reflectors that catch the light, along with a prominent U.S. flag painted on the tail fin. For an American buyer, it offers the chance to repatriate a genuine piece of North Carolina folk history tariff free. For a Canadian collector, if nothing else, it may become the centre of many conversations about Mr. Trump and our endlessly fascinating neighbours to the south. An early Fred Trask painting has also arrived, Dumbo The Circus Elephant, dated 1979. Trask, born in Digby in 1946, began painting in the early 1970s and became known for narrative scenes of animals, interiors, landscapes, and Maritime life. This early circus picture has the packed surface and cheerful movement that became part of his appeal, with the Ferris wheel riders frozen in pure delight. Ewalt Rentz, who remains one of Ontario's most beloved folk artists, gathers a bright little crowd in the piece now in the gallery. Rentz was born in North Dakota in 1908, grew up in Manitoba, and later settled in Beardmore, Ontario, where he worked as a lumberjack, prospector, cook, and barber. He often used roots, branches, and fungus he found while prospecting, turning their natural shapes into birds, animals, and figures. Here, a cluster of birds settles on a branching perch, each one dressed in its own vivid pattern. And finally, a reminder about the two paintings still available by David Stephens on our website. We have donated them to David's legacy fund for his daughter Bella. All proceeds go directly to David. We have known Bella since she was a little girl, and we are proud to support this project. Stay safe everyone. | ||
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| List of Artists |
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| U.K. Folk And Outsider Artists
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| U.S. Folk And Outsider Artists |
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