Captain Canada
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Captain Canada

Garry and Rosemary Coulter

Captain Canada

2016

About the Artist

Garry and Rosemary Coulter have been creating unique handcrafted works from their Canmore, Alberta studio, "St. Brendans Folk Art" for nearly 20 years. Rosemary grew up in Edmonton, Alberta and Garry grew up in New Westminister, B.C. and they met in Banff after Rosemary had worked a summer here in 1974 and realized that Banff was to be her future home. Garry had travelled through Banff with his sister in 1975, stopped, and never left the town. Rosemary is from a family of four raised by a very artistic mom and Garry is from a family of ten and was drawing cartoons from an early age. Neither Garry nor Rosemary had any formal art education they have come upon their artistic interest purely by starting small projects while raising a family. Their hobby turned into a full time occupation while showcasing their handicrafts at local gift shows. They met the owners of the canoe collection at "Art Market" in Calgary and that is how the Coulter's works became part of the collection. Garry and Rosemary continue to operate their business "St. Brendans Folk Art" in the town of Canmore.

Comments on the Work

The Coulter's have to be a fun couple their two works "Captain Canada, 2016 and Mountie and Friend, 2018" are both delightful pieces in the canoe collection. Much like other three dimensional works in the collection by Tony Vanderlee, Jon McKee, Michel Fortin and Vance Theoret the Coulter's handcarved, and brightly painted works present the ultimate in Canadiana. A heavy coureur des bois wearing a toque and a Hudson Bay sweater, paddling his birch bark canoe packed with furs, Christmas trees, and personal items all lead by a bald eagle sitting on the bow like a compass. A large rodent of the beaver type sits on the stern of "Mountie and Friend, 2018" urging the Mountie dressed in his ceremonial uniform to paddle his canoe while the maple leaf flag flutters on the bow. As Rosemary describes their art "we have a very whimsical look at the world, I started to look at animals like they were tourists and what tourists do." It's folk art and it certainly adds a humorous dimension to the canoe collection.

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