A Halifax-born visual artist honoured a life journey of half a century with a display of his paintings at Everitt Gardens.
Retired RCMP Staff Sgt. George Sproule, 91, lost count of how many paintings he has created over the decades. What he hasn’t sold or given away is crammed in a one-bedroom apartment at Everitt Gardens, a seniors residential complex.
Drawn using various mediums and canvas sizes, they decorate every wall or are stacked against each other on chairs and the floor. Despite the tight space, the career officer doesn’t plan to quit painting any time soon.
Each canvas is completely realistic, painted in striking, bright colours representing nature. From schooners skimming ocean waters to caribou sheltering during a snowstorm to an open-mouthed pike swallowing a small perch, the paintings keep alive important memories Sproule formed throughout his life.
Born in 1933, he was the second oldest of seven boys. Sproule’s Nova Scotia upbringing was interrupted when his father, a United Church minister, was transferred to Bermuda.
“There was a zoo at the bottom of a hill where we lived. I loved animals and birds, and I loved to go there,” said Sproule, when asked about his love of the natural world.
The Sproule family left Bermuda after a three-year posting and was transferred to various small Nova Scotia towns and villages towns including Shelburne, Musquodoboit Harbour, Bridgewater, Pugwash and Deep Water Harbour.
As a young student, Sproule used a slate to write and calculate arithmetic questions.
“While the teacher was busy, I would draw characters on my slate and hold up the slate behind me. The kids would laugh,” he said, explaining his passion for drawing flourished organically in the classroom.
By the time he was 15, the self-taught artist was selling canvasses at a Pugwash restaurant to earn spending money. Tourists flocked to the area with its red and white lighthouse, wide ocean vistas, sandy beaches, and quaint streets.
Taking his creativity and inventiveness a step further, Sproule and a friend set up a tent close to the harbour and manufactured home brew.
“One day, the summer got so hot, all the glass exploded,” he said.
Upon graduation, all his brothers chose to enlist in the Canadian Air Force. Sproule was the exception. Guided by his friendship with two RCMP officers, he applied to Canada’s federal police program. After passing an interview and medical tests for job fitness, it was six months before he travelled to Regina for basic training.
The one-year program consisted of learning the law, fitness classes, riding horses, grooming and feeding horses, lifesaving workshops and drills on parade square.
“We started with 30 in the class. Two left early. They couldn’t take the rigid discipline, and one missed his girlfriend.”
Upon graduation he was transferred to Newfoundland and rode a train to Sydney, before boarding a ferry to St. John’s. He was delayed for several days because of a blinding snowstorm and was stationed in St. John’s three times, serving a total of five years.
“The people of Newfoundland are very kindhearted and down-to-earth. Sometimes I couldn’t understand their language, but I figured them out over time.”
Although a Maritimer at heart, Sproule's sense of adventure kicked in when he was later stationed across Canada in both Alberta and British Columbia.
Although he faced new challenges, his love for the visual never waned and he developed an interest in photography. This led him to study courses in Ottawa, where he reviewed fingerprint identification and forensics.
“My job would take me to court where I would give evidence or draft accident scenes. I dealt with murder, rapes, robberies. I was part of a forensic unit for 28 years. I enjoyed my work, and I was told I identified more fingerprints than anyone on the force.”
The former Mountie still has more than 4,000 photographs he developed for court. To this day, his proudest moments are photographing eminient Canadians and visiting dignitaries, including Queen Elizabeth, former U.S. president Dwight Eisenhower, former prime minister Pierre Trudeau and his wife Margaret, Fidel Castro, former president of Cuba and Haile Selassie, former emperor of Ethiopia.
Leaning back on his couch, he pauses for a moment and says, “I was so fortunate to be in so many places.”
