Gerald Croft. Sculptor. Woodcarver. Italy Cross, Nova Scotia. Active 1980’s – .

Gerald Croft is a bird carver. He makes striking impressions of the woodland birds of Nova Scotia. All of his works are painted in bright primary colours and finished in high gloss automotive clear coat. (A material he has often used in his work as a car body man.) His birds are elegant and well mounted on ‘as found’ roots, burls and branches that he finds in the woods around his house. These too are finished in high gloss ‘clear coat’. Gerald Croft would sometimes finish and mount, as a sculpture, a burl by itself as an object. (Some examples are below.)

Gerald Croft very occasionally will carve small animals and he has spent some years building models of the various semi-trailer truck ‘rigs’ that he drove during his time as a trucker. From logging rigs to tankers and ‘reefers’ (refrigerated), he built them entirely out of wood and coloured them to appear like metal where necessary. An interesting man and a very accomplished and creative artist with a fine colour sense.  He signed all his work and often dated them.

A  Bird on it’s Perch by Gerald Crofts:

Bird on a Perch. By Gerald Croft. Italy Cross, Nova Scotia.

The Mark on the Bird:

Bird on a Perch. By Gerald Croft. Italy Cross, Nova Scotia. His mark.

A Burl by Gerald Crofts:

Mounted Burl. By Gerald Croft. Italy Cross, Nova Scotia.

Kevin Creaser. Sculptor. Woodcarver. Painter. Lower LeHavre, Nova Scotia. Active 1991 – .

Kevin Creaser is a naive artist. He makes carvings of people in situations. His work is very inventive and full of humour and colour. He carves in the round and also makes relief carvings. Kevin Creaser has an excellent colour sense. He signs his work. Creaser has participated in the Lunenburg Kolk Art Festival.

Kevin Creaser. When the Cat Shows Up. An applied relief carving:

Kevin Creaser. Relief carving.

Ref: Folk Art Maritime. Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. 

Ref: Blake McKendry, An Illustrated Companion to Canadian Folk Art (1999).

D. W. Cox. Sculptor. Woodcarver. Kings County, Nova Scotia. Active 1930’s.

D. W. Cox made naive painted carvings of his part of Nova Scotia. He carved in the round and also made relief carvings.

Ref: Canadian Centre for Folklore Studies. Canadian Museum of Civilization.

Ref: Kobayashi/Bird, A Compendium of Canadian Folk Artists (1985).

Ref: Blake McKendry, An Illustrated Companion to Canadian Folk Art (1999).

Harold Burke. Sculptor. Decoy carver. Drumhead, Nova Scotia. Active 20th century.

Harold Burke was a decoy carver.

Ref: Guyette, Decoys of Maritime Canada.(1983).

Ref: Gerald Ferguson, Decoy carvers of Nova Scotia. Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. 1984.

Ref: Blake McKendry, An Illustrated Companion to Canadian Folk Art (1999).

Samuel Bolivar. Painter. Dayspring, Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia. Active 1950’s.

Samuel Bolivar was a naive painter who made several very important paintings before his eyesight failed and he was forced to stop working. His perspective in his paintings was guided by his imagination and he made full use of the 20th century palette of bright primary colours. His body of work was small but very important.

Ref: Marie Elwood. Folk Art of Nova Scotia. Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. Halifax. 1976.

Ref: Canadian Centre for Folklore Studies. Canadian Museum of Civilization.

Ref: Blake McKendry, An Illustrated Companion to Canadian Folk Art (1999).