- Words by Sean McIntyre Photography by Don Denton and Lia Crowe

Tucked discreetly between a B次元官网网址渞omance boutiqueB次元官网网址� and an auto parts store in an unassuming strip mall near

downtown Duncan isnB次元官网网址檛 where youB次元官网网址檇 expect to find a rising star in the Canadian art world, and Maynard Johnny Jr. is totally cool with that.

Besides, the rent is cheap and itB次元官网网址檚 close to home.

Maynard has been working out of his 500-square-foot space since he moved back to the Cowichan Valley from Vancouver at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to be closer to family and friends.

ItB次元官网网址檚 easy to miss the new digs. ThereB次元官网网址檚 no sign out front and the only art on the walls are the marker-and-crayon-on-looseleaf works created by MaynardB次元官网网址檚 grandchildren. Maynard sits at a table, casually sketching designs on postcard-sized sheets of card stock, while his assistant Ruth, seated in the window overlooking the mallB次元官网网址檚 asphalt parking lot, calmly blocks in colours of a giant dorsal fin on a three-foot-wide canvas stretched to form a massive drum. The only other furnishings are a sofa and a kiddy table with a pair of tiny chairs, presumably used by the budding young artists who decorated MaynardB次元官网网址檚 walls.

Most of the artistB次元官网网址檚 work begins right here at the drawing table in his workshop, where he sketches out ideas that give shape to pieces inspired by Coast Salish tradition blended with a wide swathe of contemporary colours. The little sketches heB次元官网网址檚 making for a client now, for example, will eventually morph into a 36-by-48-inch canvas. While heB次元官网网址檚 drawing, thoughts about proportions, contrasting colours and the interplay of negative space come alive on paper.

Maynard can trace his interest in art back to the sketches he made when he was five or six years old. He recalls drawing portraits of his family, and then expanding into a wider range of comic-book-style illustrations. Maynard excelled at art during his middle and high school years, but loathed painting until his art teacher gave him an assignment in Grade 11, asking him to draw inspiration from his Indigenous heritage.

B次元官网网址淚 gave it a shot thinking it was going to be easy, but it was actually really hard. I stuck with it and it eventually became something I had a passion for,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淚 wasnB次元官网网址檛 great at academics, but IB次元官网网址檇 always been good at sports and art; I realized that I had a better chance of becoming an artist than a professional soccer player.B次元官网网址�

It wasnB次元官网网址檛 long afterwards that Maynard found himself living the life of a young, up-and-coming artist, honing his skills and developing a unique style. There were challenges and moments of doubt, but Maynard always found the motivation and courage to keep painting. At one point, back in 1999, he was ready to call it quits when the late Robin Williams bought one of his paintings. That moment remains a turning point in his career.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 know why it was important that someone like Robin Williams liked my work, a lot of people like my work, but for some reason I felt like I was doing the right thing when he bought my piece,B次元官网网址� Maynard says.

His decision to stick with it turned out to be a wise one.

After spending four years in Vancouver, where he says he took his career to the next level, MaynardB次元官网网址檚 recent return to Vancouver Island has coincided with a meteoric rise in his profile. In 2021, BC Ferries commissioned Maynard to create the art that adorns the companyB次元官网网址檚 newly launched Salish Heron. Earlier this year, the Pacific FC soccer club asked Maynard to design a jersey for use as the teamB次元官网网址檚 alternate kit (see story below).

And while the added attention hasnB次元官网网址檛 necessarily made his work any more popularB次元官网网址攊t was already in high demandB次元官网网址攊tB次元官网网址檚 made him a more recognizable presence on the West Coast art scene.

B次元官网网址淚 knew a lot of people before I moved away, but now a lot of people know me,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 weird because people will come up to me and say: B次元官网网址楬ey, howB次元官网网址檚 it going? YouB次元官网网址檙e on the BC Ferries.B次元官网网址� And I might not know who that was.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檇 established myself as an artist already, so I didnB次元官网网址檛 really need the exposure, but the publicity side of it was amazing. People always knew I was as an artist, but they didnB次元官网网址檛 know what I looked like.B次元官网网址�

Such high-exposure projects are about so much more than raising his profile, Maynard says. He hopes to encourage Canadian corporations to take on a more active role in the truth and reconciliation process. Through seeing his work on the soccer pitch or sailing through the Gulf Islands on the Salish Heron, Maynard says, he hopes non-Indigenous Canadians will reflect and make an effort to learn about the mistreatment of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 Indigenous population.

Talk of truth and reconciliation needs to be about more than mere words and token actions for Maynard, whose parents and grandparents were forcibly separated from their family to attend residential schools. Reckoning with what has transpired in Indigenous communities across Canada since the arrival of European settlers requires openness, humility, curiosity and introspection. Most importantly, he adds, it begins with acknowledging the continued presence of the distinctive cultural communities that have called territories across the continent home for more than 10,000 years.

B次元官网网址淵ou canB次元官网网址檛 deny the facts, and you have to look at them,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淵ou have to acknowledge and accept that Canada was a deep, dark and messed up place for Indigenous people, and if you canB次元官网网址檛, weB次元官网网址檙e not going to be able to move forward in any way.B次元官网网址�

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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