A local artist, who has painted several murals in Port Alberni, was honoured Tuesday with the official unveiling of one of his works at Alberni District Secondary School.
Shayne Lloyd’s “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” was donated to ADSS by North Island College, which purchased the piece at a student-run Art Event at NIC.
“It’s great having my artwork in a high school,” Lloyd said. “Maybe it will provide some inspiration for students who are considering a career as an artist – it might show them a few different ways they can go.”
The art is a door-sized wood burning, now displayed near fine arts classrooms at ADSS.
It features the underwater adventures of Captain Nemo and his submarine, the Nautilus, being attacked by a giant squid. It is a large format wood burning and stain on a reclaimed wood door, measuring 6’ by 3’ tall. The work is based on the novel, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne. The book was highly acclaimed when published in 1870 and still is now. The description of Captain Nemo's ship was considered ahead of its time, as it accurately describes features found on modern submarines.
Lloyd learned the tone-on-tone, grisaille method of painting that he later adapted to pyrography, or wood burning, while at NIC.
“My instructor Elizabeth Russell was a working artist in England,” he said. “She was so knowledgeable and passionate about showing me how to get organized and appeal to galleries.”
Lloyd completed high school in Powell River before working and studying animation in Vancouver. After a few life changes he moved to Port Alberni, where he re-ignited his focus on art and started commuting to the Comox Valley for NIC’s fine art and university studies classes.
“Shayne’s passion for art and education is inspirational,” said Randall Heidt, NIC’s Vice President of Strategic Initiatives. “We can’t think of a better place to showcase his unique work than outside the fine arts classrooms in his new home town.
“We have such an excellent relationship with ADSS, thanks to the leadership and passion of Superintendent Greg Smith, Principal Rob Souther and Greg Freethy, District Lead of Career Education Programs,” Heidt said. “We wanted to do something to honour them and our great partnership as well.”
Lloyd took two years of classes at NIC before transferring to VIU’s Bachelor of Arts degree, with a major in visual arts and history.
“My goal – in addition to being an artist – is to be an art professor,” he said. “Elizabeth really showed me that I can do my art and continue learning. I like to show people what I do and how to do it – I think I would enjoy it.”
Known locally for his murals, signs and wood burnings, Lloyd’s illustrations and art often focus on the natural world, including a painted ling cod on a reclaimed window, a sturgeon commissioned by VIU and “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.”
NIC’s two-year Fine Arts diploma allows students to transfer seemlessly into Emily Carr University of Fine Art and Design, VIU, or UVic degrees with advanced standing. NIC recently announced a partnership with the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary, that provides direct access into Year 3 of a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, with majors in media arts, sculpture, fibre, painting, drawing, ceramics, glass, print media, jewellery and metals as well as Bachelor of Design degree with majors in photography and visual communication design.
To view more NIC student art, visit one of three year-end shows, starting April 28. The Interactive Media Showcase runs from 4-7 pm in the Comox Valley Art Gallery’s Project Room while the Fine Arts diploma graduate exhibition starts at 5 pm at NIC’s Shadbolt Studios at the Comox Valley campus and runs until May 19. A third exhibition, featuring NIC / Emily Carr Visual Arts degree students at the Comox Valley Art Gallery starts at 7 pm the same day and runs to May 19.
For more information on NIC’s Fine Art and Design programs visit www.nic.bc.ca/fine-art.
