This Montreal artist turned a watercolour hobby into a new calling, post-retirement
John Bailey had a successful career in marketing packaged goods, but now that he's retired, he's found another calling.
"When people say 'it's beautiful,' they're making comments [like], 'I love your art,' I'm going really?" he said.
He began taking art classes at night while he worked, but since retiring in 2018, he has more time to pursue his hobby. It wasn't until the third wave of the pandemic in 2021, when many were feeling isolated that Bailey decided to share his watercolours on Facebook.
"My intent wasn't to sell my art, it was to post it," he said. "To my surprise, I was getting hundreds of likes and lots of good comments, and that sort of spurred me on to do it."
His work focuses on scenes from around the city.
"I started innocently with a statue nearby where I live, and to my surprise I got a request for a print almost immediately from someone who used to gather around that statue with her girlfriends."
With each piece he'd share, JBailey began hearing countless stories.
"I walked by Ms. Kim's depanneur regularly because I live near where she is. I took a picture of her watering the plants one morning, and again I did my ink and watercolour," he said. "I posted the scene of Ms. Kim, and to my surprise, not only was there an outpouring of, 'I love Ms. Kim, everyone knows Ms. Kim,' but then, 'Can I get a copy?"
With many neighbourhoods changing, Bailey is immortalizing memories for Montrealers through his art.
"The old abandoned factory down on St. Ambroise that has the little pink house on top, everyone talks about 'la maison rose.' I've sold quite a few copies but when I first posted it, again I thought, 'I don't think anyone is going to like this,' but there was a lot of likes, and a lot of attachment from the neighbourhood, they better not tear it down, they better not build condos," he said.
The reaction is what keeps him going.
"It made me think, 'Oh there's something here. What I'm doing here is more than just a nice drawing,'" he said.
He's even gotten a like from a former Habs GM.
"Marc Bergevin, he liked it," he said.
He sells his art to former Montrealers living elsewhere, but for those still in the city, he prefers to deliver the pieces himself.
"I've gotten a lot of joy in watching these people smile when they take it out of the envelope," he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump delivers rambling response to conviction in hush money trial
A day after a New York jury delivered a historic guilty verdict in Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee held a press conference Friday where he spoke publicly about the conviction and his White House bid.
Mediterranean diet helps women live much longer, a large new study finds
Women who closely followed a Mediterranean diet lived much longer than those who did not, according to a new study that followed more than 25,000 women for 25 years.
How did Ontario's bankrupt 'Crypto King' travel the world on Scene+ points?
Newly released documents suggest Ontario’s so-called ‘Crypto King’ paid for months of world travels with $13,000 worth of Scene+ points while bankrupt – but how?
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Solutions coming for piled-up bodies outside Newfoundland hospital
Health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador say they are only weeks away from a solution to move unclaimed human remains out of roadside freezers and into a nearby hospital.
Actor Nick Pasqual charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing estranged girlfriend
An actor who has appeared in film and TV projects like 'Rebel Moon' and 'How I Met Your Mother' has been arrested and charged with stabbing his estranged girlfriend multiple times.
'Unprecedented': Human smuggling from B.C. to U.S. soars, using train, Uber and foot
American prosecutors and law enforcement officers say they're dealing with a huge increase in human smuggling from British Columbia.
The northern lights are returning to night skies across Canada this Friday
If you missed the brilliant displays of the aurora borealis over North America on May 10, you may have another chance to see them on Friday night.
Incendiary device thrown at Vancouver synagogue, Jewish Federation says
An incendiary device was thrown at a Vancouver synagogue Thursday night, leading to increased police presence at local institutions, the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver says.