The Artist
"I don't look at this as a mural. I see it only as a larger painting, and so I approach it with the same intensity and spirit as I would any of my paintings. The artistic value is the prime ingredient of my work."

As a first time mural artist, Bruce Rickett carried with him to Chemainus a newness and intensity which shone through in his painting of "Second Chemainus Sawmill". He was able to establish a strong relationship with the place and the subject with which he worked.

Rickett was born in Malawi, Central Africa, studied art at the City and Guilds of London Art School in England, and then came to Canada. He earned a B.F.A. degree at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design before achieving a post graduate art history degree at the University of Illinois.

As well as curatorial experience for galleries and exhibits, Rickett has been building a body of work over the last number of years. He has found a home in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and continues to be a prolific painter.

The Art
This sawmill was the second to be built on the same site. Constructed in 1879 by T. G. Askew, it was converted to steam power by Croft and Severne in 1883. The mural is based on a photograph taken in 1886.

A mill operated continuously at this site for over 100 years before shutting down for a short period in 1982. In 1984, MacMillan Bloedel opened a new modern equipped mill which marks the site of the longest continuous lumber production in all of British Columbia.