A few weeks before his March 24 death, Royce Simpson's longtime friend, next-door neighbour and fellow artist Barry Bowerman visited him at the Maison McCulloch Hospice.
The two Lively-based artists have been holding a joint art show every two years for the better part of two decades. They'd been planning their latest one to take part April 8-9.
But Simpson, who suffered from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and congestive heart failure, told his friend he didn't think he'd live to see the show.
“When I saw him in the hospice, he said 'I don't think I'll be here for the show,'” said Bowerman. “I said 'It's still going to be a two-man show. We're going to honour you.' He was very thankful for that.
“I could tell by the grip in his hand. I knew he was grateful that was going to happen. He sensed that he wasn't going to able to make it.”
Bowerman was true to his word. The Simpson-Bowerman Art Show & Sale will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both April 8 and 9 at the Kinsmen Hall in Lively. Admission is free.
Simpson's wife of 52 years, Marilyn, said although it's an emotional and overwhelming time for her family, the art show is a good opportunity to honour her husband's memory.
“He's so well thought of in the community,” she said. “I think people would want to come and see his art.”
According to his obituary, Simpson, who was 78 years old, was born in Creighton Mine, and was employed at Inco for 42 years, retiring in 1999.
A father to three and a grandfather to seven, Simpson was a man of many talents, his obituary said.
His interests included hunting, gardening, storytelling, and, of course, art — his paintings have been displayed in Sudbury, Toronto, Western Canada, England, and Australia.
It was when Bowerman built a house next to Simpson's in Lively in 1975 that the two men first met. They discovered a shared interest in art.
Simpson, who painted nature scenes as well as local architecture, accompanied Bowerman to many art workshops, including one led by famed Canadian naturalist and painter Robert Bateman.
“He's always been on a push for learning,” Bowerman said. “He just continually improved.”
Simpson was a “gifted artist” who was able to recreate a scene from memory, he said. “He'll come across landscapes or scenes, and he may not have had a camera with him,” Bowerman said. “Quite a while after that, he'll put together a painting that embodies that image that he saw.”
Even as Simpson was ailing in the latter years of his life, art was something that brought him comfort.
“That was one of the activities that was least stressful for him,” Bowerman said. “He could be sedentary and on the oxygen, and he could work at that for a period of time.”
Holding one last art show with Simpson “just means everything to me,” he said. “To me, it's just the ultimate respect for the man,” Bowerman said.
