When a nine-year-old Stephen Carter arrived for his first day at Camp Sunrise in 1955, he wasn't sure what he had gotten himself into.
"I wanted to come home," the retired artist recalls thinking when he first saw the rustic cabins nestled in the forest near Deep Cove.
Luckily, he quickly got over his homesickness and ended up having one of the best times of his young life. In fact, the camp left such an impression that he is raising money for the Salvation Army-run facility, which today is located in Gibsons, by selling some of his art work.
"I was thinking about the kids," said the 74-year-old Port Coquitlam resident. "I got all these originals in boxes in my closet… I had a whole bunch and I thought, 'Well, how can I best serve the community?'"
Carter started making a living from his free-hand drawings ("no pencil, no ruler, it's all done by eye") in 1989, when he quit his job as a geography teacher in Richmond. He hit the road with his credit card and $1,000 cash, travelling the country, visiting malls and events like the Calgary Stampede and the PNE, where he would make and sell his creations.
All of the drawings are sketched from photographs, with subjects ranging from cars and trucks to animals and landscapes. He said more than 250 originals and 24 prints will be available for purchase at the Arms Pub in Port Coquitlam the evening of April 23. A signed print has a suggested donation of $20 while a signed original is $50.
The work was amassed over decades on the road, which ended when his hand started to shaking. He did point drawing for a few more years but eventually gave up drawing for good in the early 2000s.
"It is like everything else," he said. "You have your time when you're the best at it, but physically you decay. I went on to other things."
After giving a few pieces to his grandchildren and discarding some he was not happy with, he said he is ready to sell the last of his work.
Carter hopes to raise between $4,000 and $5,000 through the sale, with money going to disadvantaged kids so they can have the experience he had at camp.
Jason Dockeray, a captain with the Salvation Army, said the organization is excited that Carter has decided to donate the proceeds from his art sale to their camp.
During the summer months, the camp each week hosts 150 kids ages six to 12 from across the province; they get to experience swimming, ziplining, archery, fishing and delicious food.
"The camp is full of joy and laughter," he said. "We will see close to 1,000 campers over the course of the summer."
• The fundraiser will be held at the Arms Pub (3261 Coast Meridian Rd., Port Coquitlam) April 23 between 7 and 10 p.m. Anyone who wishes to purchase a piece but can't attend should contact Stephen Carter at [email protected] or visit his website: obaat.ca.
