Artists in Bloom No. 3

“I don’t like tulips. You know? Because, I see them like plastic. They are too shiny.”

I am meeting with a man named Sylvester at Grandview Towers, one of our seniors rental housing buildings  in Vancouver. Sylvester is the next to be featured on the Baptist Housing blog's “Artists in Bloom” series, with his desire to go beyond “nice,” decorative art, in the manner of tulips, to true expression.

Sylvester grew up in Poland and went to a fine arts high school, going on to complete further courses in an academy. He took a long break from painting after school, however.

As he spoke of painting in his earlier years, it became obvious that it was a skill that his friends highly doubted. He mentions to me several times that he is not sure about the quality of his work. However, he also remembers when he first began painting, that his teacher asked to take his paintings to a local show. Afterwards, in the newspaper, his mother read his teacher’s remarks: that Sylvester “paints with a fury – even the table moves!”

As he grew older, many problems developed in his life. Yet, he saw a need to be something more. He realized that he was just as healthy as other people, and he picked up his brush again.

Finally, I get to see the “fury” with which Sylvester paints. It is a surreal experience as we are led into his studio (his bed has been moved out of the one bedroom into the living room to create this space). Huge, whimsically coloured paintings line the walls, swirling with emotion. A few portraits are interspersed among the abstracts, as well as landscapes. It is hard to understand why his skills have been undercover for so long. As Sylvester continues to speak of his work, his face lights up. It is Sylvester’s hope to show his paintings to the world, and it begins here with this short feature.

As we advance towards the future, and into a population where a majority will be beyond 60 years old, it is time to recognize the healing power of artwork, and encourage our seniors to move past barriers relating to ageism, or even the predominant myth that the arts are a luxury. As Sylvester proves, creating is tremendously live-giving, and often more essential to survival than one might think. 

Through Sylvester, you might find yourself inspired to move beyond the idea of arts for decoration and move on to arts for expression.

- Bethany Mortelliti, Administrative Assistant in Marketing and Communication