This week's Friday find at Stockmen's Memorial Foundation brings me back to a brand selection. I put before you the story of Mr. Roland Gissing. A "want-to-be-cowboy" on the exterior but a true artist at heart.
On May 14, 1895 Roland Gissing (Gus) was born in Willersey, a village in Worcester, England. Coming from a family of writers and poets it wouldn't be of a surprise that the creative bones would branch out to Gissing. Growing up, Gissing was known to be a more reserved, shy boy. He had a deep appreciation for locomotives and would spend countless hours watching them go by. Although his father would suggest working for the railway or perhaps becoming an architect, the image of himself as a cowboy predominantly stuck.
After spending time on a farm, learning the principles of horsemanship, in 1913, at the age of 18, Gissing would set eyes on Canada. His father had a friend in Calgary who agreed to help get Gissing started. His first job would be looking after polo ponies for Hon. Francis A. McNaughton and after making a boasting paycheque of $25, Gissing would go on to buy Western wear to match his growing persona.
Hopping from job to job, hours were spent familiarizing himself on horseback and getting accustomed to the ranching lifestyle. While Gissing was enthusiastic and had a willingness to try anything, he rather enjoyed absorbing the beauty of the Western landscape. This admiration would soon see his lingering passion turn to a canvas and, in 1923, at the age of 28, he would finally decide to paint.
In the summer of 1925, Gissing would meet a prominent British painter Leonard Richmond who was "very impressed" with Gissing's work and later give him his first formal art lesson. Richmond would be a dominant influence in Gissing's art career.
Although Gissing was a painter, he did settle on Ghost Dam where he raised horses and cattle. His brand was registered in 1945. The brand is read Bar over R reverse G and would be placed on the left hip for cattle and left shoulder for horses. In 1949, he would discontinue his cattle brand but renew his horse brand until 1957.
Over the course of his life, Gissing's work would showcase his recent travels including seascapes, coastal British Columbia, the Okanagan, plus the more familiar to him, mountain, lake and foothills scenes. His earlier work was quite different from his later work as he would continue to learn and adjust. It was said that Gissing never did paint something he really liked. Although his paintings were beautiful, he was never 100 per cent happy often being his own worst critic.
Showing us the land through his eyes and known as Alberta's best landscape artist, Gissing died at the age of 72.Something I read that Gissing wrote about always making the best of life inspired me.
"The one thing I do not want is to ever get into a rut. I see people around me that are so deep in a rut that they can't even see over the top of it and they live from day-to-day in a continual state of ennui so to speak, and I also notice that, to them, life is like lead only even heavier. With me, life is wonderful and full. I work like mad and play just as hard and the days just fly away on golden wings."
