A labour of love for this artist giving his hometown a 2nd life

With each sweep of Dolph Crant's paintbrush, the years drop away.

He's transported back to his childhood, spent growing up in Gaultois, an isolated community on a small island off Newfoundland's south coast.

"I'm still there, I'm still 10 years old," Crant said,of the feeling that comes over him as he paints the hometown of his memory.

This was a place that was vibrant, it was my home, and when I think of it now, my eyes tear up.- Dolph Crant

At 81, Crant can look back fondly at his childhood spent roaming and rowing around, exploring the terrain in his grandfather's dory.

"This is where I was born, raised. I think I climbed every hill in the place," he said.

"When I could use grandfather's old dory, I'd visit every part of it, across the bay in Blackhead, Connaigre Head Cove, down the passage, Little Fox Island. You name it, in a dory I rowed myself."

Now, Crant is bringing those memories back to life.

'It was my home'

Gaultois is a community plagued by the same predicament many small outports are facing: a fish plant closure, a declining population, and too little fresh blood to sustain the place.

But Crant's roots go deep: he grew up in the home his great-great-grandfather built, when his family first settled in Newfoundland.

His art is a way to give his hometown a new life.

"The place is dying, and I hate the thought of it," Crant said.

"This was a place that was vibrant, it was my home, and when I think of it now, my eyes tear up."

The thought that the days could benumbered for the town "hits me right in the lower gut," he said.

Crant has spent the last two and a half years painting scenes of Gaultois as he remembers it, and that work will be going on display at the Craft Council in St. John's starting Saturday.

The exhibit is called The Golden Town, and is a shining reflection of Crant's love for a town overlooked.

"When you grow up in a place you tend to take it for granted, you don't think about, well, this is a special place or not a special place," Crant said.

Now or never

The school he once taught at can hold 400 students, but has just 17 a harsh reality that made Crant realize it was now or never to create his exhibit.

"The only people left now are those who have some reason to stay, and that's not many, or who can't afford to leave, so it's not good," Crant said.

"That's when I realized that if the place can't exist, now's the time, because I would like the memories to exist. And every one of them was something that I had a special feeling for, because if I didn't, I wouldn't have done it."

He's created dozens of artworks, all scenes around Gaultois.

At his age, he said, it's been a lot of hard work.

"It's been about two and a half years and my energy at almost 81 is not what I would like it to be. In the mornings I'm fine, so I have to start work as early as I can. By mid-afternoon I'm pretty well zonked out," he said with a chuckle.

"I've got to take a nap before supper. Don't like being 81."

But it's a labour of love for Crant, who said when he paints, there's nothing else.

"Each one was the only painting in the world while you were doing it, this was your focus, it was completely, completely on that," he said.

"I usually don't paint sitting down, I usually paint standing up, and sometimes I'd be dancing, sometimes I'd be singing, I always keep music going there, and hours would go by and like you wouldn't even notice it."

'I hope, and that's the best I can say'

The Golden Town will be at the Craft Council in St. John's from April 6-19 and then at the Grounds Caf at Murray's Garden Centre in Portugal Cove from May 4-30, before his art will make its way back home to Gaultois on June 29 for a month-long exhibit.

"This will be the first time I've been there now since '93," Crant said.

Crant is the definition of anxious about this exhibit, which he hopes will boost interest in the community, in the same way the Writers at Woody Point Festival has created a buzz for the west coast community.

"[I hope] that people will see it and become aware it's a perfect placefor artists and writers. I mean, I don't see it sending people back there to live," Crant said.

"It's not gonna mean any large number of jobs even if that did happen, and maybe it will never happen. But with something like that, it's not impossible, either. I hope, and that's the best I can say."

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