Painting Canada’s Most Iconic Stripes: The HBC Collection Paintings
Over the past two decades of painting stories about Canada, I have found myself returning again and again to the icons that define our shared cultural identity. Hockey masks, Mackintosh’s Toffee, Tim Hortons cups, Hawkins Cheezies, canoes, plaid, wildlife, and roadside landmarks all become visual shorthand for what it means to be Canadian.
Among these familiar symbols, one has appeared in my work more than any other: the iconic Hudson’s Bay blanket and its unmistakable stripes.
Long before it became a design motif, the Hudson’s Bay point blanket was woven into Canada’s history. Its bold green, red, yellow and indigo stripes became recognizable around the world, representing exploration, trade, home, nostalgia and, for many Canadians, childhood memories. Whether folded at the foot of a bed, draped over a cabin sofa, or worn in the form of a toque or scarf, the Hudson’s Bay stripes became part of Canada’s visual language.
Throughout my career I have referenced this enduring symbol in approximately twenty paintings. Sometimes the stripes make only a subtle appearance on a bikini bottom, a toque, a hockey stick or an article of clothing. Other times the blanket itself takes centre stage, becoming the backdrop or even the subject of the painting. The distinctive colour palette has also found its way into my work, quietly anchoring contemporary stories in a deeply familiar Canadian tradition.
My paintings have never been advertisements for the brand. Rather, they explore the power of cultural symbols and the memories they evoke. Like so many of the Canadian icons that populate my work, the Hudson’s Bay motif serves as a visual touchstone, instantly connecting viewers to a shared experience and collective history.
With the closing of Hudson’s Bay Company as a department store and the recent revival of the beloved stripes under the stewardship of Canadian Tire, this chapter in Canadian retail history has come full circle. The enduring appeal of the stripes reminds us that while companies may change, the symbols they leave behind often become part of a nation’s cultural fabric.
Looking back, I hadn’t realized just how often these famous stripes had found their way into my paintings until I gathered them together. Seen as a collection, they reveal an ongoing conversation with one of Canada’s most recognizable brands and demonstrate how a simple design can become a powerful cultural icon.
The HBC Collection Paintings
Below you’ll find this collection of Hudson’s Bay-inspired paintings spanning nearly twenty years of my artistic practice. Together they tell another chapter in my ongoing exploration of Canadian identity, memory, and the visual stories that unite us.