A Decade of Creative Bounty
Visual artist David Hotson, better known as boy Royland
A New Anthology of The Walleye’s Creative Writing
By Kaylee Lambert
Before you read this, check out this month’s edition of The Beat, take it all in, and then come back.
The Beat. It’s a mainstay of The Walleye, a literary department featuring poetry, short stories, lyrics, and other work from local writers. And every month for the past decade, it’s been accompanied by an illustration from visual artist David Hotson, better known as boy Roland.
“I was looking at one of the first illustrations I ever did for The Walleye and I noticed the date on it: 2015. I realized, ‘Oh man, it’s going to be 10 years!’ That felt huge,” says Hotson. Wanting to commemorate this milestone, he first thought of an exhibition showcasing illustrations from throughout the years and then, discussing with the magazine’s staff, the idea for Field Notes for Translating Ghosts: A Decade of Quiet Conversations—a collection of illustrations he’s done for The Beat—was born.
It’s not just about the artwork, though. Hotson is keen to celebrate the writers who acted as his muse each month. “It’s a chance to highlight all the writers, poets, and musicians from this region whose words have inspired me over the years. Some of my favourite work as an artist has been collaborative—it’s always more inspiring when you can feed off someone else’s creativity.”
Revisiting these illustrations brings back a lot of memories for Hotson, chronicling the evolution he’s gone through over the past 10 years, both as an artist and as a person. “Even looking at the very first one I did, ‘The Bengal Tiger,’ brings me back to my old studio above [the former] Sweet North on Court Street, working late at night with my inks. Now I mostly work digitally, but those early pieces have so much nostalgia attached to them.”
To commemorate the launch of the book, Hotson will be hosting an art show at the Co. Lab Gallery + Arts Centre in Goods & Co. Market on November 15. It’ll act both as a book launch and an exhibition, showcasing a selection of the pieces. His intention is to create an opportunity for the community to re-engage with this creative bounty that’s been flowing through the pages of The Walleye all these years.
Ultimately, Hotson hopes the book reminds people of how rich with creativity our city is. “This book is a way to celebrate Thunder Bay’s creative community. People can be quick to complain about the city, but there’s so much good here—so much creativity worth celebrating,” he says. “It’s also a bit of Thunder Bay history, really: a decade’s worth of art and writing from this place and its people.”
Field Notes for Translating Ghosts: A Decade of Quiet Conversations is now available for purchase here.