One Cambridge resident has decided to make the most of his recent layoff from work by selling prints of a painting to support himself and donate funds to hospitals in the surrounding area.

Brian Price grew up in Waterloo with the nickname Bongo, a name that has stuck with him since the ripe age of 4.

He’s had traditional jobs for most of his life, including owning an advertising agency in Toronto for quite some time. Like many Canadians, Price received disappointing news in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic: “I recently got laid off from my job due to COVID-19, like thousands of other people.”

Price decided to make the most out of the situation and used the extra time on his hands to dive into his artistic side.

Being laid off, “gave me more time to do what I always have done on the side, my passion for art,” he said.

Price came up with the idea to sell one of his paintings as a way to not only generate some income for himself, but also to raise money for area hospitals. With that in mind, he chose one entitled Over-the Marsh-Killarney, based on a photo Price took on one of his numerous trips to Killarney Provincial Park. For years, Price, along with his friends and son, has been going on canoeing excursions through the park, the location where “a lot of the Group of Seven did their paintings.” 

This is not the first time Price has pursued his creative side. He co-founded the Cambridge International Street Art Festival alongside his partner. He described the festival as “an overwhelming success while it was on, we had artists come from all over the world doing street chalk art and mural art.”

Also known as graffiti the festival, it was a staple of the arts community in the region before a lack of funding forced it to wind down.

As a fundraiser, Price is selling prints made from the painting for $35 each, with $10 going to the hospital of the buyer’s choice. He’s thus far provided donations to Cambridge Memorial Hospital and Brantford General Hospital.

“The intention was to look at contributing to some of the [money] to local hospitals, wherever they may be,” explained Price, noting every little bit helps during the pandemic.

Price encourages people to check out a gallery of his work on Instagram by searching his handle, brianpricedesign. To contact Price to purchase a print, he can be reached by email at brianpricedesign@gmail.com or through direct messaging on Instagram.