B.C. man’s discovery of original painting proves meaningful for 83-year-old artist in Haida Gwaii [Video]

Victoria –

Although the range of products at Rory Perron’s store couldn’t be more different, from half a dozen office chairs to one pair of camouflaged hip waders with size 14 boots, his price tags are all the same.

“Post-it Notes!” Rory smiles, sticking them around his Local Liquidations store. “That’s my hi-tech pricing system.”

But Rory didn’t put a Post-It on what he found during a recent hotel liquidation. Instead of the typical art prints, he discovered a rare original painting.

“I’m not an artist type,” Rory says. “But even a guy like me could recognize the beauty of it.”

When Rory flipped the painting around, he found a couple of hidden newspaper articles attached to the back of the canvas. They profiled a Haida artist named Keenawaii Roberta Olson.

“So we did a little research on the internet,” Rory says. He found a woman with the same name running a …