Outside the Harbour Chandler store in Nanaimo are several murals and a few sculptures that all reflect a nautical theme and are a lot of fun. The images of pirates are now a little faded but still impressive in their artistry, and I got a chuckle when I was surprised by seeing one of the pirates in a boat. In addition to the pirate theme there is one mural of an Orca which appears to have been created by an indigenous artist.
I have not yet been able to identify the creators responsible for any of these works, despite having spent some time online trying to track them down. If any readers are able to give me that information I will be happy to give the artists the credit they deserve.
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Update 13 Dec 2025: I have just returned to the store to tell them that I have put photos of their murals etc. on my website. I also asked the woman at the front desk if she knew the names of the artists and she told me that they murals were older than she was. She remembered seeing them when she was an infant. I left her with my contact information and asked her to check with other members of staff to see if they could identify the artists.
Snowbird of Paradise 
Wonderful
Hi Anne. The murals are great aren’t they? Have you tried going into the shop and asking the owners who the artists are? Surely they would have known. The work wasn’t an overnight job was it?! Love Cxxx
I emailed them to ask the names of the artists but have not received a reply as yet.
Update: I have since been back to the store. See the update on the post
I’ve been remembering murals! Didn’t you do one in one of the houses you’ve lived in? I also did one when I worked at a family centre. We cheated though and used an overhead projector to project the image onto the wall. We then pencil drew the outline and painted it in. I think it was a scene from the Disney jungle book. A bit painting by numbers but it worked well! I enjoyed that experience. I don’t think I have the talent to do one freehand!! Love Cx
I did! I painted a mural in the house we lived in in Fruitvale. I was sorry to leave that behind when we moved.