HAMILTON — Canadian painter Conrad Furey has died following a long battle with colon cancer. He was 53. Furey’s wife says the Hamilton-based artist died in his sleep early Wednesday after falling into a coma on the weekend. “It was a very peaceful death,” Theresa Furey said. “It’s how he wanted to die — he wanted to die at home and without having any discomfort. And that we promised we would do.” She said she was by Furey’s side when he passed away, as was a nurse and another family member. Furey’s daughter, Leah Furey, 26, lauded her father, also a sculptor, as a dedicated family man who was “extremely humble” about his talent. “He was a great father and a great husband and a great friend and just a great man in general,” she said. “He was extremely humble.” Born in Baie Verte, Furey was known for colourful murals that were often inspired by his youth in Newfoundland. His work featured peaceful coastlines, wide-eyed fishermen on glassy waters and rugged landscapes softened by a playful style. Galleries in Ontario and Newfoundland staged numerous exhibitions of his work since 1977, according to a CV on his website. “Living away (from Newfoundland) means I can focus on the memories more easily,” Furey said of his work in 1987. “There’s less distraction. The years I spent growing up in Newfoundland, that’s where all these images come from.” Furey last saw his childhood home in June and July 2007, when the family returned to visit relatives and go fishing, said Theresa Furey. Months earlier, bouts of confusion suggested that cancer had reached his brain and Furey felt the end was near, she added. “He decided last May to stop his chemo so that he could just enjoy the rest of the life he had left,” she said. Furey’s last piece was a Newfoundland-inspired triptych, a large private commission that was shipped to Scotland just after Christmas, she said. Things took a turn for the worse soon after. “As ill as he was, he managed to get all the energy to be able to put into that piece to finish it for this couple,” Theresa Furey noted. Visitation will be held today and Friday, and a funeral will be held Saturday in Hamilton.