Originally from Nova Scotia, Haycock spent summer holidays painting rural Nova Scotia in the 1940's and 1950's. He regularly returned throughout his life. His paintings show an admiration for old fashioned ways of life, fishing villages and farmland.

In contrast, the rugged shores and charming outports of Newfoundland provided endless powerful subject matter to paint when Haycock visited his daughter, artist Karole Pittman, and her family.

As a personal friend and guest of Joey Smallwood, Haycock frequently painted the interior of Labrador, recording the landscape before and after some major hydro and mining projects.