Doug Brinkman
Civil Information Activist
Freedom to Express and Listen...
Known in some circles as a “Scab, Trouble Maker”
Known to himself as someone who simply enjoys life.
Fire, Rain, Circle and Square
Birds of a Feather Art Project
🍁US, Watch, Listen...
XLife
Faith, Democracy, and Nature
In Memory of Sandy Steers
Left Stage, Exit Right.
Free From Artifice
Friends of Big Bear Valley
Jackie & Shadow
The Public Observatory: How Wildlife Cams Turn Nature Into Civic Ritual. In an age when public squares have thinned and institutions feel distant, a curious new gathering place has emerged: the wildlife livestream. The Friends of Big Bear Valley eagle cam is one of the clearest examples—a digital clearing where thousands assemble not for debate or spectacle, but to watch two birds named Jackie and Shadow rearrange sticks, brace against storms, and negotiate the quiet politics of a shared nest. What makes these streams civic isn’t just the audience size. It’s the collective posture they invite. People tune in with the same attentiveness once reserved for eclipses, parades, or the first snowfall of the year. The nest becomes a kind of public observatory, a place where strangers gather to witness something larger than themselves: the choreography of light and shadow across a living architecture. Jackie, with her bright, declarative presence, often stands in the open—an emblem of the seen world. Shadow, true to his name, shapes the scene by contrast, defining form through absence, contour, and negative space. Together they enact a natural chiaroscuro that feels almost civic in its rhythm: a reminder that public life is built not only on what we illuminate, but on what we allow to remain quiet, sheltered, or unseen. In this way, wildlife cams offer a rare kind of democratic intimacy. They ask nothing, sell nothing, demand no allegiance. They simply hold open a window where people can gather, observe, and—if only for a moment—experience the world as a shared inheritance rather than a contested territory. The nest becomes a commons. The camera becomes a civic instrument. And the watchers, scattered across continents, become a temporary public—bound not by ideology, but by attention. Watch, Listen...
As has been tradition since 2020, paint was added to Skaters on Ice today—January 1, 2026, beside the ice rink on the back lawns of the Alberta Legislature. An eagle in flight was added backside, a small gesture of lift in a heavy season..
Pop pop Dazzled by Everyday
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2025 XLife: Homme Made - Dundee Law, painted by seven painters during Black History Month is my personal tribute to Chicago's Fashion Designer, the late Virgil Abloh, Figures of Speech and Edmonton's Freedom Fighter Dennis Edney.
Violet King Henry Plaza
by Doug Brinkman and Seven Painters.
Black History Month. Violet King Henry made history in 1954 when she became Canada’s first Black female lawyer, graduating from the University of Alberta and breaking barriers that had stood for generations. She built her career on courage, fairness, and the belief that every person deserves dignity and opportunity. Today, the plaza that carries her name stands as a public reminder of her legacy. It’s a place where families gather, communities connect, and Albertans celebrate the strength of those who opened doors for others. This Black History Month, we honour Violet King Henry’s life and the path she carved—one that continues to inspire young people, newcomers, and families across Alberta. Her story is a reminder that progress is built by those who refuse to be told “no,” and who choose to lead with purpose.
True to life at 55, Fred Vanderhook - Line and Stinker, reborn as my legendary alter ego, cartoon fame Fred Shadows. A figure who stepped straight out of the anonymous graffiti of Kilroy Was Here, Fred became my living satire—participating in democracy and practicing free press with wit and defiance. And then came his son, baby boomer born and raised, Wolfgang. Once a long-haired gas jockey of the 70s, he now reigns as in my cartoons as Alberta's King Oil and Lube, carrying forward that mischievous lineage with crown, comedy, and play—as heir to satire, authority, and resistance.
Art is Freedom
Black History Month
