Ten years ago, in 2016, I had completed half of my Fire and Rain art project — a 25‑painting response to Alberta’s wildfires and floods — and I was preparing for what became my 160th outdoor art show‑and‑tell on the eve of 2016. Along the way, I weathered three separate art bans and even a threat of police action from government authorities. In early 2017, I addressed that threat directly. From January through March, I stood on the picket line, asking the Mayor and every City of Edmonton councillor to put in writing why a Canadian could not freely express himself in public space.
The Legislature Diamond Willow Tree
Citizen Free Press in the Public Gallery
Jodi Smiles after all that...
2017, Not a Bystander Art Project
XLife
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Art is Freedom
Thank You Virgil Abloh, Chicago, 2019 Figures of Speech. Life’s too short for small labels. XL Life - Introducing my personal 'LISTEN label wear, worn inside the galleries, T-shirts, Summer Baseball Caps and Winter Toques of Alberta. 2020, Freedom to Express and Listen Art Project.
Nine Afghan Boys Gathering Firewood
War & Peace, 2000, 2001, 2013, 2015, 2025.
Pop pop Dazzled by Everyday, and
Abstracts of Light & Shadows Art Project
Painter's End Notes: This being Seniors Week, I should try to behave more like a 71‑year‑old senior, I’m thinking. Forever a child at heart, I matured some this year from my preteens — thirteen to twenty‑four — and so much more. I’m still having fun with life. Good or bad, happy or sad, life will always be a blessing in the moment. ❤ Shout out to Mom, Dad, and Sister Kate!
It’s been a couple of weeks since the spring session of the Alberta 31st Legislature wrapped, and it’s been hit‑and‑miss trying to attend Edmonton City Hall meetings. The Mayor and the NDP‑leaning council often vote to move public meetings behind closed doors — or cancel them outright — leaving the city’s business happening out of sight and out of mind to the general public.
I’ll admit I’m going through a bit of withdrawal, but extra hours painting outdoors have eased my addiction to practising free press inside Alberta’s democracy. When the doors close, you’re left guessing what’s happening inside our union‑friendly, not‑so‑transparent City Hall — in a city where housing is still about 33% cheaper than Calgary, yet homelessness, addiction, and mental‑health pressures continue to concentrate in the capital like a non profit industry of its own.
During that time, several people — including one councillor — tried to talk me into ending my protest. But for every person who said “give it up,” ten more signed my picket sign and said “keep it up.” Today, I'm humbled and thankful both the City of Edmonton and the Alberta Government not only allow me to paint and show freely outdoors in public — they welcome my work indoors as well, including inside City Hall and the QEII Building on cold wet days. It’s a full‑circle moment in a long story of free expression, persistence, with community support.
"With no job, you cannot have a family." Rene Buffett, Non-Union - No lunch breaks/ The Edmonton Sun, Pressroom Supervisor. 1979-1986. My first employer before moving to Edmonton the same year the Oilers became an NHL team was Bob Chittick, of Web Offset Publications, Don Mills, Ontario. He believed in his employees and had encouraged me to pursue the arts outside the job. We never needed a union because he paid us above union wages, and we had better benefits. This is where I began my 42-year news career as a Graphic Arts Craftsman, 1971.
While living in Toronto, I did art shows,
learned to fly and became a private pilot.
Faith in yourself,
Do Good, Be Humble.
"Young women would much rather be an old man's lover, that a young mans slave."
Howard Thomas Pentland,
Our Irish Grandfather.
