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Painting Delta

A few months ago, I was ready to start my next commission, but the next person on the waiting list, somebody I had painted for before, had a bunch of life stuff going on and didn’t have the bandwidth for a commission until the other stuff had been sorted. She agreed to let the next person in line jump the queue and I’d come back to her next.

The next in line was Pat, who’d already been waiting quite a while.

I first met Pat several years ago at Electric Grizzly, the Canmore tattoo shop owned by my buddy Derek Turcotte. I don’t actually remember our first meeting, but I got to know Pat as one of Derek’s clients. Derek is an enthusiastic supporter of other artists and has a few of my pieces hanging in his shop. Pat liked my whimsical wildlife and since then has collected several of my pieces. He has poster and matted prints, plus canvas, metal and acrylic in different sizes.

These are some of the ones hanging in his home.
So he knew what he wanted when he asked me to paint 10-year-old Delta.

Because he lives in Calgary, I figured I could take my own reference photos. But on the day I set aside late this summer to go there, the check-engine light on my car came on several times before I had even left the mountains. I have a code reader and it let me know that one of my ignition coils was the culprit. Not wanting to risk damaging the car with misfires, I took it home, called my mechanic to get an appointment, and told Pat I couldn’t make it.

He was just about to start his next shift rotation at work, so I suggested that rather than wait for another day almost two weeks later, he could send me some photos he had so I could see if I could get started. I sent him a Dropbox link where he could upload them, and he dumped 400 photos into it. I’m not kidding.

If you think that’s overkill, I assure you, I did not. I was thrilled. Sometimes, especially if the portrait is a memorial, the problem is that I don’t get enough photos. And it’s not just about the likeness; it’s about seeing the character and personality in my subject. Pat has taken some incredibly good photos of his dog over her lifetime, from comical to serious, with several different poses.

Just like when I take my own reference photos, I was quick to discard most of them, which still left a couple of dozen gems. Best of all, after more back and forth where I shared the ones I liked, Pat told me that Delta often sits with her paws crossed, something she’s done since she was a puppy. That pose was among my favourite photos, which is why he brought it up.

Anybody who does anything creative knows about happy accidents, those unexpected moments that give you something better than you could have planned. That engine part was going to fail anyway, but because it happened on the day I was going to take my own photos, I ended up with better reference than I would have shot myself. Of that, I have no doubt. And would I have found out about the crossed paws without seeing those photos Pat sent? Probably not.

I finished this painting on November 15th and sent the final image. I’m always nervous as I wait for the client’s response.

“I won’t sugar coat it. THIS IS AMAZING! It literally brought a tear to my eye, causing the delay in my reply. I’m blown away seeing Delta portrayed in your artistic style, I love it!”

Every commission includes a professional 18″ x 24″ metal or canvas print. It also includes shipping, but I like to deliver it myself whenever I can, especially since it often means getting to meet my subject. OK, fine, my clients, too.

As he is familiar with all my print options and owns at least one of every style, he chose metal with a black frame. He also ordered an extra one for his Mom in Saskatchewan, and three more smaller canvases for each of his siblings.

I’ve had the prints in my home for a little while, as Pat was away and I was busy with the Banff Christmas Market. But I was thrilled to deliver them to his and Vanessa’s home in Calgary on Tuesday this week. Not only did I get to meet Delta, but also her younger brother Luke, and it sounds like I might be painting him down the road as well. Both dogs were very sweet and friendly.

Pat and Vanessa sent me home with some delicious homemade holiday treats and a very nice art print that I’m eager to hang in my office. I’m going to take it in for framing next week and will share that later.

I’m so fortunate that my commission clients have all been so great to work with. As they’re most often already invested in my work, usually own some pieces already, and have read all about what’s involved from posts like this one, the experience is one I enjoy. It’s collaborative and a joint effort, which means the end result always feels more special than just “Here’s a picture, draw my dog.”

This was no different, and I loved painting Delta. Pat was great to work with and exceptionally patient, knowing it was already a very busy time of year for me. He didn’t have a deadline, and this wasn’t a “must be done by Christmas,” but I’m still glad it was anyway. It’s a nice way to end my year, working with a great client and creating a painting I’m pleased with.
I’ve already got my next few commissions lined up and will start the next one right away in January, but Delta felt like the right way to close out this year.

Cheers,
Patrick

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Believing Those Who Believe in Me

Even though it’s exactly what I asked for, it’s still one of the hardest things to accept.

Most of the year, it’s just me in my office. Drawing cartoons. Painting wildlife. Wrestling with video software. Digging around for licensing leads. Sending cold emails to marketing departments already drowning in submissions. I know damn well that the first round (second, third, fourth) won’t get a response.

I try to game the subject lines, choose the right images, write the right words. Not too short, not too long, not identical to the last ten pitches they skimmed before clicking delete.

Rejection is part of the job. Silence is even more common. You don’t know if anyone even opened the email, so you drop a reminder in the calendar and move on until the alert pops up months later telling you to try again.

I write posts like this one, see the subscriber numbers, take some comfort that I have a very good open rate. Comments are rare, but emails trickle in after each edition of A Wilder View. It’s a slow burn, just enough air and heat to keep the embers alive.
Then I show up at the Banff Christmas Market or Calgary Expo, and suddenly the whole thing flips. Real people in real time. Compliments, conversations, connection, an inferno compared to the barely glowing coals of my daily grind. I never feel ready for it, and part of me is looking for a fire extinguisher in case I can’t keep up.

I see familiar faces. People who come back year after year, or just stop by to say hello. The other day, two people I recognized walked up while I was inviting someone to subscribe to A Wilder View. One of them jumped in to say she should sign up because she enjoys the emails as much as the artwork. That meant a lot. And they were carrying the Otter tote bag they bought at Expo earlier this year.

It was great to see you again, Sydney and Craig. Thanks for sticking with me.

I never quite get used to seeing the same people returning for more. Gregg, who first followed my work from Regina and now lives in Canmore, still buying calendars for himself and his adult kids. La and Brandon, who sent me a photo earlier this year of my Otter tote bag sitting with them on the banks of the Seine. Sally in Australia, who often places her sizeable order in the fall, and I cross my fingers it arrives for Christmas (got there in plenty of time this year). And new people like Marianne, who practically emptied one of my tabletop print bins last Friday so she could take prints, coasters and tote bags back to Louisiana.

In the first draft of this post, I listed dozens of names, people I now know because they’ve allowed me to make a living doing this. But it read like a conference roster, and the more I wrote, the more I worried about who I’d forgotten.

As my email list grows and more of you discover my art each year, I can’t remember everyone’s name, and it honestly bothers me if I have to ask you again when I see you. I worry it’ll look like I don’t appreciate the support, even though several of you waved that off over the past couple of weeks, saying nobody expects me to remember every name.

But I’d sure like to.

So, I hope I’ve made it clear, in person and here, how much I appreciate that so many of you spend your hard-earned money on my funny-looking animals. I’m glad they make you happy, or at least give you a smile when things feel heavy.

Because you do that for me.

Cheers,
Patrick

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Custom Prints and Retired Images

A couple of weeks ago, I got an email from a woman in Alberta who had visited Discovery Wildlife Park and bought some prints for one of her sons. She told me their other son had a thing for foxes, cheetahs and wolves, and asked if I do custom pieces. She wanted them as Christmas gifts.

As regular followers know, I do take commissions, but I have a long wait list right now. Because of those commitments, I’ve realized I likely can’t take on anything new for about a year. Even without the wait list, I couldn’t paint anything before Christmas this season.

I do take suggestions for new animals and add them to my list, but I might not get to the one somebody wants for a long time.In this case, though, I was happy to tell her that I already had a cheetah and a fox. Since I’m always painting new animals, I have to retire prints from production now and then. But I can still reprint older images on request. They just cost a little more because they’re custom one-offs and they take a bit longer to arrive since everything is professionally printed.

I sent her previews of the fox and cheetah and she loved them. I quoted her a price. Since I was ordering anyway, she asked if she could change the sizes to match the mats and frames she had in mind. And since the fox and cheetah were custom sizes, she asked for a custom size of my Wolf painting as well, rather than one I had in stock.
The three prints arrived last Friday, 11″x14″ giclée prints on cotton rag paper without the usual white border, printed by the same company that does my metal and canvas work. They looked great and I signed and shipped them on Monday.

So if you ever want a print of a retired image, I can make that happen. I can also print any image I’ve created on giclée paper, canvas or metal, in a variety of sizes, framed or unframed.

If you ever want to talk about it, drop me a line.

Cheers,
Patrick

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First Weekend in Banff: Slow Start, Strong Finish


The first weekend of the Banff Christmas Market has come and gone.

I still have to produce my regular editorial cartoons each week. Normally, I draw Monday’s cartoons on Sunday, but that’s not happening for the next month. It means I need them done by Thursday. After three or four days of being ON for ten to twelve hours at the market, I’m not sitting down to draw for a few more hours when I get home at 6 on Sunday night.

I’m trying to get ahead and have a few extra ready so I’m not scrambling. I’m still up at 5 every market day, but that time is usually spent updating sales spreadsheets, answering emails, and doing the support work before heading back to Banff for the next weekend.

So Monday through Thursday is my usual drawing, shipping, and admin work, only in a tighter window.

The weekend  started slow. Thursday and Friday were unnerving. Saturday and Sunday rallied and I ended up with very good sales. Not my best weekend, but nowhere near my worst. In a year when I was already nervous about the economy, better than average feels like a win.

Who Are the People and Pups in My Neighbourhood?

My neighbours on both sides have become friends over the years. Both are couples, we’re all similar age and sarcastic humour. Somehow the organizers keep putting us together, and we’re not about to correct them. We give each other the gears all weekend and the laughs help keep the long days lighter.

A Canmore vendor I’ve known for twenty five years was across from us. The highlight of her weekend was her family adopting a Bernese Mountain dog. Terrible timing for her, but they were on a long wait-list. Her husband and daughter drove to BC to pick him up and brought Max by for a short visit. I’m not a let the dog lick your face guy, but Max got one in. I didn’t hate it. I hope he comes by again.
My People

I never take it for granted that people buy and collect my work. It still floors me that these critters connect with people the way they do. Many of you reading this have been with me for years and I’m grateful for it. Because of your support, I get to do this for a living.

And sure, I complain about the work sometimes, especially when I’ve been stuck in my head for too long. But when I see you in person, it reminds me to be thankful.

Two of my most loyal long time collectors, Tracy and Sheldon, showed up unannounced from Calgary. Seeing them at my booth was a great surprise. They always come to Expo, but this was their first Banff Christmas Market. They came to get their Christmas Bear tote bag and calendar in person, and show their support. They will be away during Expo this spring and it just won’t be the same without them. Thankfully they stopped by during a quiet moment so we had time to visit before they went and checked out the other vendors.

Another long time supporter came by to add to her collection. She found my work years ago and has come to see me a few times. I am great with faces but sometimes blank on names and it drives me nuts. I kept thinking it was a D name. Debbie? Nope. Sorry, Diane. As soon as she said it, I blurted out her last name. So it was in there, I just couldn’t find the file folder.

And then there were a lot of people I didn’t know but who had bought my work somewhere else. From my booth, the Calgary Zoo, the Calgary Expo, Stonewaters, Discovery Wildlife Park, or any of the stores that carry my stuff. Kids recognized stickers. Adults recognized prints. Plenty of people said things like, “Our friends have that otter,” or “We have that bear in our bathroom,” or “We get your calendar every year.”

Always nice to hear. I said, “Thank you” a lot this weekend.

More Dogs

One of my favourite parts of this market is that they allow dogs. You don’t bring an untrained dog to something like this, so most of them are well behaved. But with all the smells and activity, a lot of them show up hoping for a treat. The greeting is often, “Nice to see you, any cookies? No, alright, bye.”It is annoying when a dog makes eye contact with me while I have a booth full of customers and I have to choose between doing my job and abandoning my post for a furry face. Very unfair.

Prints and Products

I keep detailed sales records so I can order smart each year. Every weekend is its own thing, though, and there are always surprises. What sells one weekend might not move the next.
Calendars sold very well. I don’t expect to have any left by the end. My 11×14 prints always do well. There are the obvious bestsellers, but every animal finds a home with someone. I sold several tote bags, and the new Christmas Bear design has been well received.

The die-cut stickers are moving quickly. No surprise there. They make great stocking stuffers. I always get a little nervous telling people they hold up on water bottles, vehicles, snowboards and whatever else people throw at them. I want to be honest about the durability.

But people keep proving they work. I get photos of stickers on kayaks and vehicles that have survived multiple seasons. My booth neighbour has a year-old Sasquatch sticker on her rear window that still looks great. Serena at Discovery Wildlife Park has a water bottle that gets knocked around and chewed on by bears and the stickers still look good. Teeth marks, sure, but the colour holds.
The clincher was a little boy who showed me his Otter Bottle, please pardon that the photo is a little blurry. This bottle is covered in stickers. Most are faded or peeling, but mine is not. They bought it last year. According to his parents, it has survived five rounds of summer camp and countless regular dishwasher cycles. That settled it for me. Jukebox Print makes a solid product and I’ll keep ordering from them. And I will continue to confidently use the term, “dishwasher safe.”

Is This AI?

I heard this question more times this year than ever before. But the signs I put around the booth worked. I watched people point them out and say, “Look, not AI.”

Some told me they were glad I had the signs because they don’t want to support AI art. Others were annoyed that I even needed the signs because they felt it should be obvious.

The little video display I added this year was a great idea. Plenty of people watched it and asked more questions about the process. Instead of explaining digital painting, I could show it.

Here We Go Again

I spend most of my time alone at home and I like the solitude, but markets like this are important. They are good for sales, yes, but they are also good for my head.

Meeting people who enjoy the work is a reminder to stop being so hard on myself. When winter settles in and days get darker, it is easy to slip into a low mood and wonder why I am working seven days a week, most weeks of the year. At times it feels like it doesn’t matter.

But people say such kind things at these events and it can be uncomfortable. Years ago, I learned the best response is a sincere “Thank You.”

When I see people smile or laugh because of something I painted, it makes me want to paint more.

So even though the market is exhausting and I am already looking forward to a break, I know the experience is good for me. My art is not for everyone. Nobody’s is. But when it connects, that is something. When I am burnt out and questioning everything, sometimes I need to see that connection face to face.

My buddy Darrel knows me too well. He sent me a text on Monday asking, “Are you all recharged from a bunch of smiling faces?”

Not yet, but heading in the right direction.

I’m heading back to the Banff Christmas Market Friday morning. Hope to see you there.

Cheers,
Patrick

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The Banff Christmas Marathon

On Thursday morning, I’ll set up my booth for the Banff Christmas Market and doors open at 5:00 pm for Twinkle Night. It’s going to be a marathon month, balancing drawing my syndicated and local editorial cartoons from Monday to Thursday, then selling my whimsical wildlife art at the Banff Train Station from Friday to Sunday.
There won’t be any time to paint until just before Christmas, but I’m glad I finished my latest commission on Saturday morning. At least I won’t have that deadline weighing on me. I enjoyed working on this piece, and best of all, the client was very happy. I’m looking forward to sharing it with all of you. But that won’t be until after I get the metal print and deliver it to the client.

Prep for this market is the same as any big show. Updating inventory in the point-of-sale system, signing and packaging prints, creating price signs for every metal and canvas print, plus all the other signage around the booth. I added a few small acrylic signs this year because I know I’ll be asked (or accused) if my work is AI. That’s just the landscape now.
But with a growing backlash against AI art, I’ve read that more shows and events are prohibiting anyone selling it. So, if the little signs create an opportunity for discussion and education, I’m happy to provide that.

I’m also introducing a digital picture frame that will loop a silent video of my painting process. Making that video took more time than expected, but I think it’s ready.

Rather than reinvent the booth, I just try to improve it a little with each show.

If you were at the Banff Christmas Market last year, you’ll find me in the same spot in the train station. It’s a big list of vendors in different tents and buildings. The organizers of this event are excellent and really know what they’re doing. Several of us asked for the same locations again, and they delivered. We’ve got a nice little neighbourhood at that end of the station. Plenty of camaraderie and goofing around, which makes the slow periods a lot easier. And customers feel that positive vibe when they walk in.

Once the booth is set up on Thursday, I won’t have to tear it down until December 15th. I won’t get any time off for the next month, but the commute is only twenty minutes so it’s just like going to a regular retail job, though with much longer hours. My boss is the worst.

A lot of people on the Christmas market circuit have to juggle accommodations and travel, which gets even trickier in winter. Many of my neighbours at the Banff Market come in from out of town every weekend and I feel for them. That’s a bigger expense, which creates more sales pressure.

I wanted to record a video showing all the products I’ll have on offer this year, but I just don’t have the time. The business of art always takes more time than the art itself, and editing video always takes more time than recording it. I’m already stretched thin.

Instead, I’ll try to shoot some video during the market and share that closer to Christmas when the dust settles.

As usual, I’ll have stickers, magnets, ceramic coasters, 11×14 prints and larger metal prints at the booth. I introduced tote bags at the Calgary Expo this spring, but this will be their first appearance at the Banff Christmas Market. I’m curious to see how the Smiling Tiger, Otter and new Christmas Bear designs do. I’ve already sold several of each this season, and I won’t be surprised if I’m sold out by the end of the year.
Last year, I underestimated demand for my calendars and had to reorder halfway through the market. Then sales slowed and I had to hustle to move the leftovers in January. This year, it looks like I might have ordered just about right. Calendar sales have been brisk for the past month and I’ve sold more to subscribers than ever before. Thanks to all of you for that. I still have plenty of stock to get me through the markets. But I wouldn’t be surprised if I sell out before the final weekend. Better that than leftovers again.

These markets are always a question mark. You can order based on previous years, but it’s still guesswork. A new painting might sell like crazy at the Calgary Expo, but barely move with the Christmas crowd. Or the reverse.

Then there are the other variables. The economy, the weather and visitor traffic can all boost or sink sales. You do what you can and hope for the best.
Tickets are now on sale on the Banff Christmas Market website, where you can book timed entry slots in advance. It’s a good system and once you’re in, you can stay as long as you like.

One of the perks of the location is that it’s right next to Banff’s free overflow parking lot. You don’t have to pay for parking like you do almost everywhere else in town. As for the scenery, it’s pretty spectacular.

They’ve built a great holiday atmosphere at the event with live music outside, a courtyard with food vendors, cozy fire pits, free professional pictures with Santa and a real Christmas village vibe.

Hope to see you there.

Cheers,
Patrick

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Remember When This Was Fun?

Yeah, it’s been one of those weeks. But it came with a weird benefit.

One of the hardest parts of recording YouTube videos these past few months has been getting over perfectionism. I’ve watched too many “how-to” videos about lighting, audio, editing software, production values, storytelling, countless unimportant details that only served to keep me from hitting record and publish sooner than I finally did.

Sometimes it feels like YouTube is a cult, all serving the Great and Powerful Algorithm. Then again, that pretty much applies to all online life.

It gets exhausting.

But since I was already there, standing in the kitchen with a pile of prints I needed to sign and package, I threw my phone on a tripod, clipped on the wireless mic, and just talked. Regular kitchen lights, no script, no plan, only a little more organized than a rant.

You’ll see plenty of hard cuts because the original video was almost three times as long before I sliced and diced it with abandon. I came very close to deleting the whole thing, but ultimately decided it was worth sharing.

If you’re an artist thinking you might want to turn it into a business, and you can’t imagine doing anything else with your life, there will be days when you wonder if you’d have been better off not doing so.

Regardless, I didn’t have the energy to obsess over perfection this week. No music, no B-roll, no intro. Just whatever was left in the tank. Here’s the video.

 

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From My First Wacom to the MovinkPad 11

It seems funny now to think back to my first little 4”×5” Wacom Intuos tablet in the ’90s. The first drawing software I used with it was a great little program called Painter Classic, and I only used it because it came with the tablet. I am not a hoarder, so I recycled it a while back, but took some photos for the memories.
Eventually, I got Photoshop and have been shackled to Adobe’s subscription model ever since. Remember when we were allowed to buy stuff, instead of renting it forever? Yeah, it’s a sore spot.

While software and hardware have come and gone in my decades-long career, I’ve always drawn on a Wacom tablet or display. I started upgrading Intuos models as they came out, but at some point, I set my sights on an early Wacom Cintiq.

For those unfamiliar, the Intuos tablets are pressure-sensitive drawing surfaces connected to your computer, mapped to your screen. You draw on the tablet while looking at your monitor. It sounds awkward, but it isn’t.

You don’t stare at your mouse when you use it. Same concept. 

Plenty of pros still create amazing work that way. I keep a spare in my office and could probably still do my full level of detail on it. I should test that claim one day.

But I wanted a Cintiq, a display on which I could draw directly on the screen. I’d seen them in art magazines and behind-the-scenes features about movie concept artists.

At Photoshop World in Las Vegas in 2010, I was thrilled to win the Guru Award for Illustration and Best in Show. When they announced the prizes, they said I’d won a Wacom Cintiq 12WX display, a smaller version of the large one I use now. So, I went to their booth on the trade show floor, eager to pick it up, and that’s when I met Pam.

It turned out the prize was actually a tablet, not a display. The announcer misspoke. Hey, mistakes happen, and I didn’t want to make a scene. But Pam told me she’d see what she could do, and the next morning, they said they’d honour the announcement.

That’s how I got my first Cintiq, because Pam made it happen.
Over the past 15 years, I’ve had several chances to work with Pam and Wacom. I’ve done demos at Photoshop World, been part of webinars, and recorded videos for new products. Once, Wacom even hired me to demo their gear at a packed event in Calgary. I remember opening a shipment of their displays and thinking, “What have I gotten myself into?”

In 2014, I gave a talk at the Banff high school about editorial cartooning and digital painting, and Pam supplied several Intuos tablets for me to donate to the school.

So yes, I’m loyal to the Wacom brand, but mostly to Pam. She’s been the constant, and has always been great to work with. When the right opportunities come up, ones I’m suited for, she still reaches out, and sometimes, new gear comes with the work. To the guy who bought his first tablet in 1998, that would have seemed surreal.

My loyalty to the products comes from experience. Wacom devices are built to last. In a world full of planned obsolescence, my Cintiq 24HD display has been on my desk since 2012. It’s massive, solid, and still does its job for me every day. Pam now calls it a dinosaur. She’s not wrong, as they’ve had several updated models since, but I love it like someone loves an old car. Here it is when brand new, 13 years ago, along with my Otter in progress, still one of my bestselling paintings. Wait…is that a Blackberry?!

Last month, Pam asked if I’d do a video about their new Wacom MovinkPad 11. I’d already seen a positive review from another artist, so it was an easy yes. We worked out the details, and I was pleased I’d get to keep it. Sometimes that’s not how it works with demo products. She even included a case, which I would highly recommend as it functions as a little stand and pen holder, too. 

Wacom will share the video I created a little later, but it’s already up on my channel, with permission of course. Rather than repeat what I said in the video, I’ll let you watch it.

But I’ll say this much: I didn’t sugarcoat it. This is the best mobile sketching display I’ve ever used, and yes, better than my iPad Pro. If I’d had to return it, I would’ve asked to buy it. They now have a larger MovinkPad Pro 14, but I honestly don’t feel like I’m missing anything. While the pro specs are impressive, I’m not as on-the-go as some people and don’t need something that powerful. This is the one I would buy, and it’s absolutely the tablet I wish I’d had more than 25 years ago when I was learning to draw and paint digitally.

Full disclosure: I was compensated for the video, and the sponsorship is clearly stated on my YouTube channel. But aside from some technical stuff, Pam gave me full creative freedom on the two variations of the video I recorded. This post, however, is mine, and it’s from the heart.

When politics, the news, and the noise of the world get to me, as it too often does, painting fur, feathers, and the little dimples on a critter’s nose is often the antidote. I’m at my very best when I’m drawing on a screen.

Enjoy the video.

Cheers,
Patrick

 

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New Calendar, New Tote Bag, and a Big Bear Update

At long last, the 2026 calendars and special-release Christmas Bear tote bags are now available in the store.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like we can expect any changes that would make shipping to the U.S. feasible again. I’m as frustrated as many of my American customers, but those rule changes didn’t come from this side of the border.

We didn’t break it, so we can’t fix it.
Hopefully, the issues we do have here, namely the ongoing Canada Post dispute, stay at a working stalemate long enough for me to ship orders. I’ll send everything as soon as I can.

But fair warning: if the mail stops again, there won’t be much I can do. I won’t be able to issue refunds for orders once they’ve been sent. If that happens, we’ll just have to wait for Canada Post to clear the backlog once things resume.

Here’s hoping it won’t come to that.

In other new product news, Diamond Art Club has given me the go-ahead to announce a brand-new kit based on my Big Bear on Blue painting, the cover image from the 2025 calendar. They’re calling it simply Big Bear, and it marks their eighth release featuring one of my designs.

They’re a great company to work with, and I’ve heard from many subscribers who’ve enjoyed putting together their official Diamond Art Club kits. If you’re unfamiliar, it’s kind of a blend between paint-by-numbers and cross-stitch.
If you’re on Facebook, here’s the link to their page where you can see the above announcement. The new image releases this Saturday.

All of the other currently available designs can be found here on their site.

That’s it for now, I’m deep in a custom video project with a fast-approaching deadline, a pet portrait commission, and the usual cartoon deadlines keeping me out of trouble.

Cheers,
Patrick

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Happy Color & Christmas Bear Totes

I’m a little overwhelmed this week, plenty to do and not enough time. It’ll pass, but that’s why this is just a short update on a couple of things.

Happy Color 2.0
Thanks to those who emailed me to say the Charmers’ Club 2 collection went live on the Happy Color app this week. I knew it was coming sometime this fall but, frankly, I’d forgotten all about it.

With art licensing, there’s often a long gap between signing contracts, uploading images, and when the products actually launch. Regular readers might remember an interview I did with X-Flow Games, the company behind the app, back in July. You can read that post here for more on why I enjoy working with them.

If you haven’t tried the app, it’s a free download for both Apple and Android. When I tried it the first time they licensed my work, it turned out to be a lot more fun than I expected.

I also noticed a bunch of new subscribers to A Wilder View over the past couple of days, and I suspect that has something to do with the new launch. If you discovered my work through the Happy Color app…welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride.

Christmas Bear Tote Bags
I was pleased and relieved today to receive the first Christmas Bear tote bags. This was another big investment in a new product for the Banff Christmas Market, but they turned out great.

Best of all, it’s the last product order I’ll need before the month-long market begins on November 20th. With just over a month to sign and package prints, enter inventory into my sales app, update spreadsheets, and finish everything else I’ve got on deck, I’m grateful not to be waiting on any more deliveries.
Shipping
By the end of next week, I expect to have the 2026 calendars, new tote bags, and prints added to the store. Once that’s done, I’ll reactivate it and let you know when I’m taking orders again. I’m holding off one more week to see if Canada Post keeps operating before I reopen. With no deal in place, they could strike again at a moment’s notice. Fool me…what is this, three times? Four?

Cheers,
Patrick

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Stocked for Christmas, Stuck with Canada Post

It’s with mixed feelings that I can say most of my stock for the Banff Christmas Market has arrived.

My restock of metal prints came in last week, along with a large order from Art Ink Print in Victoria, who handle my 11×14 poster prints. That shipment included both my own stock for the four Banff Market long weekends and a big order for the Calgary Zoo, which I delivered on Wednesday.
Each of my poster prints is hand-signed, and the Zoo got the very first print of my latest Snowy Owl painting. It’s always a nice feeling to see a new piece in print for the first time.

Another large order from Pacific Music & Art arrived yesterday. They’ve licensed my work for several years on a wide range of products. People often tell me they’ve seen my art in stores across Alberta, BC, Alaska, and the Pacific Northwest. Those are all Pacific products.
They also produce the calendar many of you look forward to each year. That means I get to sell my own artist edition while the same calendar reaches stores I could never reach myself. Some of you on Vancouver Island have even told me you already picked up your 2026 calendar before I got mine.
If you’ve ever bought a magnet or coaster from me at the Calgary Expo or the Banff Christmas Market, those are Pacific items, too. I already had several designs in stock, but yesterday’s delivery topped up my inventory for the market.
So yes, you have to spend money to make money, but placing large orders like these is a serious expense, often weeks or months ahead of actually selling anything. Anyone who’s ever kept retail inventory knows the feeling. It’s something I never get used to and it puts me on edge.

That’s the “mixed” part.

While I’m happy with this year’s calendar order and confident in my usual sales projections, the Canada Post labour dispute has thrown a wrench in everything. Normally, early calendar sales through my online store help offset these upfront costs.

Announced late last night, as of Saturday, Oct. 11, Canada Post is moving from a nationwide strike to rotating strikes, which should get some mail moving again, just not reliably. So for now, my online store will stay closed until I see what happens. But until Canada Post proves this isn’t just a temporary pause before another shutdown, I can’t risk taking online orders that might end up stuck in limbo. I’ll plan to reopen by late October. My last outstanding order, custom tote bags featuring my Christmas Bear painting, has shipped from Montreal by courier and is scheduled to arrive next week. Thankfully, that one’s unaffected and on track.

Like every other small business caught up in this dispute, I just have to wait and hope for a resolution soon… or find a way to make this year’s Christmas sales work despite it all.

So yeah, I’ve been angry and stressed. I won’t pretend otherwise. Even with rotating strikes, which should get some mail moving again, the uncertainty means gritting my teeth, clenching my jaw, and trying to accept what I can’t change while working on what I can.

On a brighter note, I’m currently working on a dog commission that’s been a welcome distraction. I’d love to focus on that full-time for a week, but for now, the editorial cartooning is paying the bills until the wildlife paintings can contribute again. And thankfully, with each Canada Post strike and job action having taught hard lessons, all of my newspapers now pay by direct deposit.
I’m also creating a project for Wacom, featuring their new Movink Pad 11, hands down the best mobile drawing experience I’ve had. Full stop. I’ll share more about it in an upcoming video, which includes outdoor sketching footage. Above is a preview: a small practice piece I’m working on to get comfortable with the included software.

Thankfully, I’ve got a short cabin trip coming up with my buddy Darrel, something we booked a while ago. It’s a pre-market reset before the long haul through November and December. I’m looking forward to a few days of quiet: playing cards, Scrabble and guitar, napping on the deck, and wandering the pastures with my camera in search of wildlife. Fall is my favourite time of year there.
Here in Canmore, we got our first snowfall last Saturday. Most of it melted in the valley by Sunday afternoon, but the mountains stayed white for a few days longer. If this isn’t the best view from any Safeway in Canada, it’s at least in the top three. Helps (a little) to soften the shock of the ridiculous grocery prices around here.
But I was biking my errands in shorts again yesterday and snapped this pic of Policeman’s Creek.

Back to work.

Cheers,
Patrick

If you missed the video I created about the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre and the creation of my most recent Snowy Owl, here it is again.