Category: Digital Painting

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Peekaboo Panda

SORRY FOLKS! Put the wrong link in the New Prints email. You can see the video here.

 

 

Here’s a brand new painting I’m calling Peekaboo Panda.

At first glance, this one looks like a pretty simple idea. A red panda popping out of the bamboo with a curious expression. But paintings like this often come with a bit more planning than people might expect.

The inspiration for this one was a photo I took at the Calgary Zoo one day. I don’t always share my reference photos, but in this case I thought it might be interesting to show the pose that sparked the idea. For the colour, lighting, and texture, I used several other photos I’ve taken over the years.

A recurring theme in some of my posts is the difference between art for fun and art for a living.

In an ideal situation, I would just choose an animal I want to paint, find or take some reference, put a whimsical spin on it, and enjoy the process. And to be fair, that still happens often enough to keep me interested while painting my funny-looking animals.

But this work is also how I pay my bills, so I have to think about what comes after the painting is finished.

When I start a painting, I usually work at the same dimensions because I know the final print will most often be 11×14, either vertical or horizontal. From time to time I will create a square painting, depending on what I see in my mind’s eye when I imagine the character in the critter.
I keep these dimensions because it makes it easier for my customers to find a frame, and that is a selling feature.

But because I have done my best to diversify my revenue streams, which is marketing speak for not putting all my eggs in one basket, I also have to think about my licensing clients.

In simple terms, art licensing means that companies pay to use my artwork on their products in exchange for royalties. If you have ever bought a backpack with cartoon characters on it, that artwork is licensed.

The challenge is that very few products come in neat little 11×14 rectangles.

That means when I paint something like this red panda, I have to allow extra space. More background and sometimes more of the animal so the artwork can be adapted to different formats later.

Pacific Music & Art, for example, might use one of my paintings on several different products, from magnets and mugs to calendars. While my vision for this piece was the vertical print you see at the top of this post, I had to paint quite a bit more of the panda, the background, and the bamboo leaves so the image could be adjusted to fit those other uses.

Last week I finalized the images for the 2027 calendar for Pacific Music & Art. Just like other licensing contracts, there is a lot of lead time for design and printing. My vertical red panda print would not work for a calendar page, so I had to create this different horizontal version, and that meant thinking about that layout when I started the painting.

The downside is that it means more work. Even though I paint digitally and can use layers for much of the process, the final cropping still requires extra time to make sure everything blends properly and does not look like pieces pasted together.

Because my goal is to continue diversifying my work to help ensure the longevity and security of my business, I will have to make these considerations more often than ever.

But the upside is that my licensing clients get the images they need to best fit their products, while my customers get the print of the painting that I originally envisioned when the idea for this critter first popped into my head.

Art for a living. Some assembly required.

Cheers,
Patrick

 

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A New License and a New Lane

Over the past year, running a small independent art business has required more flexibility than usual.

Between labour disruptions at Canada Post and the removal of de minimis exemptions in the U.S., not to mention the tariffs, shipping anything across the border has become unpredictable and, in many cases, unsustainable for a one-person operation like mine. I heard from many of my American subscribers last fall who were frustrated they couldn’t order the 2026 calendar. Believe me, that frustration went both ways.

Self-employment teaches you one thing very quickly: you can’t control external conditions. The only thing you can do is build a strong enough foundation that when something shifts, you’re not left stranded.

Over the years, I’ve worked to build multiple income streams so no single lane determines whether the lights stay on. Licensing, especially, is a long game. An agreement can be signed, files delivered, and then… nothing. Months pass. Larger companies move slowly. And when something finally launches, you don’t know whether the first royalty payment will feel significant or symbolic.

Which brings me to this week.

I’m very pleased to share that Elephant Stock has just launched 40 of my paintings as canvas wall art in the United States.

Every time a company chooses to license my work, I don’t take that lightly. Forty pieces is no small thing. They first approached me in June of last year, and like most licensing agreements, it took time before the launch finally happened.

At the time, it was simply another license I was pleased to have. Given the shipping issues mentioned above, it’s now especially useful for my American collectors. This means those works are printed and shipped from within the U.S., with no cross-border fees or customs complications.

If you’re in the United States, you now have several ways to collect my work locally:

Elephant Stock – Canvas wall art (newly launched, 40 pieces live)

The Mountain – This is a long-standing partnership, and I’ve had two different licenses with this company under two different owners.

Diamond Art Club – Exclusive diamond art kits. Several of my subscribers have sent photos of their completed pieces. This has been a strong and enjoyable partnership.
Still, if you prefer ordering directly from me, I can now have custom giclée, metal and canvas prints produced and shipped from within the U.S. through my printer.

Canadian customers, nothing changes on your end. You can continue ordering prints, stickers and tote bags directly from the store, and custom orders through me. And I’m always happy to answer questions.

I’ve learned not to assume smooth roads ahead. The best I can do is build something sturdy enough to handle a few detours, and change lanes when required.

Check out the galleries of my available designs with any of these U.S. licensing partners at
Elephant Stock
The Mountain
Diamond Art Club

Cheers,
Patrick
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A Gentle Giraffe


In June of 2023, I finished a painting of three giraffes called Long Neck Buds. It was a real challenge. I had never painted acacia leaves and thorns before, and I still remember how satisfying it was to figure them out.

Each giraffe started as if it were its own painting, fully rendered and detailed. I moved them around in the scene, added the foliage and background, and worked in the shadows and highlights to make them look like they actually belonged together.
If you’d like to see more about how that came together, that original post is here.

When I finished it, I remember thinking that any one of those giraffes could have stood on its own.

Sometimes I paint something just because I feel like it. Maybe I enjoyed getting the reference photos. Maybe it’s a subject I’ve never tried before and want to see if I can pull it off.

Other times, I choose an animal because I think it might appeal to my wholesale customers and licensing clients.

My Sasquatch was one of those. Mike at Pacific Music & Art had asked for it. When I talk about that painting at shows, I often joke that the hardest part was the weeks I spent in the woods of northern BC trying to get reference photos.

Truth be told, it’s not one of my favourite paintings.

And the actual hardest part was making sure my version didn’t look like somebody else’s. I referenced Harry and the Hendersons and the Jack Link’s Sasquatch specifically so I could steer clear of them.

And still, lots of people call mine Harry when they see it. Not because it looks the same, but because that’s the only friendly Bigfoot they know. It’s the same reason people used to call my shark Bruce from Finding Nemo, even though the only thing they share is that they’re great white sharks.

At the Christmas Market, a few people said my Spa Day painting looked like Baloo from The Jungle Book. Others say some of my bears remind them of Brother Bear. My style is completely different, but what people are reacting to is the feeling.

The Sasquatch did well, but mostly in places where that folklore resonates. Zoos and Discovery Wildlife Park didn’t want it, which makes sense. Pacific Music & Art has done well with it, and Harlequin Nature Graphics licenses it on a T-shirt.

As a print, it never really found its footing, so I retired it in that format. But it still sells as a sticker at markets and here in Canmore at Stonewaters. The only way to know what will resonate is to put it out there.

The sweet spot is when I paint something for commercial reasons and end up genuinely loving the result. The porcupine I finished last week fits that category. I had never painted one, but several wholesale clients told me they’d carry it if I did. After sharing it, I received a lot of kind emails from subscribers who really liked it. I never know ahead of time which paintings will connect.

Long Neck Buds still does well, but single-animal pieces often perform better at zoos and markets. Giraffes are reliably popular, so creating this print felt like an opportunity worth exploring.
I chose the middle giraffe and spent a few hours Saturday morning refining it. More detail. A slight softening and tweak to the expression to bring out more personality.

I’m pleased with how it turned out and looking forward to seeing how it’s received.

It also gave me a new print to include in the first PDF catalogues I sent to my wholesale clients earlier this week, and another image available for licensing.

On Monday, I sent Gentle Giraffe, Bear Boop, and the Porcupine to my printer in Victoria for their first proofs. I’m restocking the online store and gearing up for the Calgary Expo in April.

I’ve got several other paintings in progress, but my priority right now is to make some headway on three dogs I’m painting for a very patient commission client.

Cheers,
Patrick

 

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Painting a Pudgy Porcupine

This porcupine turned out to be a lot more fun than I expected, and that was exactly what I needed right now.

I’m in a busy stretch, finishing a few new paintings so I can send updated print and sticker catalogs to the zoos and start lining up licensing for the first half of the year. There’s a lot on the go, and most days it feels like I’m working with one eye on the calendar.
But this piece reminded me why I sit down to paint in the first place.

After finishing the recent Bear Boop painting, I moved straight into this porcupine and felt that familiar shift. Less pressure. More play. The kind of focus that quiets the noise for a while. When everything else feels heavy, as it often does right now, this is my happy place.

I really do love this work.

Cheers,
Patrick

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New Painting: Bear Boop

This was the perfect choice of painting to start at the end of one year and finish in the first week of the next. There’s nothing I enjoy painting more than a grizzly bear, and this face was a lot of fun.

The composition is similar to my Peanuts painting, though that one was square and featured a younger bear based on photos I took years ago of Berkley at Discovery Wildlife Park. I love that painting and wanted to paint another closeup grizzly face.

I used a mix of reference photos for this piece, but the main one came from a photo taken by my friend Serena at the Park. On a recent visit she was showing me photos on her phone, and when I asked if I could use a few, she generously told me to take whatever I wanted.

So, of course, I got greedy and airdropped a couple hundred from her phone to mine while we ate lunch. Serena is an excellent photographer, and she’s had countless opportunities for close-up reference through years of rescuing and raising these animals.

I didn’t even know which bear I’d been working from until I sent her the reference photo yesterday and asked. For those who know the bears at the Park, it was Piper.

As with most of my whimsical wildlife paintings, the final piece isn’t often recognizable as the reference model, especially since I pull from multiple images and sometimes multiple animals.
When people ask which of my paintings is my favourite, the honest answer is that it changes and I can’t pick just one. Each teaches me something new and that’s what makes them special to me. What I got from this one was that, when I need to remember why I do this for a living, paint a grizzly bear. Because that’s my happy place.

For the record, if you encounter a grizzly bear in the wild, don’t get this close, and seriously, don’t boop its nose.

Cheers,
Patrick

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That’s a (Christmas) Wrap!

Another Banff Christmas Market is in the books.

It was a very good year. Even with a couple of slow days where I wondered if it was going to be disappointing, the busy days more than made up for it. After thirteen long days over four weeks, my sales came in just a hair under last year’s excellent total, so I’m pleased the effort paid off.

I had an annoying sore throat after the first weekend, and I’m still not sure if it was a mild cold or simply all the talking I’m not used to in my day-to-day. Either way, I made it through without picking up one of the nastier viruses making the rounds.

The weather was mostly decent, although the final weekend was all over the map. We had a short cold snap earlier in the week and I had to plug in my block heater a couple of nights. Then Saturday night, with a Chinook wind in full force, it was +7C as I drove home to Canmore. By Sunday everything was a wet, sloppy mess, and the roads in town were still treacherous.

I talked to more people than I could possibly count over the past month. Long-time supporters who have followed my work for years stopped by to say hi or add to their collections. People I’ve never met were delighted to tell me they own one of my pieces from a vacation somewhere, and they were surprised to meet the artist who created it. I even met folks who’ve bought my art through Diamond Art Club, one of my licensing clients.

I also met locals who know my editorial cartoons and have seen my animal art, but had no idea the same person makes both. That’s not uncommon. People often recognize one or the other.

Mostly though, I met people who had never seen my work before and told me how unique it felt compared to everything else they were seeing. They asked great questions, and we ended up talking about what it’s like to be an artist right now, including how AI is affecting the art world. That part was prompted by the little signs I added to my booth this year and the video display showing my process.

And on that note, Merriam-Webster’s word of the year is slop: digital content of low quality that is produced (usually in quantity) by means of artificial intelligence.

As expected, my 2026 calendars sold out, as did several best-selling prints (thankfully not until the last weekend). In hindsight, I ordered well this year, and there’s nothing I would have changed. It’s a good feeling to know I didn’t leave much on the table.
Highland Cow, Snow Queen, Otter, Sire, Kodiak Cub, Raven on White, and Winter Wolf were all popular again this year. Spa Day, one of my personal favourites, seemed to find its audience this year and was more popular than it has ever been. It ended up as my second best-seller after Highland Cow.
After the first weekend, I was disappointed that my latest Snowy Owl painting didn’t seem to resonate, but it was a slow burn. By the end of the market it was in the Top 10 out of the 40 paintings I had on offer, so I’ll gladly take that win.
The week after the Banff Christmas Market is still a busy one, but most of it is thankfully spent at home.

One thing about the market is the seasonal atmosphere. With the wood-burning fire pits outside, it feels like a proper Christmas village. People gather around with hot chocolate (or something stronger), eat from the food trucks, and soak it all in. A very convincing Santa makes the rounds and poses for photos, and all that’s missing is a few reindeer wandering around.

The consequence, though, is wood smoke. It gets into everything, and with the doors constantly opening and closing, I come home each day smelling like I’ve been camping. So every week I’m washing layers and winter coats, and after tear-down, my tablecloths, drapery, and booth covers all smell strongly of smoke. Six loads of laundry on Monday.

I enjoy the ambience of an airtight wood stove at the cabin I rent with friends, but outdoor fires don’t appeal to me anymore. I think it’s because I now associate the smell with forest fires. When this valley fills with smoke in the summer, it’s a reminder that evacuating is always a possibility.

Before I put all the booth hardware, displays, lights, and support kit away until April (Calgary Expo), I do a full inventory of what came home: stickers, magnets, coasters, prints, tote bags, metal and canvas prints. In a couple of months, when I start ordering for Expo, my future self will be grateful I did the work now.

Before the market, I had to remove a lot from my online store so I didn’t accidentally sell something online that had already sold at the market. This week I had to add it all back, though there’s a lot less than there was.
I’m an introvert, like a lot of artists I know. I’m most comfortable working alone in a quiet place, so after all the noise and interaction, plus an incredibly busy schedule for the past couple of months (when I was already running on fumes), it takes a toll.

Newspapers put their holiday issues to bed early this time of year, so I had to draw nine cartoons this week to accommodate that. The upside is that next week I should be able to take some time for me.

That means painting what I want to paint. And with nowhere to be, I’m planning to indulge in a couple of guilt-free afternoon naps.

I have a half-finished raven painting I’ve been missing, and I’d like to get back to it. I’ve also been itching to do another painting in the same spirit as my popular Peanuts image. I’m not trying to replicate its success, I just miss spending a few hours on a close-up of a grizzly bear face, which is still my favourite kind of face to paint.

After all the human interaction lately, all I want for Christmas is some quiet time at home without deadlines.

So yesterday, I spent some time in the grizzly folder of my photo archive and found the reference I needed to paint the image in my head. Even though I have photos from many years ago up until this year, the main reference I chose came from a bunch of photos my friend Serena at Discovery Wildlife Park generously shared with me the last time I was there this fall.

I’ve got more to say on this topic, but my biggest failure this year has been balancing business and creativity. When art pays the bills, it’s hard not to ask myself for each new painting, “Will this be popular? Will it sell? Should I paint something else?”

But I also know that if money becomes the prime metric for deciding what to paint, it will rob the life and personality from my work. So that’s what I’m up against in the coming year: how do I create art that I’m proud of and enjoy, while still thinking like a business owner?
Ending the year painting a grizzly bear face will hopefully help me take some first steps toward better perspective. None of us gets out of this alive, and I’m desperate to use my time better.

Though I’m emotionally and physically tired and selfishly clinging to some alone time right now, I don’t want to sound ungrateful for the past couple of months of craziness. I truly enjoyed meeting so many of you at the Banff Christmas Market, especially those of you who come every year. You say such nice things about my artwork, and while compliments are always a little uncomfortable, they do help quiet the demons that tell every artist their work is never good enough.

So thank you to all of you who found me at the booth, took time for a chat, and took a little bit of my work home with you. I hope you put it somewhere it can make you smile, and that you notice it most on the days you really need it. And if you bought it to give to somebody else, thanks for helping my work travel a little further.

However you spend the next couple of weeks, whether with family, friends, or taking a little time for yourself, I hope you enjoy it.

Merry Christmas, and I’ll see you in the new year.

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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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