I know a couple of business owners in Canmore who were inundated with requests to support every local event, fundraiser or charity for years. Because of the nature of the business, the requests were often for supplies, products or staff to support an event.
They’re generous guys and genuinely like to help the community, but each request failed to consider that they were the fifth one that week. If the guys said they couldn’t help, suddenly they were the villains.
They decided to pick one cause that mattered to them and give their full support. That way, they still got to do their part. And when the inevitable next request came in, they could say, “We’d love to help, but our charitable efforts support (insert name here).”
I often get requests to donate artwork, money, or even commissions. But years ago, I decided to follow the same route and only donate my time, efforts and funds to support wild animals. For years, I’ve made an automatic monthly donation to The Alberta Birds of Prey Foundation in Coaldale, Alberta.
I know the money they get supports an independent operation with hardworking people. Colin Weir has worked for decades rescuing eagles, owls, hawks and other birds, rehabilitating and releasing them back into the wild. They’re a registered charity and receive no government funding. Though I don’t get there as often as I’d like, each time I go, I see the evidence of their great work.
Though they don’t make a lot of requests and sell my work in their gift shop, I donate my skills to Discovery Wildlife Park. Each year, I update their park map to reflect any changes. I’ve done a life-size cartoon bear portrait for them, and they know they can ask for my help whenever needed.
I’m not breaking the bank with either of those donations, but if I can save them a little on graphic design costs here and there, I’m happy to help. As for the bird sanctuary, regular monthly donations allow a charity or cause to budget for future projects and operating costs because they know that money from their regular donors is coming next month and the month after.
I hear from time to time that I should do a special edition series or offer some item and give a share of the profits to a charity. When you make a donation contingent on sales, it can come across as a marketing gimmick rather than a genuine desire to help a charity. There’s also little accountability unless you’re willing to open your books to the public. By donating to causes personally important to me, it has nothing to do with whether an item sold well or not.
So today, on Giving Tuesday, a day after the traditional excess of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals and discount shopping, I have a request. No, I’m not asking you to send me money or buy my stuff.
I’d like to encourage you to find a cause you can support with a small monthly donation.
Do a little research. Find a cause you care about that may not get much support but really needs it. It’s easy to give to the massive global or national machine charities whose names we all know, but many of them are bloated with bureaucracy, and the money you send each month may go to some board member’s parking reimbursement or pay for their breakfast at a convention.
Find something small, maybe even local, where your donation matters. When you can’t donate your time, a little money each month will support the efforts of those who can.
We’re constantly assaulted with bad news, but good people do great work every day to try and make a difference. Help a few of them out if you can.
Cheers,
Patrick
Though Sarah and her spouse live near Edmonton, and I could ship the painting, she and her Mom had planned for a couple of nights in Canmore this past weekend, and I delivered the 18”X24” stretched canvas to their hotel. I took them outside into the sunlight for the reveal so they could see the bright colours and the details. Whether on paper, metal or canvas, my work always looks better in print than on a screen. People have been saying that to me for years. Sarah said it, too.
Despite the bright sun, I got some shots of the two black bear cubs. There might be inspiration for a painting or two in the few photos I kept, but I will let them simmer and review them in a few months. My mood and circumstances can colour my perception, so shots that don’t inspire me in August might push the right buttons in January.
Although I prefer to take my own reference photos whenever possible, I am not interested in becoming a professional photographer. Connecting the dots between aperture, shutter speed and ISO and understanding how they work together, it just seems like math and bores the hell out of me.
I know that hook because I have it for drawing and painting. I can spend hours detailing little hairs or working to get the texture of a bear’s nose just right. I am confident that would be incredibly dull for most people.
So, while I revel in learning a photography trick or technique that helps me take better reference, like 
At the end of July, on the day I sent 
Though most of Alberta had been dealing with heavy wildfire smoke that week, it completely cleared up by the time I got to the cabin and stayed that way the whole four days we were there. The temperature even dropped to a comfortable level and we got some welcome rain. In fact, on the first night, it cooled off so much that we wondered if we might need a fire in the wood stove. Given the oppressive heat we’d just escaped, we had no appetite for that. But wearing long pants and a hoodie seemed strange that evening, given how uncomfortable the past month had been.
Even though I couldn’t turn off my busy brain, it was good to get away. We did what we always do: sat around talking, napped on the decks in the afternoon, walked around the large property, and played guitar, cards and Scrabble. Yes, we’re boring old men.
It was a very pretty and delightfully cool morning, and I knew there would be plenty of time to nap on the deck later in the day, so my mood improved. I wandered up the road, spooked a few deer and watched them take off across the neighbour’s newly cut and bailed hayfield. I kept my eyes peeled for other wildlife, hoping for an owl or coyote.
The base of the tree she ran up to escape was twenty feet below me down the steep bank, so her ‘safe height’ now put her at eye level with me as I stood on the road. And she was NOT happy about it.
Though I had done what I could to boost my exposure compensation to account for the dark area in which I was shooting, I needed to keep the shutter speed high to try to capture this quick little marten. In the end, none of the pictures I got were very good, but I enjoyed the moment. I don’t know if I have ever seen a pine marten in the wild, but I was pleased with the early morning treat.
.
Today is World Press Freedom Day. As part of the observance of this reminder of the importance of journalistic freedom around the world, 
I enjoyed drawing this cartoon, though I learned long ago that what I think is clever and what other people like can be very different things. It’s a running gag between my wife and me that if I think a cartoon is particularly good, it won’t get printed anywhere. But if I send out one that meets the strict quality control metric of “good enough to meet my daily deadline,” that’s the one that gets printed and complimented the most.
When I first moved to Canmore in 2001, I worked for a sign shop for a few years. Every place I’ve worked taught me skills I’ve applied to my own business. From that job, I learned design techniques, colour theory and how to create vector art. I still use vector paths and Bezier curves for clean ink lines in my editorial cartoons, a skill I learned at Canmore Sign Co.
These are larger die-cut stickers than you will generally find, each around 4” X 5”. I didn’t want to shrink them down and lose the personality for which my whimsical critters are known. I also wanted people to have the option of putting them on vehicle windows, so they’re made from long-lasting, weather-resistant, high-quality vinyl. Finally, I chose a matte finish over glossy for better visibility in changing light.
