I’m a father, a mountain addict and I like to paint.  I came to Whistler 10 years ago via Banff to pursue a career in ski guiding and wound up touring visitors and locals around our backcountry year-round on skis, sleds, ATVs and Hummers.  I got to know Whistler’s wilderness long before I knew her streets and neighbourhoods.

I also got to know her wildlife.  In particular a black bear dubbed “Davinci” by the local conservation officers for his penchant for eating paintballs. Over the several summers that I ran Whistler Paintball, Dav was a daily fixture, routinely interrupting games to amble on to the field and inhale a few hundred paintballs. Dav and I had an uneasy relationship at first, but over the years we developed a mutual respect for each other, and he would allow games to finish before taking the field. I am not the sentimental type, but Dav is an old soul, and we connected on some strange level.

My son was born in 2007, and one of my first gifts to him was a simple painting of Dav, which still hangs in his room. That first piece triggered a passion for creative expression, and since then I have continued to paint bears in the same simple, symbolic style. All of my pieces are original. I don’t do prints. Each of my bears has a different vibe depending on my mood and the music I was listening to while painting them, and each of them is named accordingly, as bears, not pieces of “art”.

The Photos

01 Me and my boyo.
02 Final approach to Wedge hut … one of my fave zones on the planet.
03 Pushing paint.
04 Finishing up another cub in the den.
05 I love Caesars and the feeling is mutual.
06 Stairway to Heaven.
07 Death grip shenanigans on Rainbow.
08 Dawson looking for the gas pedal at North Arm Farm.  Definitely his father’s son.

The Questions

What neighborhood do you live in?
Bayshores.

What do you do and where?
Parent, ski and paint.  Mostly in Whistler.  Occasionally I do other stuff for money.

What are you working on?
Being a good father.

Where can we find your work?
White Dog Studio Gallery, Elements restaurant, and my website; sidmcmillan.com