The Maillies would not be here today, I am referring to Canada, if my great-grandfather and granddad did not immigrate from Ireland in 1920. They first tried farming in Saskatchewan, and then settled in Kingston, Ontario, where granddad met grandmom, a woman of mixed Cree and French heritage, producing my father and several other siblings.
In time, my dad would join the army, move to Calgary, Alberta and marry my mom - Marie Parker, whose own heritage is an epic story of it's own. Her grandmother was a Ukrainian born in an Austrian refugee camp who immigrated to Smokey Lake, Alberta. My mother's father was an american of Irish background who did everything from being a boxer, to a cowboy, to a Canadian soldier. During my parents marriage they produced my brother David, sister Teresa and myself.
While growing up as an army brat, my art training started while drawing on the basement walls. I remember drawing a mural of a submarine fighting a battleship on my bedroom wall at the age of five. My mom liked the picture but still made me clean it up. As time went on my growing artistic skills won me a radio contest where you had to draw a picture of the Fox from Foxy Hollow. It was quite good if I remember correctly, especially the bowler hat. I graduated from the Alberta College of Art & Design in 1997 with a BFA in Printmaking. Better than the degree was meeting my wonderful wife Teresa who is also an artist. Since then I have had the pleasure of using techniques such as intaglio, wood lino relief to produce prints that have been shown in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.
By the way I still have the urge to draw on walls.
