Laura Power
Northern News Services
Published Friday, December 7, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - Brian Macdonald, who moved to Yellowknife as a kid in 1968, never gave up after he flunked Art 10 at Sir John Franklin high school.

In fact, to this day some buildings around town are painted with his murals depicting Yellowknife scenes.

Brian Macdonald, left, stands with an old friend, Brock "Rocky" Parsons, during Macdonald's painting exhibit in Centre Square Mall last week. - Laura Power/NNSL photo

"I just continued to paint. By 1980 I was having shows," he said.

His most recent show took place last week in Centre Square Mall.

"There's a huge history and talent in this community that never got shown, so as an example to other artists in this town I thought I'd do a show like the old days," he said.

The exhibit included 25 recent paintings of the Yellowknife he and some friends remember growing up in, which he says is much different from the city today.

"The kids had a lot of respect for the seniors and the seniors had a lot of respect for the kids," he said. "We (had) a very family-oriented community, and we grew up with some pretty good strong values and morals."

Macdonald also said he remembers a time when people weren't as segregated. His exhibit served as a way to remind people of the way it used to be.

"A lot of our elders, seniors think the world forgot about them," he said.

The show began on Thursday when he invited seniors to come out and revisit old memories while taking a look at his watercolour art. But it wasn't just about memories - the show was also a window into the past for newcomers to the city.

"They have no way to identify with Yellowknife, so it was a way for people to reconnect to the community," he said.

Macdonald said he lost his eyesight for five years, and when he finally got it back he wanted to do something positive with his regained vision.

"I thought I'd just put my feelings on a wall and see what kind of reaction I get," he said. "I had to put Kleenex out for some of it."

Though all of his work at the exhibit sold, he said that wasn't the main goal. He is already planning another exhibit for sometime later in the winter.