#106 Powell Street: (Skid Row - Vancouver, 1998)

This picture is of Keith Thomson and I.  We lived together in a communal artists live work space. #106 Powell Street, just below the Lucky Lodge Hotel was the address. The bathroom was something you would see in a Train Spotting movie. It was nothing out of the ordinary to be shaving or brushing ones teeth in the purple bathroom... look at  the reflection of your face in the broken mirror as cockroaches climbed up and down the wall.

Having never done drugs, never smoked, never even drank coffee. It was a real shock to move into an area so over powered by heavy drugs. When I moved in I was unaware that three of my roommates were addicted to heroin, and the fourth individual age 23 had Aids, and his health was not strong. His name was Fred.

Never stop painting.... every morning I would wake up at 7:30 - 8 o'clock and start painting. The music was turn down very low... not to wake people up. After a month... every one moved out with  the exception to Fred. New people moved in...that is when Keith Thomas moved in.

Keith Thompson (left) and Patrick John Mills (right). - 1998.

Keith walked into Metal Magic Studios... and smelt the paint fumes... and in less than five seconds of walking into the space decided he wanted to live there. We were friends before we meet. Keith did not own much. When he moved in he had his cloths in a medium size back pack, a bike, and his art materials on the handle bars of his bike... that was it.

My sister Kathy hocked me up with a construction job. The hours were from 5 - 2 am. Wanting to leave Vancouver and move to London (to be with Erika - now my wife).

After work I would return to #106 home. Keith and I would talk. One night at about 3:15 am creativity in surplus... we decided to go dumpster diving in the back alleys of East Vancouver. We collected fourteen panels... took them to a basketball court in a near by park and painted until 7:30 in the morning. The moon, black sky, the break of day - made us feel so alive. That was the first of many nights too come. In the end we completed 80 or so works and mounted them up all over the city of Vancouver.

Not having a care we transported all the artwork with a shopping cart. Half way through installing 18 pieces of artwork across the street from the Vancouver Stock Exchange a police car approached us. Keith, Fred, and I were shitting our pants. 'Our we going to get arrested?' Much to our surprise the police turned on its spotlights... and provided us with decent lighting in an effort to help us... and asked if we were ok.  A couple of nights later Keith and I returned with a couple more works of art, and it is then that above photo was taken.

I had saved up enough money to move to London. On a Friday I went to purchase a ticket. There was a seat sale, something you would expect to see on Lastminute.com. A one way ticket for $199 plus tax, but it left in three days.

Like rain drops of miracles.  I sold fourteen paintings to people I had never seen before... and left Vancouver with several thousands in my pocket.

I have tried to contact Keith many many times, but with no luck. From what I was told he moved out several weeks after I left and has not been heard of since.

As a special note:  I would like to thank Mark Sherritt and Matthew van Wollen for their overwhelming help at this period of my life.