I just got back from Chatham, Ontario where we finished up their first CK CanJam; an event where they brought a group of artists from all over the place to this regional town to paint its walls.

The organiser (Sarah Steele), collected a team of artists there were a couple locals involved but she also recruited some from all over the place including Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Windsor, Quebec and myself the Australian.

Benjamin Moore Paints and Montana Cans both looked after us when it came to paint supplies, sponsoring the event. It was my second real time properly playing around with the Gold and Black range of Montana. I remember trying the White range as a teenager and not enjoying it, but I grew curious after seeing some of Adnates portraits back home; I’ve only ever seen him use their paint.
After using their paint for the week, I have a few observations. It kind of feels more like using a Belton than a Mtn 94 can especially in how the paint comes out (very misty and light compared to thick and heavy with pigment).
I also noticed the spray caps I usually use seemed to handle the paint differently to what I was familiar with. My go to cap for a lot of work is the yellow universal nib, using a soft amount of pressure you can range from thin, spitty, almost pencil-like lines to sharp solid lines with a bit more pressure, then to soft, controlled tone shifts with a bit of controlled distance.
I found while using gold cans, I lost a lot of control that I usually find with the universal BUT I tried using a thin grey cap (I heard it get called a Skinny German, but on their website its labelled as a “Montana Outline Cap”) and found it to be more responsive. Next time I use their paint I wont bother with the universals, I’ll just use these (I do have a feeling that they’d probably clog if I tried using them with other brands of paint, idk I’ll give it a shot sometime).

The artists attending the event all stayed in the local Retro Suites, a hotel where each room is themed, which was a fun surprise. It was a nice spot, lots to see, clean and comfortable. We were greeted with a welcome bag from the event organisers filled with goodies from local artists and the community, it was a great way to make everyone feel instantly welcomed.

Chatham is known for its crow population, during October I was told the sky is flooded with migrating crows that come through the town each year. Its been dubbed crow city for this reason. Because of this quirk, there is both a Crow city barbers, and a Crow city cafe, along with other businesses incorporating crows into their branding. It also meant that crows were a reoccurring theme in a couple of the murals.

My spot that I was painting was located on top of a building looking down onto a carpark. I thought I’d be losing a little bit of weight climbing up the two flights of stairs, down a ladder then up some scaffolding then back down again to see what the work looks like from ground level but we were taken such good care of with food and snacks that I ended up gaining a little instead of losing some weight.

I also brought my film camera with me and took a bunch of photos that I got developed when I arrived back in Toronto. I scanned them in and was pretty happy with a bunch of them. There are some that I’ll be keeping as personal memories but I can share a couple from the trip. Next time I’ll be taking a lot more film.

Rooftop painting, using a lot of housepaint and some spray cans

This building was diagonally across from where I was painting, I really liked looking at it and got plenty of photos of the sun hitting it and casting different shadows throughout the day

Theres something about barns over here that I find really special. I have a dream of one day buying one and turning the inside of it into a living space

@Fel3000ft painted a tooth fairy piece for kids to get photos in front of when they lose their teeth.

@mck_studio had the largest mural and she did an amazing job with the space she had. Its hard to put into words how amazing this piece looks in person.

I do wish I got more photos of everyones work. It was so nice meeting all the different artists both local and visiting.
I thought it’d be nice to list off links for people involved. If you haven’t checked them out on insta, please do, they’re all great.
–CKCanJam (Event page)
–Steele_stuff (Who put made this whole thing possible)
–Fel3000ft (Detroit)
–Mck_studio (Ontario (I think?))
–Czrprzart (Chicago)
–Derkz (Windsor, Ontario)
–Sarahmrobbins_ (Ontario)
–D.terrastencils (Toronto, Ontario)
–Chaliftat2 (Quebec)
–Ucaqc (Quebec)
(If I left any out, give me a heads up, Its not a deliberate slight!)

The week was filled with friendly artists bonding over a shared love of making, and was such a positive experience.
If theres any excuse in the future to meet up with these artists, or visit Chatham again, I’ll make it a top priority to be there. It was such a special week.