79-year-old retired B.C. logger becomes professional artist
Robert Burke is in the midst of an unexpected journey that began with a childhood he describes as “violent and chaotic.”
“You don’t have love. You don’t have family. So you pretty much just exist,” Robert recalls. “You have no choice. It’s either that or die.”
Robert says he learned to survive at a young age. He never knew his African American father, was abandoned by his Metis mother, and was forced to attend a residential school at age four.
Robert says he also had to endure never fitting in as Black or Indigenous.
“You’re odd man out,” Robert says. “You fought for your rights to exist. Period.”
After a decade at the residential school, Robert found work in the woods as a logging contractor and heavy machinery mechanic.
“There’s nothing cooler than being a logger,” he recalls with a smile.
During his downtime, Robert would draw and paint the equipment and scenery that surrounded him, making connections through his art.
“[People] saw my scene and then saw me,” Robert says, adding that painting in the bush inspired his co-workers to see beyond the colour of his skin.
“They saw a part that I had, that they didn’t expect out of me.”
After spending four decades in the logging industry, Robert was forced to retire at 53, before feeling compelled to go to art school.
“I had to be an artist,” Robert says. “I had to express these thoughts and all this experience I had in my past.”
Thanks to the work ethic he honed in the woods, Robert found a way to release his untapped talent and discover a unique “artistic voice.”
Now, Robert is expressing his traumatic childhood, complex identity and lost ancestry through bright, bold paintings with a positive perspective.
Some of his work can be viewed on his website.
“I hope people will see [the paintings] and say, ‘Well, he did this. He did that. Maybe I can do that,'” Robert says.
And perhaps other people with pasts lacking in love, will be inspired to create presents filled with it, like Robert has.
In addition to being a professional artist, the 79-year-old is a proud husband, father, and grandfather.
“You can have the hard times in between,” Robert smiles. “But as long as you recognized the good in your life, you’re a happy camper.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING King Charles' cancer treatment progressing well, says Buckingham Palace
King Charles III’s doctors are 'sufficiently pleased' with his cancer treatment and he is expected to return to public-facing duties, Buckingham Palace announced on Friday.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
AFN chief says Air Canada offered a 15% discount after her headdress was mishandled
After the Assembly of First Nations' national chief complained to Air Canada about how staffers treated her and her ceremonial headdress on a flight this week, she says the airline responded by offering a 15 per cent discount on her next flight.
Regina police officer injured after being accidentally shot by fellow officer's gun
An investigation is underway after a Regina police officer was accidentally shot by a fellow officer’s gun during the search of a house early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
DEVELOPING Bird flu outbreaks: WHO weighs in on public health risk
The current overall public health risk posed by the H5N1 bird flu virus is low, the World Health Organization said on Friday, but urged countries to stay alert for cases of animal-to-human transmission.
Taylor Swift dons Montreal designer's dress in 'Fortnight' video
A pair of Montreal designers' work has now been viewed over 41 million times. Taylor Swift dons a Victorian throwback black gown in her latest music video, 'Fortnight', designed by UNTTLD due Simon Belanger and Jose Manuel Saint-Jacques.
From faulty kids' cribs to flammable kids' bathrobes, here are the recalls of the week
Health Canada issued recalls for various items this week, including kids’ bathrobes, cribs and henna cones.
Island near Mull of Kintyre for sale for US$3.1 million
An idyllic 453-acre private island is up for sale off the west coast of Scotland and it comes with sandy beaches, puffins galore, seven houses, a pub, a helipad and a flock of black-faced sheep.