It all started with a simple Christmas scene painted in the window of Morden’s Chicken Chef over three decades ago.
In the years since, Art Friesen has become the area’s go-to artist for holiday window decorations, his creations on display through November and December in dozens of stores and business across the Pembina Valley.
“It was 30, 35 years ago … I don’t even know when I started,” Friesen shares during a break from decorating the windows at the ALG Professional Centre in Winkler earlier this month.
“I had started a little sign shop and one day Chicken Chef called me and said, ‘Could you paint a Christmas thing for us?’ I was like, I don’t know, I’ve never done that before.”
But cartooning and caricatures had always been a fun hobby for him, and he figured holiday window scenes weren’t that different.
“So I just went for it,” he says, recalling that a lone poinsettia that first year took him the better part of a day to paint, the restaurant’s patrons watching behind him the whole way
“No pressure,” jokes Friesen. “At first it’s kind of intimidating, but over the years you tune it out. You’ve always got the smart-alec in the back, and that’s just fine, but you also have very encouraging people watching too.”
These days, Friesen can get a window pane done in about an hour or less, depending on the complexity of the piece.
“It’s really just learning what works and what doesn’t,” he says, explaining he uses a water-based paint that is hardy enough to withstand curious hands but easy for maintenance staff to wash off.
After that first Christmas, word of his skill spread, and today his handiwork can be seen in storefronts all over.
It’s makes for a busy few weeks for Friesen, who works at Eden’s Segue Career Options by day and so spends most evenings and weekends in November working on his window art.
“I work until five o’clock and then I turn my hat around and go paint,” he says.
He has a book of images he’s pulled together over the years that he can show to clients unsure about what they want on their windows. Repeat clients often just provide him with a general idea of what they’re looking for and let Friesen run with it.
“I enjoy it because it’s all freehand, so you can just let your imagination go,” he says. “I like it when I don’t have to follow the lines and get to just give ‘er.
“Nativity scenes, Santa Claus, winter wonderland, even the Grinch, there’s so many different ways it can go,” Friesen says. “I try to build on it, come up with new ideas every year so it doesn’t stay the same. You want people to notice it when they’re going by. That’s the whole reason—to keep it festive, to build community.”
He generally doesn’t start painting until after Remembrance Day, but from there on he’s kept busy making his way to venues all over Morden-Winkler. He’s also done paintings for various Altona businesses and this year has a gig with Homestead South’s facilities in Winnipeg and also the Ronald McDonald House.
Doing this kind of work has been incredibly rewarding for Friesen, who admits it’s quite a kick to see his art all over town.
He has so many fond memories, he shares, and more than a few funny encounters.
“Years back, I was painting and a mom and a little boy came by as I was doing a cartoon reindeer. I heard the mom through the glass say, ‘When we get back, you’ll see a reindeer there.’
“Awhile later I see the little guy come running down the sidewalk, all excited. He gets to my window, stands there, looks at the window and goes, ‘That’s a moose!’
“Everyone’s a critic,” Friesen laughs. “But it’s all good. I get to meet so many people doing this—half the fun is painting and meeting our community.”
