iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Hilary Farmer @hilaryfarmer.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Two recent plein air paintings from the arts event May’d on Gabriola! “Room with a View” and “Entrance Island, May” both 8”x10” oil on panel #oilpainting #gabriolaisland #canadianartist #pleinairpainting #gsky

Plein air oil painting showing various plants and shrubs near a small shed/studio building across a road from the ocean with the distant coast in the background and scudding clouds

Plein air oil painting with a foreground of lawn and plants including a tamerisk tree framing a view to Entrance Island with its red-roofed buildings and lighthouse. The coastal mountains can be seen beyond.

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Hilary Farmer @hilaryfarmer.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Just finished! Garden Fantasy 1, 2, and 3 (each 12”x12” ink and oil on raised panel) These intuitive pieces grew from a few flower shapes and evolved. Full disclosure- my garden does NOT look like this! 😆 Except hummingbirds! #blueskyartist #canadianartist #gabriolasky #gabriolaisland

Ink and oil painting of a lush garden with irises and other flowers and a female Anna’s hummingbird.

Ink and oil painting of a lush garden with amaryllis and other flowers and a male Anna’s hummingbird.

Ink and oil painting of garden with Crocosmia and other flowers.

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Omg. WTF is Happening? @lalahaenzy.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again. #Pinks #ProudBlue

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Laura Bassett @lebassett.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

Roses are red Nazis are lurking Beware of them here because

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Hilary Farmer @hilaryfarmer.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

Wish all a peaceful and fulfilling New Year. (On the Wing, 8”x10” oil on panel) #oilpainting #blueskyart #Canadianartist #Gabriola #gsky

Oil painting of wild Canada geese flying past the sun.

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Hilary Farmer @hilaryfarmer.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

Larger piece I finished today. “Morning Flight” 24”x36” ink and oil on canvas.

Ink and oil painting of a heron flying over the ocean with land and some trees on either side. The sun is burning through the mist. The sky is yellow and pink. The water reflects the sky and trees. All in a painterly impressionistic style.

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Hilary Farmer @hilaryfarmer.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

“Poised” ink and oil on 5”diameter tondo! A little red squirrel to cheer you up. 🙂 #blueskyart #oilpainting #inkandoil #redsquirel #canadianartist #animalpainting

Round painting in ink and oil of a red squirrel ready to lead off a mossy stump.

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Protect Our Province BC @protectbc.bsky.social · 02/11/2025

Covid poses an "existential threat to human health". Every infection increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, dementia, dysregulation of the immune system and reactivation of viral infections. Children are having Long COVID. thetyee.ca/Analysis/202...

thetyee.ca

This Physicist Says We Don’t Take COVID Seriously Enough | The Tyee

We downplay the virus at our peril, warns Yaneer Bar-Yam. And children are more at risk than we thought.

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Hilary Farmer @hilaryfarmer.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

New painting! “Sunflower Path” (12”x24” ink and oil on raised panel) The local community gardens are so inspiring right now! #oilpainting #gskyart #gsky #sunflowers #sunflowerpainting

Ink and oil painting of tangled garden with sunflowers.

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Tom Radcliffe @tjradcliffe.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

My letter to BC Premier David Eby, BC Health Minister Josie Osborne, my local MLA, and my local MP on measles in BC. Please feel free to share, or weep, or whatever you find appropriate. Many thanks to @beansproutsmom.bsky.social for motivating me to keep up with the data, which led to this letter.

worldofwonders.substack.com

This is a Warning

British Columbia has measles

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Hilary Farmer @hilaryfarmer.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

Upcoming joint open studio with Elsa Bluethner! If you’re in the area, we’d love to see you this Saturday, 30th of August between 11 and 3pm! #oilpainting #localartist #gsky #gabriola #isleofthearts

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Hilary Farmer @hilaryfarmer.bsky.social · 30/07/2025

Delighted to have a selection of my work up at Nova Gallery, Gabriola! Check it out if you’re in the area. 🙂

Photo of a wall with 8 pieces of my art of various sizes and subjects inspired by the local landscape, oceans and wildlife.

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Tom Radcliffe @tjradcliffe.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

The failure of the liberal order to deal effectively and honestly with the ongoing pandemic has created fractures that fascists are busily widening while the left continues to chip away at the foundations. Stronger liberalism--a deep commitment to the effective rule of law for all--is the answer.

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DoNoHarm BC @donoharmbc.bsky.social · 25/07/2025

Advocacy alert 📣 Until August 19, you can give input on a game-changing national standard requiring N95s & other respirators in healthcare (and beyond)! To make it easier to take part, we've created a plain-language explainer that includes some sample feedback: donoharmbc.ca/national-sta...

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Tom Radcliffe @tjradcliffe.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

"Upgrade public buildings, including hospitals, long-term care facilities, and schools, to ASHRAE 241 standard and guideline 44 air ventilation standards." Damn right. If we'd started on that two years ago when it was obviously necessary we'd have one more tool in the kit against measles right now.

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Hilary Farmer @hilaryfarmer.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

Three new mini paintings (4”x4“) with bees (and one hoverfly/bee look-alike) #oilpainting #blueskyartists #bumblebees #beesandflowers #pollinators

Ink and oil painting- Bumblebee on French lavender

Ink and oil painting- hoverfly on feverfew

Ink and oil painting- bumblebee on California lilac

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Tom Radcliffe @tjradcliffe.bsky.social · 14/06/2025

Little ditty written for the occasion tomorrow. Feel free to share it, riff on it, you name it. No Truce With Kings.

No Truce With Kings
(After "The Old Issue" by Rudyard Kipling)
[To the tune of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic"]

All we have of freedom, and our precious liberty
was wrestled from the hands of Kings and cruel Nobility
Today we stand united and we'll not go quietly
We'll make no truce with Kings!

Chorus:
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! We'll make no truce with Kings!

A thousand years in making we can lose it overnight:
our freedom and our honour and our sacred human right
to live beneath the law in peace. For these we now will fight!
We have no use for Kings!

[Chorus]

We will not follow liars who will flood the zone with shit
We know just what they're after and we're having none of it
We'll take our hard-won science over any Holy Writ
We won't bow down to Kings!

[Chorus]

The King may own the billionaires but we fight in the streets
The King may break the judges and the law firms so elite
The Deans of higher learning may bow down to kiss his feet
But still we'll beat the King!

[Chorus]

Slovenly and sullen, savage, uncontrolled,
This flailing Royal Wannabe is rash but never bold
He has not learned the lesson of the English Kings of old:
The Law's above the King!

[Chorus]

We are not free of error, and we sometimes make mistakes,
We're heirs to great injustices, so let's do what it takes
To reach out to our allies all around a world that shakes
With raging little Kings!

[Chorus]

Now hear the trumpet calling far across the sea and sky
The lonely note reminds us all that someday we will die
But while we live we will not yield so hear our words on high:
We won't obey this King!

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! We'll make no truce with Kings!

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Hilary Farmer @hilaryfarmer.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

I bought some old-fashioned red roses at the market last weekend …so of course I had to paint them! (“Red Roses” 9”x12” ink and oil on raised panel) #blueskyartists #oilpainting #redroses #inkandoil #floralpainting

Ink and oil painting of red roses in a glass vase against a forest background.

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Tom Radcliffe @tjradcliffe.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

Vote as if your country depends on it. Vote as if your future depends on it. Vote as if democracy and the rule of law depend on it. But most of all: VOTE! We have a freedom beyond any ancestral dreams, to choose who leads us. Rare beyond words. Use that freedom today to preserve it for tomorrow

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Hilary Farmer @hilaryfarmer.bsky.social · 19/04/2025

“There was a Time, Olebar Point” (8”x10” oil on raised panel). I was out painting yesterday. What a gorgeous morning and how fortunate I feel to be able to live here and do this. After a few tweaks in the studio here it is. #blueskyartists #oilpainting #pleinairpainting #localbeauty #nostalgia

An oil painting painted plein air showing a spring landscape. Aquant old shed and sign are almost hidden by shrubs and flowers. A road curves around showing a peeking view of the ocean and Vancouver Island beyond.

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Emily Baron Cadloff @emilybaroncadloff.bsky.social · 12/04/2025

It's Fact Check Friday....(and/or, um, Saturday!) For this week: Are there foreign governments meddling in our election? Do safe consumption sites work? Find out here and watch @rachelgilmore.bsky.social's comprehensive breakdown on youtube/tiktok/insta/wherever you can.

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Hilary Farmer @hilaryfarmer.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

A cheery floral painting to brighten your day. “Market Daffodils” (8”x8” oil on raised panel) #blueskyartist #oilpainting #floral #daffodils #spring

Oil pain of a bunch of daffodils in a glass pitcher sitting on a colourful cloth in front of an abstract background.

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Hilary Farmer @hilaryfarmer.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

Delighted that my painting “Descano Bay Path” has been juried in to the Federation of Canadian Artists “Landscapes” show. You’ll be able to see it in their Granville Island Gallery from May 12 to June 1st, 2025. #blueskyartist #oilpainting #inkandoil #canadianartist #gabriola #gsky

Ink and oil painting of a coastal B.C. scene. A path winds down a hill covered in glowing moss and ferns. Arbutus trees lean towards the light as if towards a better future.

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Hilary Farmer @hilaryfarmer.bsky.social · 06/04/2025

Just finished 4 new 4”x4” minis - birds for our times. “Anna’s Alert”, “Defiant Towhee”, ”Ready Wren”, and “Watchful Nuthatch” #blueskyartist #oilpainting #inkandoil #minipaintings #canadianartist

Ink and oil painting of Anna’s hummingbird looking fiercely at the viewer with a woodsy backdrop.

An oil painting of a Pacific Wren perched on a twig and looking ready for anything.

Oil painting of a spotted towhee perched on a mossy rock in the woods. He has a defiant glint in his eye!

Oil painting of a nuthatch walking down a tree truck looking focused and watchful.

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Hilary Farmer @hilaryfarmer.bsky.social · 06/04/2025

“Spring Day at Olebar Point” (8”x10” oil on raised panel) I was out painting plein air with a friend yesterday. Lovely afternoon! Here it is after some studio tweaks. #blueskyartist #oilpainting #pleinairpainting #gsky #canadianartist

Oil painting of the ocean shore with rocks and some washed up logs. In the foreground, a bunch of daffodils bloom with wind blown trees beyond. Past that is Entrance Island with hints of the lighthouse buildings and the mainland in the distance.

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Greg Blee @gregblee.ca · 05/04/2025

Over 60 people joined today’s #HandsOff support rally, here on Gabriola Island, BC, Canada. We stand with the US against authoritarianism!

Sixty people stand against the Gabriola Arts Centre, holding Canadian flags and signs supporting the many #HandsOff rallies against authoritarianism in the US today.

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Louise in Ontario🇨🇦 @grammalou.bsky.social · 05/04/2025

Why would anyone risk travel to the USA? New travel advice from Canadian government… www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

"U.S. authorities strictly enforce entry requirements. Expect scrutiny at ports of entry, including of electronic devices. Comply and be forthcoming in all interactions with border authorities. If you are denied entry, you could be detained while awaiting deportation," the website now reads.

Expect extra questions, take a burner phone: Immigration lawyers weigh in on travel to the U.S.
Agents with U.S. Border Patrol have long had the power to ask to search travellers' belongings, but the Canadian government updated its online guidance to include the extra warning this week — a change that comes as the nations' long-friendly relationship breaks down under the pressure of the Trump administration's war on trade.

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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 05/04/2025

For Canadians looking for a guide on the candidates' housing plans, I've just unlocked this piece so that everyone can read: www.bugeyedandshameless.com/p/who-has-th...

bugeyedandshameless.com

Who Has the Best Housing Plan?

Canada has a housing shortage. Who has a plan for housing abundance?

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Emma Evans @trance.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

Also I hope we're all on this same page EVERYONE needs to be brought out of that El Salvadorian hell hole they were ALL wrongfully deported. I mean it's good to focus on 'And this guy was here legally and not ever a gang member AND they're Venezuelan' but NO ONE should've been sent there

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Hilary Farmer @hilaryfarmer.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

I was out on Monday plein air painting. March was a wet month so I didn’t get out much and …got rained on anyway! Nevertheless, it was a lovely spring day to spend painting outside. I’m calling this “Early Blossoms, Berry Point” (8”x10” oil on raised panel) #blueskyartist #gsky #oilpainting

Oil painting of a country laneway with blooming fruit trees and a moss-roofed fruit stand. Beyond is a stand of fir trees and a blue sky with wispy clouds.

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Hilary Farmer @hilaryfarmer.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

For locals! My Tai Chi Foundations class will start up in May. Please let me know if you’re interested! Info on attached poster. #Gabriola #gsky #taichiclassesonGabe

Tai Chi poster with information about classes including start date 12 May, 2025 at the Commons on Gabriola Island.

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Tom Radcliffe @tjradcliffe.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

Vote like the future of Canada as a free and independent nation depends on it, because it does. While I'm not a fan of strategic voting--nor of the many "PR" systems that are nothing but partisan power-grabs, although are few like Random Ballot are much better than FPTP--I'm voting strategically now

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Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 30/03/2025

Millions of you, around the world, have put the lessons I wrote in #OnTyranny in late 2016 to good use. It has been humbling to learn how from courageous and creative dissenters, protestors, and oppositionists. I was honored when John Lithgow volunteered to read them aloud.

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Hilary Farmer @hilaryfarmer.bsky.social · 30/03/2025

Another heron painting! “Keeping Watch” (12”x16” oil on raised panel) I really pushed the saturation of the colour palette with this one. There’s a contrast between the vigilance of the heron and the almost hyper-idealized landscape. #blueskyartist #oilpainting #heronpainting #canadianartist #gsky

Oil painting of a heron standing on the shore looking out towards the ocean. The colour palette is pushed to hyper saturated.

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SpacePrez @spaceprez.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

Marco Rubio just made the argument, bold faced, not a mistake an intentional statement, that at any time the US can revoke your visa and then you are instantly here illegally and they can arrest you, deport you, torture you, all without any due process. That means the United States is simply unsafe

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Chuck Wendig @chuckwendig.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

It's not knee-jerk. It's an environmentally-destructive technology designed to fetishize idea over effort and excise artists from art in order to make techlords richer by plagiarizing pre-existing material made by *actual* creative people and not quote-unquote "prompt engineers."

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JP Serra 🇨🇦 @jpontherun.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

One of my favorite local cafés in Montreal now serves “America No.” Love it! #ElbowsUp

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Hilary Farmer @hilaryfarmer.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

Another heron painting! This one is called “Going Home” (9”x12” oil on raised panel) Inspired by local herons and landscape. #blueskyartist #oilpainting #heronpainting #canadianartist #gsky

Oil painting of a great blue heron flying from shore heading off to roost with a sunset-golden sky and ocean.

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Tom Radcliffe @tjradcliffe.bsky.social · 23/03/2025

"From 2014 to 2023, Alberta’s GDP grew 2.1% in chained dollars. Not 2.1% a year - 2.1% total. In the same period, Quebec’s economy grew 17%, and Ontario’s 18%. On a per capita basis, Alberta is down 10% over those 9 years." Canada is not beholden to the far right leader of a waning petro-economy.

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News Eye @newseye.bsky.social · 22/03/2025

NEW: Elon Musk’s X has suspended accounts of Turkish opposition groups, suppressing footage of anti-government protests. So, best we share all the footage we can here! This was last night’s massive demo against Erdogan’s government, which follows the arrest of his rival Ekrem İmamoğlu. 🇹🇷 #Turkey

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Hilary Farmer @hilaryfarmer.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

MAY’d on the ROCK May 17-18 #21 - Gabriola Plein Air Painters Hilary Farmer draws on her many artistic skills and mediums. She has an uncanny ability to capture the natural environment with empathy. Hilary will be painting at a location on Gabriola Island. Check out the map and you'll find them!

Photograph of Hilary Farmer painting en plein air at an outdoor event on Gabriola Island in early spring.

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Hilary Farmer @hilaryfarmer.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

Inspired by recent sightings of great blue herons. They always look like prehistoric creatures to me - especially when flying. I call this one “Survivor” (9”x12” oil on raised panel) #blueskyartist #oilpainting #britishcolumbia #canadianartist #gsky

Oil painting of a great blue heron in flight against a glowing yellow ocean and sky.

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Tom Radcliffe @tjradcliffe.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

For folks in BC, David Eby's e-mail address is premier@gov.bc.ca if you want to object to the blatant authoritarian power-grab that is Bill 7. The cure for authoritarianism is not "more authoritarianism" and "I must have unchecked power to save you!" is an authoritarian rallying cry. #bcpoli #ndp

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Rob Shaw: BC Conservatives slam Eby’s ‘dictatorial’ emergency powers

Bill 7 gives cabinet the power to rewrite laws behind closed doors

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Tom Radcliffe @tjradcliffe.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

This is good. Let's see more of this, please, Americans. For all our sakes.

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