Court Painter Introduction:

A self-proclaimed political junkie, artist Allan Harding MacKay creatively digitizes his satirical take on the recurring political and celebrity buffoonery in Canada and beyond. The characters featured in his digital illustrations either occupy the electoral and celebrity centre stage or cunningly manipulate it from the wings.

Depending on the shifting political ,celebrity and social landscape, images of these players are plucked from the Internet and inserted into various staged settings, also sourced online. Begun in mid-2013 as a light-hearted email series for friends, these creations provide AHM with a humorous outlet to vent his opinions and comment on the daily news he avidly consumes.

AHM’s meticulously constructed digital illustrations adopt the vantage point of the Court Painter—a satirical chronicler of local, national, and international politicos, players, journalists, and hangers-on. This persona revives the traditional, often adversarial relationship between the court artist and the court fool, turning a critical eye toward those who see themselves as cultural, political, and ruling elites. The result echoes the spirit of 18th- and 19th-century satirists and social critics as well as contemporary practitioners.

Accompanying texts often blend researched journalistic content with original commentary and the occasional satirical text assist from ChatGPT. Court Painter, it must be noted, does not use AI applications or prompts for any images created for the posts. Images are created by a digital cut and paste method.

The Court Painter conceit lays bare a bemused contemporary obsession with political peccadilloes, poking fun at our collective public conscience.

AHM ’s artist friend, Professor Emeritus John Will, plays the part of the Court Painter. A practicing artist and retired Professor Emeritus from the University of Calgary, Will’s real-life persona is no less theatrical. A. Hardon MacKay, Press Attaché to the Court Painter, credits the revival of Will’s dormant career to his assuming the role of the Great Dominion’s preeminent portraitist of pompous political personages and ailing celebrities.

A H MacKay represents the Court Painter as A Hardon MacKay Press Attache & Communications Strategist

Gallery Exhibitions of Court Painter selected panels have taken place at the Cube Gallery in Ottawa, The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in Banff and The Trianon Gallery in Lethbridge.