From the Georgia Straight, original here:
On a covered sidewalk on West Cordova Street, where the smell of vomit and urine hangs in the air, Ken Foster talked about what it takes to push the boundaries of his art.
A homeless artist whose work is well known on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, Foster paints on materials he picks up in alleys, like discarded construction signs.
"I'll sell it for $6, maybe, and with that buy a can of paint," Foster related. "And so I end up doing 10 paintings before I finally get enough supplies to make one painting that is actually pushing a boundary of any sort, or furthering, you know what I mean, like, any sort of importance."
When the Georgia Straight caught up with the 37-year-old street artist, Foster's challenges were a lot greater. A Sharpie pen was all that was left of his possessions because of the recent street sweeps by city crews and the police on the Downtown Eastside.
"The last time, they threw out my wheelchair, $150 worth of paint, my backpack, my ID, and I don't own anything other than what you see right here," he said, showing the pen.
Foster recalled one incident. "They said, 'You have half an hour to get that cleaned up; get somebody to help you move it out of here,' " he said. "So I had gone. I came back 15 minutes later. It wasn't even half an hour. And they had thrown it all, and they're laughing at me."
And the police who accompanied the city crew? "They're laughing at me too," Foster said.
