Victoria may have the highest busker per person ratio in North America (aggressive ones too, just try walking away without giving up a few loonies). They also boast an incredibly high number of sidewalk vendors hawking everything from assembly line made miniature totem poles to delicately carved jade figurines. One of the most compelling vendor we met was artist Peter Robertson whose intricate ink drawings are a free flowing association game linking iconic rock stars with numbers, shamanistic imagery, and other artists. For example, his work “All Along the Watchtower” features songwriter Bob Dylan and Jim Hendrix along with a headshot of William Shakespeare, a couple of dates, a few numbers, butterflies, and other seemingly unrelated images. Ask Robertson what it all means, however, and he will walk you through his work until every symbol loops back to what he calls his “quasi-theme.” It is a dizzying process that maybe offers a tad of insight into the sprawling chaos of the universe. This may not be for everyone, but like the brilliant artists Robertson celebrates he does not care much about being popular. Robertson’s art is available as a framed work as well as a silkscreened t-shirt. To check out some of his work, click here or check him out at his booth located in the Inner Harbour.

Artist Peter Robertson at his booth in Victoria’s Inner Harbour

One of the many very cool shops in Victoria’s Fan Tan Alley

Even in Victoria our friends in Edison Park manage to make our day by buying us ice-cream (they did so the day before while on an Alaskan cruise).