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The March 2012 Buzzer and Andy Dixon: Buzzer illustrator interview

The March 2012 Buzzer and Andy Dixon: Buzzer illustrator interview

Andy and his vivid drawing of transit in Steveston
The cover of the latest issue.

If you’re taking transit, make sure to pick up the new March Buzzer, which came out this past Friday! As usual, you can jump on a bus, SkyTrain, SeaBus or West Coast Express and pick up a copy, or download it as a .pdf .

In recognition of the coming Spring and as a reminder for everyone in Metro Vancouver to set their clocks forward this past weekend, I titled the March issue “Spring forward on transit.” Apart from the regular sections, this issue features Art on Transit, information on fare evasion and exploring Steveston village by transit.

  • Every year, TransLink teams up with Emily Carr students to showcase some fresh talent on transit. The idea is to engage and liven up transit while at the same time giving young artists exposure. Three of the 38 new selections for Art on Transit 2012 can be found in the new issue.


  • Since it’s been such a hot blog topic, I thought I would include info about fare evasion in the issue as well.


  • Also included in the issue is the second part of the “Metro Vancouver by transit” section. This time around, the focus was on Steveston Village. Steveston is one of those places that I feel I don’t visit enough. Hopefully, by letting readers know how to get to Steveston by transit, more people will take advantage of all the great activities and sights this part of Richmond has to offer!


  • St. Patrick’s Day and the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade is this weekend. As the parade will be taking place on downtown streets, I included some brief info on which bus routes will be affected by the parade road closures.


  • Besides the usual Contest Corner and Back Issues sections, I’ve also put a call out for photos of the SeaBus. On June 17, 2012, the SeaBus turns 35! To help celebrate the occasion, I hope readers can send me photos of the SeaBus past and present. The idea is to take these images and include them in issues of the Buzzer leading up until the birthday. Please send your pictures to thebuzzer@translink.ca.


  • Lastly, Velo-city Global 2012 is just around the corner. What’s Velo-city apart from a play on words? Well, it’s the premier festival for bike enthusiasts who are interested in fostering bike-friendly cities. I included it in the Buzzer because Velo-city is being held in Vancouver this year, and TransLink is one of the event’s sponsors! This June 26-29 is the first time Velo-city will be held outside of Europe. It goes without saying that if you’re passionate about cities and biking, you’ll want to check out the 1000+ delegate event.

Our Buzzer artist this month is Andy Dixon. Andy is a bit of a renaissance man. A musician, Andy has also done work in video, photography and branding. I was very excited about having Andy illustrate a Buzzer as I think his work would look just as good on a wall as it does on the Buzzer. Here are Andy’s answers to a few questions I asked him:

Tell us about yourself and your art.

I work in visual art as well as sound & music. My character, like the true character of any person, is most completely revealed in my unguarded moments. A spontaneous gesture can show more about a person than a rehearsed speech. So too is an artist’s vision seen most clearly in an unpolished detail or a mistake. My art highlights these mistakes, drawing the viewer’s attention to the authentic and unique aspects of my expression, to the pure rough stroke that is often lost when the edges are polished.

How did you come up with your illustration?

I wanted to capture the serenity and tranquility of Steveston by highlighting negative space; the water.

Do you use transit?

Yes. I don’t own a car.

What’s your favourite mode of transportation?

I grew up on the North Shore, so I will always feel a ping of warm nostalgia whenever I’m on the Seabus. It will always remind me of rambunctious parent-free Saturdays spent downtown as a teenager.

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