He’s touched up Vernon with brushes and rollers.
Now, painter Art Gourley wants to work with a bigger canvas.
Gourley, 75, has declared himself a mayoral candidate in the upcoming Oct. 20 municipal election.
He has painted more than 120 premises in Vernon, the last being a downtown business in July, and has also done lots of curb painting.
“I have tried to make Vernon look good,” he said. “As mayor, I’ll try to make Vernon great. I’m 75 and still got what it takes.”
Gourley, who ran unsuccessfully for a seat on council four years ago, became a painter after working as a sawmill truck driver and school bus driver. The latter pair coming after a car accident in May 1960 knocked him out for three weeks, resulted in gangrene in a leg and the inability to graduate high school.
After getting his Class 2 driver’s licence, Gourley decided he ought to earn a trade and became a painter.
He joined Local 38 of the Painters’ Union in Vancouver in 1972, serving on its executive board.
In the 1980s, Gourley opened his own painting business. He survived triple bypass surgery in 2003.