bout de papier, Vol. 30, No. 2 (2017), p. 41
IT IS WELL known that Foreign Services recruit ‘well oriented people’ to represent their country abroad. Being well oriented means having a broad range of interests — usually accompanied by grains of sensibility and wit.
When Canada’s Foreign Service brought Vic Lotto aboard in the early sixties as a Trade Commissioner, no one would have predicted that this young sapling would not only rise to positions of achievement — including assignments as Consul General in Sao Paulo, Brazil and Ambassador in Caracas, Venezuela — but, in a post-GAC career, tackle a professorship at the University of Victoria and, eventually, rank as an award-winning artist.
At nine years of age, Vic was selected for an art class at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Ontario. He painted during all his postings, studied at the Ottawa School of Art, assisted with the start-up of the School of Animation of Säo Paulo, was resident painter for three summers on BC Ferries’ Queen of the North, received juried status with the Federation of Canadian Artists, and now, has produced his first ‘book’, Vic Lotto’s Dip Doodles.
Dip Doodles is a compact opus (containing 15 plates) that punches above its weight. With an eye for the humorous in Foreign Service, Vic’s cartoon format captures the quirkiness of living and serving abroad. The ‘book’ carries a wonderful introduction especially for folks who may have little idea of what a foreign service is — an overview of life as a diplomat, the FSDs, the posting process, that work is not just attending ‘lavish cocktail parties’, culture shock, budget constraints imposed by ‘tyrannical’ bureaucrats in Ottawa, and the benefits of organizations like PAFSO that protect members’ interests.
Vic graphically showcases Foreign Service foibles like the inevitable ‘art’ collections we bring home from overseas — and later pray will be gobbled up in garage sales; the exotic appeal of U.S. border postings; life in the developing world with home help one doesn’t enjoy back in Ottawa; the joys of saving on women’s clothing expenses because of chador regimes in Muslim countries; and the quirks of embassy office management.
Dip Doodles is now into a second printing and can be obtained for $12 (postage paid; all proceeds to the Victoria Hospice) by sending a cheque to Victor Lotto, 2605 Cotswold Road, Victoria, B.C., V8R 383.9
Richard Kohler was a Foreign Service Officer for almost 40 years. Vic Lotto was an important mentor to Richard for most of that time.
Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 30, No. 2 (2017), p. 41. Read the rest of this issue →
