In a continued bout of charitable behaviour on my part, I’ve contributed a T-shirt design to a fund raising event this weekend. The “Farm Feast” event is set to raise money for a couple of local organic farmers who can’t pay their bills. It’s being organized by a group for which I do web design work and all proceeds are going to the young start-up farmer couple. Without much more to say on that front, the T-shirts look great.
Eat Me Im Local shirt for the Farm Feast event
An exciting change of pace this weekend -and by exciting I mean many long tedious hours spent sitting on a chair playing with my iphone. I decided to lend a helping hand to my good friend and alter ego jeffrey Andrew today. His artwork has been sitting on the shelf (literally) for the last little while as he’s been dwarfed by the staggering success that is jeff szuc. This weekend however he’s been brought out of storage by a tip from an old friend and former curator of a now defunct gallery. A free of charge space has been awarded to him at the Toronto clothing show (an event which draws ten thousand people over the course of the weekend). And so here I sit…
the chair on which i sit
The feedback has been glowing, the attention lavished upon, and the sales hopefully forthcoming. As every non-artist knows though, we do it for the love of art (and the women).
Oh and lest I forget, the true joy of trade shows, the bounty! I acquired a lovely little nudy, ‘Lester the pervert’, made by Paula Dawn, the afore mentioned former curator of a defunct gallery and fellow art-shower. This, in addition to a t-shirt by Forty-Seven & Empire.
Oh wonderful, benevolent me. I’ve just completed this piece for inclusion into the ‘love exhibition’. Proceeds from the event will go to ‘Nomads’ which I’m sure raises money for some very worthy cause or other. The show’s date is set for October 30th with the silent auction following on November 9th at Gallery 1313. I think I’m partly participating in this because I was looking for an excuse to hang out at Lonsdale gallery -the drop off location for artwork and a very swank establishment in forest hill village though as well as a supporter of some great, very low-brow art. Lonsdale gallery is the Canadian representative of both one of my favorite artists, Ray Caesar, as well as one of my favorite teachers from my art school days, Jerzy Kolacz.
Stolen Away piece for the Love Exhibition
The sub-theme for this years ‘love exhibition’ is ‘masks’. Intended to explore the way in which we portray and relate to each other in relationships. I went with what I think is the less literal interpretation of masks by hiding the faces -despite how we portray ourselves through what we say and do aren’t we always the owner of secrets?
working on the love show piece
monkey styles
I’m off to Sacramento California. Well not me specifically, but my work is. I’ve just sent this piece off to participate in a group show: ‘the Circus Show’.
Word off the official website describes it as :
“The show has over 100 national and international artists participating. The performance line-up starts with Dan Piraro, creator of Bizarro, who will be joined by comedian and MC, Keith Lowell Jensen, singer Larisa Bryski, plus jugglers, belly dancers, firebenders and other performers, freaks, artist-made midway games and rides, as well as raffle prizes including original artwork and so much more. With proceeds donated to animal protection groups.
The artist reception and performances will be on Second Saturday, September 13th from 5pm – 10pm, with the World’s Largest Artist-Made Circus Train installation, on display in the gallery through October 11th.
The Circus Show is more than just a performance and art show as participants take to the streets for the unofficial Midtown Freak Parade and the event spills over to other venues throughout downtown Sacramento who will also have circus-themed shows the same evening. This year’s Circus Show will easily top the Ringling Bros. circus, which just happens to be in town the same weekend.”
Basically, a group of artists from around the world were contacted to make 9″x12″ pieces around the theme of circus animals. For my own I went with a combo of the organ grinder monkey archetype, the classic cymbal clashing windup toy monkey, and the much beloved clown in an undersized car image.
a very rough monkey
It seems I’m feeling very painterly these days. The piece was done from a very loose sketch where in I left most of the room for the image to be reliant on painterly technique. A little smudging, some washes, a super-saturated colour palette juxtaposed against lots of dark umbers; I’ve been trying to work outside the standard flat limitations associated with acrylic paintings and get a deeper richer look.
Anyhow, the show is set to open in few days (Sept. 13th). Those in the area should check it out. I wish I could justify going out there just for the party. If the piece was any larger I would have.
the circus show
a bitchin' space
hanging the show. There I am. Tenth from the left.
why do i love you
A.W.O.L. Gallery’s expanded yearly square foot show is set to take place yet again next week. I remember when, years ago, I would walk by A.W.O.L.’s small store front location on Ossington and catch site of the 12″x12″ paintings hanging in their neat little rows and both curse myself for not having submitted as well as vow to take part in next year’s show. This event took place with annual regularity until last year when I finally got my act together, got on their mailing list, and got my submission in on time. Me and and a thousand other people. The show has bloated from a few dozen artists to over seven hundred showing over one thousand pieces and has moved from it’s small storefront gallery to being exhibited in a floor to ceiling setup in a rented warehouse down the street.
Anyhow, enough lead-in, this is the piece I’m just finishing off (read ‘watching varnish dry) for this year’s show. I tried to have a little fun with this painting since it’s not that important an exhibit. The sketch was done really quickly and roughly (not being much more than a a geometric composition breakdown) leaving me a lot of room for fun with paint. I’ve been working on a lot more serious projects lately (with roughs which are rigorously adhered too and collections of art directors consulting to find corrections) and needed a night of smudging paint around.
I’ll post a better shot once it’s dry and a little less glossy…
why do i
square foot show
I was introduced to a great illustration and illustrative art site based out of SF (it seems like much of the great illustration work is coming out of there now days). Anyhow, they’ve a weekly drawing theme contest thing which seems to be more fun than the topics and style that were coming out of illustrationfriday.com (a site I played with in the past) so I made this little piece in order to participate.
fecalface sexy
By this point you’re probably looking at it and saying “wuh?!” so I should probably explain that the illustration was open so long as it pertained to the theme ’sexy’ and incorporated the words ‘fecal face’ into the piece.
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