I had the pleasure of finding Ryan Dineen’s work when browsing the Show & Tell Gallery’s website. Ryan Dineen and Jacques Oule are showing their work in a show called “Cityscrapes”. I’ve been nursing a love for cityscapes lately… perhaps it’s the experience of having lived in this grey city for such a long while now. Regardless, work like this hits home for me.
Add comment | March 22nd, 2010
Alices. Ink and white conte on recycled paper. 8.5″x11″, 2010.
It’s been a while since I’ve had the time or inclination to update my blogs, so do bear with me for the long absence. In the time since my last post, I have nearly finished my last semester of my undergraduate degree, joined a weekly pottery-making studio, and have begun to figure out what to do with my life. I’ve spend joyful days with friends and boring days at work. I have directed four shows at Samuel J. Zacks gallery, and I have seen my sister walk down the aisle into the arms of her smiling husband. And I have nearly filled up some old sketchbooks.
Moose. Pencil crayon, conte, and charcoal on recycled paper. 8.5″x11″, 2010.
Add comment | March 20th, 2010
"Candy Stick Forest" 2005, oil on linen, 60” X 72”
What absolutely… luscious work. Will Cotton paints a world in which candies and confectionaries are elements of landscape. I just adore how he borrows the tradition of placing female nudes in these fantasy landscapes, often indulging themselves in the scenery, munching cotton candy or slathered in icing…all lazy and happy. His landscapes are expertly done, lit with sunlight and simply perfect. As I’ve heard, he bakes all of the ingredients in his studio and paints from life. Why have I never thought of that? I could be like these women!
"Cotton Candy Clouds " 2004, oil on linen, 75" x 100"
"Molasses Swamp II" 1999, oil on linen
Gosh, just look at that molasses bubbling, at those Sugar Daddys tilting, those Viva Puffs dotting the scene like rocks.
Add comment | November 10th, 2009
The exhibition was set up to make use of the high-traffic space of the BCE place, panels set up in the centre of the high-ceilinged atrium, running along the length of the space. Appropriate, I suppose given the nature of the show. These photos are the product of journalists around the globe. They are meant to be seen and consumed by all, by everyone with the will and the opportunity.
The artwork was arranged by topic, Sports photos separate from Daily Life Stories, Arts and Entertainment, Contemporary Issues, etc. Some topics were easy, light-hearted and enjoyable. Who doesn’t like to see divers captured with a high-speed camera, their faces distorted by motion and gravity? Families sitting awkwardly in their unused show-kitchens? The strange human topography of a resort beach over the course of a day?
But World Press Photo is about the good and the bad. It is about news. The heart-wrenching images of war and death were kindly placed on the interior of the space, with a disclaimer warning to proceed with caution. So, it is with caution that I entered. It is hard to describe the sickness one feels when looking at an image of a dead body. One photo showed two elderly neighbours standing mournfully over the remains of a neighbour, slumped unceremoniously on the street. In another, a group of youths stand over the gang-slain body of a local man. It is all so normal, so unbelievable – one girl is even laughing.
Rifling through the World Press Photo collection, whether in book form or mounted in an exhibition, is always hard. I leave with mixed emotions, feeling slightly more aware of the global situation.
Add comment | November 7th, 2009
I’ve always been amazed by Bernini’s sculptural genius, his ability to capture living flesh, breathing individuals in marble. I adore figurative sculpture, probably because I love the human face in all of its idiosyncrasies. I have also always loved miniature work, for the care and meticulous work that goes into them. Adam Beane has captured my eye, and my admiration. He is a model sculptor, creating prototypes for the many collectable models you see lining the shelves of geeks worldwide. But wow… is his work ever incredible. I so hope he doesn’t go under appreciated.
Adam Beane sculpts “exclusively in CX5, a tremendously versatile material [he] developed which handles like clay when warm but is hard as plastic when cool.” I’d love to get my hands on some of that. Wow.
Add comment | August 11th, 2009
Methinks Represents is a group of artists located in the heart of Kensington Market, whom I have had the wonderful opportunity of working with on their current project. We Made A Deal With The Devil is a travelling art exhibit, based upon the theme of Canadian Myths and Folklore. Its name was inspired by spired by La Chasse-galerie (also known as The Flying Canoe), a cautionary French Canadian tale of a group of loggers who make a pact with the devil. The travelling exhibit features performance and installation pieces, zines, and drawings. I, of course, have submitted some drawings that are now making their way across Southern Ontario. And they could not be more opposite to one another. Let me introduce them and their background…
8 1/2 x 11 inches, Ink and gouache on watercolour paper.
“ The Weendigo was gaunt to the point of emaciation, its desiccated skin pulled tautly over its bones. With its bones pushing out against its skin, its complexion the ash gray of death, and its eyes pushed back deep into their sockets, the Weendigo looked like a gaunt skeleton recently disinterred from the grave. What lips it had were tattered and bloody [....] Unclean and suffering from suppurations of the flesh, the Weendigo gave off a strange and eerie odor of decay and decomposition, of death and corruption.” -description from Wikipedia, and originally from Ojibwa scholar Basil Johnston
I really fell in love with the idea of this creature, the punisher of cannibalism in the form of a cannibalistic demon. With the drawing I decided to focus on the creature itself, as one would come across it after gorging themselves on human steak… bloody, dripping, and in a bathe of eerie light.
Crow Brings the Daylight
This one is much more pleasant than the previous, and less deliciously evil as well. It comes from an Inuit myth, Crow Brings the Daylight. It is an enchanting story in which a Crow is enlisted by the inuit people to travel south and bring the sun to warm them. He does so and tricks the southern villagers into giving a ball of daylight, on a string, to a little boy. He steals the ball and carries it back to the people of his home, although he warned them it could only last half of the year. This image is inspired by the first part of the myth:
“Crow strained his wings and flew with all his might. Suddenly, the daylight world burst upon him with all its glory and brilliance. The endless shades of color and the many shapes and forms surrounding him made Crow stare and stare. He flapped down to a tree and rested himself, exhausted by his long journey. Above him, the sky was an endless blue, the clouds fluffy and white. Crow could not get enough of the wonderful scene.”
I might just illustrate more of this one, since it has the potential for many beautiful visual scenes.
For anyone interested in perchasing these works, they will be on sale at the tour’s end, for $50 a piece. You could also ask Methinks when they come by your area.
For the itinerary, check out: http://www.methinkspresents.org/expedition/itinerary/
They’ll be going through Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.
Add comment | July 30th, 2009
Tiny Dancer, A Print A Day
I am always delighted when A Print A Day posts a new piece on her blog. They are always cute, always whimsical, always joyful. This piece, though, is one of my favourite. I’ve been reading a lot of books by Diana Wynn Jones lately, and I’m addicted to her kids’ fantasy novels, often set in semi-Victorian versions of England and always riddled with magical impossibilities. This feels like it could come right out of one of her books, a little bottle of magic.
If you’re interested, A Print A Day has a shop!
Add comment | June 21st, 2009
Hello hello, all you lovely folks that I have been neglecting for such a long time. Forgive me, but real life called and requred some attention for a while.
One of the many things that took up my time was setting myself up as more of a presence in internet-land. I’ve made prints of my work available at imagekind.com, a lovely website that allows artists not only to network, but also to sell some of their work. Online galleries are definately a unique opportunity, and I’m glad they are getting more attention.
Original painted in Acrylic, 2009
If you are interested in having a print of my work to yourself, check out my gallery. The images start at $14.45USD (it’s an American website that deals through PayPal), depending on what size you choose and whether or not you order the piece with a frame. Most of the originals are still for sale at my website if you are looking for something more substantial. Also drop me a line anytime if you’re interested in hiring me for a commission. (more…)
Add comment | June 18th, 2009
I was delighted when I came across this blog by James Gurney, maker of the Dinotopia books. Why, you ask? Weheeell, it’s chock-full of good old-fashioned art instruction. Those things your prof never told you about how exactly to make things look weathered, and what technique to use when rendering this or that. Not to mention the interesting sketches he posts from his own daily wanderings, and tidbits of art history. It’s on my RSS-most-checked list, for sure.
Add comment | May 25th, 2009
Speech about speech, 80 x 100 cm, black pencil and oil on canvas
Pencils, 30 x 30 cm, oil on canvas
When photo-realism is self referential, that is when it is most effective. Bokyo Kolev is an artist of incredible technical skill, and while all of his paintings exploit this ability of his, there are some that also comment on it. Check out his work, it is sure to make you look twice.
Add comment | April 8th, 2009