Stickin' Ideas Together

I am about a month and a half away from the opening of my latest show, Delivery. All is going better than expected since I have had an unusually busy year with my other career as a graphic designer and have had to put my painting on the back-burner. Here is a snap of one of my paintings-in-progress. What I love about this painting is the prevalence of the almost neon pink. I haven't really employed pink in the past, but this one just demanded it & I listened. I also made use of some modelling paste for the numbers you see. I pressed them through a stencil. They have since shrunk some but are still pretty cool. The blotches of paper you see are transfers in progress. They worked out really well thanks to a very helpful techniques class I took with local Vancouver artist, Jeanne Krabbendam. Next post I'll show you a bit more of this painting nearly finished; I'll keep you posted on the Delivery series.

Way back at the end of 2011 I made a wee painting for a friend of mine. She is a map lover & really enjoyed the work I submitted to The Anonymous Art Show. I made a mini version of it for her. The image above is a quick snap of the painting living in her living room. It's the one beneath the letter V. There is no bigger message here, just a fun post in appreciation of appreciation. Happy painting!

Oh happy day that an art library exists in the world. Recently a prominent article appeared in the  New York Times . My very own sketchbook currently resides in the Brooklyn Art Library. I sent it off this past April. I hope to visit it one day since I didn't get a chance to photograph it before it went out. Yes I know, bad move. Anyway, if you're interested in connecting with a vibrant, global, creative group, this may be for you. Join today!

When I last spoke of the Anonymous Art Show that I participated in back in Nov. 2011, I neglected to note a detail that really stood out for me. On the main wall near the entrance, the organizers hung a large canvas wrapped with all the names of the contributing artists. I was proud as punch to see my name included in print among the over 400 other talented souls who participated in the annual event. It's a small thing, one's name typeset amongst so many others, but it spoke in a large way to me. It said that my work is valuable to this organization; it's appreciated, acknowledged, and recognized. And that feels great. So if you find yourself in need of a creative way to express thanks to your contributors at an event, this may just be the final touch you need.

I'm super excited about my "ultrasound paintings". Finally determining the title of the series makes its purpose clear to me. DELIVERY. It's a great follow-up to my last series, "love letters (to my baby)". In Delivery my focus has shifted away from adoration, to reflecting on the miracle of conception and the birthing process. I acknowledge that thousands of women struggle, pray and sacrifice to have that experience that came so effortlessly to me. These new works are textured and layered with an urban grit. They appear worn, almost hurting but also strong in order to support the topical weight of each piece and the varied experiences of pregnancy. Look out for more come Fall of 2012.

I figured it's time to follow up on the Jill Pilon class. Wowzers was it fantastic! Jill is a true inspiration and a natural teacher, (being a mom to three children likely helps). The painting above is simply my sample board from the class. To me it's a great painting in its own right. Jill encourages experimentation, curiosity, pushing of comfort zones and accepting happy accidents. The freedom, permission and sense of accomplishment I felt after attending her class is a testament to her supportive nature. I'm hungrily reworking my on-going ultrasound paintings with a revived urban edge and some of that raw expression I've been craving to express. Feelin' good... and frankly lookin' good! I'll post one of them soon.

Recently I was invited to participate in a group show celebrating the artwork and history of the Joker card. The curator's partner has an impressive collection of these playing cards and wanted a forum to display and share them; therefore, sharing a passion of his with the boutique's collection of artist was a natural development. My entry, "Who is not a fool?", is approx. 8"x24" made with acrylic paint, collaged paper with a final resin coating on a wooden cradled panel. I approached the challenge of creating a painting based on someone else's interest the same I would a graphic design job. I researched, sketched out ideas, planned, referred to the "design brief" many times and then executed & refined my painting. In the end I felt I had successfully interpreted the brief. However, I was concerned that maybe I was being too literal to include numbers, card symbols, even the set up of 2 card-like forms. Perhaps I it is to...