Happy New Year!! All the Best Wishes for 2013! 

Finished the Resolution Run in downtown Ottawa. Beautiful night for a 5km walk, making your personal commitment to health for the coming new year 2013.











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Second iPad Cover, this one for Me

Now I was a bit impatient, and I've gone and used it when it's still wet, and there's a bit of smudging. But it's still a nice distinctive cover. Everyone wants it, but there's only one.



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I found real winter

Taken this morning walking out the front door at Mom's and Aunt Ruth's. It's quite crisp this morning, such that your skin is singed fiercely by the unseen air upon stepping outside. The snow sparkles at the first brush of sunlight and the world wakes ever so slowly as whiteness dominates every view angle as far as the horizon. It's diamond beauty that is breathless in its completeness.

This is being home for the holidays. Merry Christmas world.



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Location:Winter

Still in progress ...

So this is what I'm in working on now, and although it's not finished, I'm posting it anyway. It's in an early stage of painting, such that I've left the brushstrokes somewhat messy. But I really like it this way and am inclined to leave it as the finished product, with perhaps just some detail finishing work. I was really playing with the colour in this one too, as well as the inclusion of textual elements as part of the core landscape forms.

It's really about my search for finding a path to a future, surrounded by friends, family and otherworldly formations. Will finish it before heading off to the countryside to celebrate the new year.

I gave away a bunch of my little work block painting while visiting Europe this November, and this was one of them. Some of my friends graciously let me stay at their homes during this trip, and although it wasn't much I did leave them these little paintings. I hope they enjoy them as much as I do enjoy painting them.

Loss of the Monarchs

I was driving on the way out to the countryside, visiting my mother in fact, and went through a stretch of road clouded by monarch butterflies. There were so many of them, it would be impossible to count, and they darkened my windshield as they died in the thousands. It was a tragedy, and I couldn't stop it from happening. Oh, I pulled over for a few moments, but the damage was done not only by me but by other cars.

Such pretty colour, splashed everywhere. Beauty and sadness, all in the same brief moments.

Anyway, it became the gestation of a painting. The paint I used in layers for this piece, and had some exciting things happening within the layers.

Supernatural Landscape

I've been neglectful of my blog of late, for several reasons all of which are not reflective of any particular faucet of artist endeavour. Indeed life continues as it usually does, with time spent during the weekly daylight hours at a workplace and my evenings and weekend painting. And I have been painting almost exclusively, without playing in clay for several months now.

What have I been painting? I'm not sure how to explain it, nor to validate the activity itself. I'm painting imagined landscapes, and experimenting with the paint itself, for my own purposes, something I am certain that artists before me have been doing for centuries past for themselves.

But I remain stubbornly committed to avoiding the depiction of traditional form and the methods used since history started recording it. I admit to putting in a few shadows in a recent piece, the first in many years. But if a viewer is looking for a light source, or been reading one of those "how to read a painting" books written by so-called "experts" that can't actually paint themselves - to these individuals I wish them to find another artist, perhaps one willing to spend their hours following histories blueprint.

I prefer instead to create my own, whether it only be worthy of being forgotten or not.

It doesn't really matter; in my own time I shall try to explain.

Finished this piece in late October, and it's a depiction of a fluid foundation. I like fluid forms, organic elements mixed with the everyday graphic forms that are a part of our lives. I've added some of this context back into this landscape, first in a registrated fashion in this piece. The starry sky was an ode to an evening spent outside.

Bitch in Parking Hell - Unbelievable!

What an evil cow! Photo first more later.











Parking no joke in Toronto. Where are the police when you need them??

Waiting in line for Santa

Puppies are waiting for their photo op with Santa. I'm just getting tired and annoyed. This was a bad idea. Cute, but a huge waste of time.


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Awesome Tree in Sunnybrook

Picture from both sides. Spectacular Fall day this weekend. Couldn't ask for better.






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Just mucking about on some linen too.


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Painted all day today

And some sketches for the book, of course. Nothing huge, graphite mostly.




Painting more 'loose' right now.

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More Nuit Blanche

My post failed last night from downtown so redo no in progress.










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Downtown Nuit Blanche

One wild night, all night. Downtown Toronto.



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Crayons

Crayon drawing at Mom's.










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Photos from the Quilters Garden, Ontario

My Aunt found these in the garden, and they are spectacular! Took a few photos to help my memory later for when I put them into the painting I'm working on now. Totally cool.

Finished "Altezimer Landscape" Piece, Oil on board, 40x21"

Rogers Cup, last Canadian Playing

From the bleachers, where everyone is sitting in the wrong seats and yet morale is excellent ... Go Milos!!



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Wolfe Island - Awesome Wind Turbines

So cool!


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Country Roads

On the way to Wolfe Island for a day with the nieces. A quick country stop on Wooler Road.






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Still working, part II

Spent most of today working on a couple of little trees. Obviously, this whole piece is going to take way too long to paint. Sigh. But it was a wonderful day!!

Work in progress (detail)

Still blocking in the burbs.


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Impact Juried Show : Honourable Mention

'Chessboards Transitioning' received an honourable mention.

Kathleen, NPCC President announcing the awards.

Morris's work on the far left; view of the Main Gallery show.

Our two esteemed jurors.

Painting of B. Cohades also accepted into show, hanging in Hallway Gallery portion.

Will write more tomorrow, as home late now and have an early start tomorrow. It was great to see some old friends/artists and catch up on the things they've been up to. The show looks great; everyone should make an effort to go see it as it will be hung until Aug 7th.

You might note that I don't have a photo of the winners, but that's mostly because I was taking pictures before the winners were announced, and I would never have guessed any of those choices. Or would never photograph those works, so there is the subjectivity of art. Um, wow is about all. I'm really glad they don't ask me to jury anything.

Really, all my artwork does is confuse people, as I heard again that there was long debates and conversation about the validity of my work; are they acceptable, are they not? What basis, blah blah. Why is my work always so controversial? Someday it would be nice for someone to actually have these discussions to my face, as it is a curiousity for me.

Preparations for Impact

Readied two pieces today for NPCC's juried Impact show tomorrow. Drop off is a very concise 45min window in the early morning, of course on the other side of the city. Groan.

So today I used the screwdriver more than a paintbrush. It all worked out alright. I find it much easier when I eyeball everything; never use a ruler or it will certainly get screwed up.



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Found and Returned to the Wild

These are the cutest little darlings ever, but they were set free tonight in a ravine area. Wild cottontails don't do well in captivity, even though they were well loved for the short time we had them.






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Canada Day Weekend

Painting from my head usually ends up with bizarre results. Loads of fun though. Can't photograph this very well, so this is the best I could do. I want to start something bigger now, as these pieces are actually small. I think I could get so much more on a larger scale.

I'm supposed to be painting that portrait though, but instead am secretively painting these fun little scenes. It will catch up to me at some point, I'm sure.

Everyday Craze People

Checking in mostly

Just adding some quick photos of some illustrations, this time for something I'm writing. I've been working on several things in parallel these past months. I find it easier to focus my writing when I have drawings! Might be the artist in me.

Ravine (new photo)

Ok I took a better photo (hopefully).

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Ravine Views

Little oil paintings on board panels.

Canadian Urban Art

Found on route. I love this stuff. It's so authentic.