Young & Baroque Solo Exhibition

I had the great opportunity to be given a solo showcase of my work at the Canteen Gallery in Downtown Ottawa, which runs the month of november. I created new works specifically for the show which follow the the juxtaposition of popular culture and early baroque period costume/style. I had such a great time creating work for this show, and I plan to continue in this vein of work. The opening night was also a great success, and I'd like to throw out a huge thanks to all the people that came out and showed their support! A special double-thanks goes out to Inaas for allowing me to show my work in her gallery!

The No Theme Group Show!

I had the recent pleasure of being a part of the "No Theme Group Show" at the Canteen Gallery in Ottawa, this October, alongside some great artists from Canada and abroad. The show was a huge success, and I would love to personally thank Inaas for putting on such a sweet shindig and including three of my pieces in the extravaganza! The show runs the month of October, so stop by and peruse some art.

Commissioning a Symphony!

The Birth of Music (14" x 18", Oil on Wood)

The Life of Music (12" x 22", Oil on Wood)

The Death of Music (14" x 18", Oil on Wood)

New Artists Exhibit - Jacana Contemporary Art

A few shots of my work in Jacana Contemporary Art Gallery in Vancouver. Special shout-out to Pennylane for taking the photos.

Going Contemporary!

A few shots from the Jacana site of the inside of the gallery (not the current exhibition).

Welp, I'm super-jazzed about my work being on display at The Jacana Contemporary Art Gallery in Vancouver. I was contacted, after appearing in applied arts magazine, about contributing a series for their new gallery artists show running Sept 15 - Oct 11. I decided to revisit my Songbird series and create two new works to be featured with the "Death of Music" piece. I am really anxious to see how the west coast sees my work, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to show my work in such an established gallery. I will post shots of the new pieces within the next couple of days.

Thanks again to Pennylane and everyone over at Jacana Contemporary Art, and if you're in the Vancouver area, head over to the gallery and check out the new artists!

In Spectacular Fan-o-vision!

I had a great time at the three day expo and I cannot wait to do it again next year! I sold quite a few prints, met an abundance of interesting people, and I even got Lando Calrissian's (Billy Dee Williams') Autograph! Thanks to everyone who came out and supported me at the expo, and a huge thank you to Ryan Christiani, for helping me set up and run my exhibition space (and wait in line so I could meet Lando).

Yours truly taking a rare sit at my exhibition space...

Darryl Graham sat to my left as we exchanged witty remarks...

Andrew (Drizzly Bear) Patterson sat down to the right and laughed from afar...

The Night Crusader (Oil on Wood, 22"x28")

Well comrades.. Fanexpo is a week or so away and I am getting prints ready for my exhibition space in Artist Alley. I plan on having a few originals there also, but they are mainly just for display (as I need them for my November show).

This piece is the second in my homage to Baroque Art and Pop Culture. Points of interest: The cave behind him (which I hope is obvious), as well as the link I made to the Robin piece by having the sun rising further in the distance with the subtle suggestion of hills (as if to assume that Robin is posing further back, simultaneously). I'm trying to set the characters in the time period, while at the same time, making them read as who they are supposed to be... Evidently, costume design is challenging in itself.

P.S.. The colours may seem different than the last time you checked this post. I wasn't satisfied with the photographed version, you see, so I scanned it in 10 pieces and merged it. Enjoy!

The Early Bird-Boy (Oil on Wood, 8"x10")

Well sir, I have been a busy little bee this summer. I've already told yarns of my harrowing journey into the dark heart of the Toronto employment scene. I've shared with you a few tales of whimsy and adventure as a post-graduate... But now, at the turning of the tide, I divulge my juiciest enterprise...

As the school year ended- my confidante, Andrew Patterson (aka Drizzly Bear), my life co-pilot, Darryl Graham (aka D-Rail), and I decided to get exhibition spaces at this summer's Fanexpo convention in downtown Toronto. This opportunity finally gave me license to pour my nerd lusts and loser humor into each new work (and have slightly fewer people mock me). On top of that, I have been working on a couple design projects with some creative people I've met since moving here, and have even been contacted by a couple of people who are interested in showing my work in galleries.

This new piece is just a "Teaser" of what I've been working on for a solo showcase of my work in the fall. I am creating entirely NEW pieces for the show which combines old baroque styles with nerd-culture icons. Many more details coming as the days go by, but I am extremely excited about the things I've got in the hopper. Also, I promise the next post won't be so self-serving.. I'm just excited is all!

P.S. My mother, called me to ask if life co-pilot meant life-partner... It was a Chewbacca to his Han Solo situation... I like girls.. a lot.

It's Not Fer Me... It's Fer Me Ma!

I'm going to apologize in advance for not posting anything in about a month. I finished up school'n, I moved to a studio space in downtown Toronto with two other graduates, I graduated school, I got a part time job at a clothing store, and I've been painting the nights away, all the while trying to build up some sort of rag-tag band of fun people to laugh with in this hustling and/or bustling city.

Now that THAT'S out of the way... This is a painting I created for my mom's birthday. Back when the world and I were young (1998), I had done cartoon portraits of each of our four pets at the time (for mother's day). Since then we have lost a dog and a cat, and gained a kitten, so my dad thought a good idea would be to do a portrait in the style of the others for the new cat. My art has changed a lot since grade 7 (at least I hope so), So I decided to do a new series of portraits.

I will do one portrait for each occasion (christmas/birthday) until all are accounted for. This portrait is the eldest living cat in the Slater household (Ashley). She is sophistcated, regal, and a little bitchy (did I mention she's mine). Her color was described from the humaine society as "Blue Tortie"... But she looks grey if you ask me. She is twelve...? if my math is right, and I tried to capture her calm/sassy attitude with the furrowed brow. I promise to post more frequently... starting NOW!

Poppa's Got A Brand New Bag!