Deers

Another digital diversion, featuring deer.

Mushroom Umbrella

I know it's super geeky (or is it nerdy? or dorky?), but this is actually a drawing of Bilbo.

Treehouse

This is a slippery slope. I've taken pride in my hand painted illustrations, but using the computer makes it SO EASY to make illustrations that are near perfect. I can tweak and balance every little thing, and if I screw up - CTRL+Z! But I really do have to watch how far I take this computerish hoopla. After all, this site is supposed to be me doing what I'm supposed to, and I know I'm not supposed to be spending hours of my time arranging 1s and 0s. 1s and 0s that won't stand the test of time, that can't be given as gifts, that have no taste or weight or smell, that are a hypothetical representation of what I can do if the power is out.

Night Type

I must confess, this one isn't a painting. It started as a painting though - most of the textures you see are relics from the original. But I kinda ruined it, and that made me sad, so I saved it with the computer, and now I am happy.

Eatbulbs

I like that he's worried. Like, he knows that eating all these bulbs will really damage his insides.

Rain Rain

Well...

Not sure what to say. I guess I'm sorry that I haven't updated you recently with tons of great new artwork, with awesome well thought out ideas proof of my war against stagnation. I'm rather ashamed that I'm forced to work on projects that bring me no satisfaction, that don't allow me to grow, and that I'm frankly embarrassed to show you. But do as I say, not as I do. LIFE IS SHORT! You only have a small window of time to live your life the way you know you should. So do it. What are you waiting for? And when you do, let me know how it goes, and shoot me any advice. Because I want SO BAD to live like this, to wake up every day with a purpose and go to bed every night exhausted from striving to reach it. Please, someone, anyone, just tell me what I need to hear to move on from this stagnant cesspool called 'normal'.

Lonely at Sea

My Moths

Moths are interesting creatures. They're like nocturnal butterflies. They make me feel strange. I think they have hidden powers.

Sun Visit

A short visit to the sun.

Buttresses

The sky isn't as far away as it looks.

Structured Living

Note the rocking chair at the top. That's my seat. That's where I watch the toils of the world below, rocking the days away.

Dead Fish

There are several good reasons to kill a fish. Sport. Food. Revenge. Choose whichever you wish.

The Elusive Rock Poster

I'm taking part in a group art show this Sunday. It's called "Post No Bills", and it's rock poster themed. Here's my entry (with type). It's the first time I've done a 3D woodcut style image. It's an inch deep, with a large frame. I'll post some pictures of it after Sunday (it's hanging right now).

Falling Downwards

For as long as I can remember, I've been afraid of heights. It's one of my two fears - heights and bees. But my worst nightmares, the ones that wake me from deep sleep, are when I'm falling to my death. This is an homage to those dreams. Hmmm... Maybe I should put some bees in it. Go for a two-fer.

Girl, With Wallpaper

When I first sat down to paint her, I envisioned her mourning. I drew her eyes & nose, and I hit the nail on the head with the emotion I wanted to portray. But then I kept drawing, I gave her sad eyebrows and a frown. Something about these details took away from the feeling I had earlier when I looked at her, the emotion that I fell in love with. There's something to be said by vagueness, and those new details just made the whole thing too literal. I think it's because of that age old concept that the viewer brings their own baggage with them when they view a painting. The less you show, the more the viewer will be able to relate the painting to their own lives. Is she mourning? Lonely? Sad? Bored? Hungry? By leaving out key details, it doesn't matter what I felt when I painted her, it's how you feel when you see her.

And I've never done this before, mostly because I can't fathom why anyone would care, but here's some process shots from her creation. Sorry about the dingy photos, my studio isn't all that bright (although it suits me nicely for the time being).

My Painting Studio

Only because I enjoy seeing other artist's photos of their studio. My studio is nothing fancy, it's a workshop in my suburban backyard. But unbeknown to my neighbors, night after night, magic happens inside.

My huge awesome easel that I made for a less than $100 trip to Home Depot.

The tools of my trade. I've spent WAY too much money on supplies over the years, and I've since said NO MORE. Now I buy cheap brushes wherever I can find them, and I buy mis-tinted house paint from the bargain shelf at Home Depot. Actually, now that I've been painting with the stuff for some time now, I doubt that I'd paint with acrylics or oils even if I had the option.

My light table, essential in sketching & masking. I got this for free from a print shop I used to work for back in high school. It's traveled with me ever since. My music comes from that little mp3 player, the most important thing in the whole studio. And the paintings are layered because I don't have the wall space to display them, and they get wrecked if stacked.

My favorite place in the world, my awesome thinking chair. It's SO comfortable that I have to force myself to not spend too much time 'thinking' (napping), or I'm likely to never get up and actually make stuff.

The artist, in his studio. The toque and scarf means winter's coming, although it never gets too cold to want to spend all my waking hours painting. Now, if only I could find a way to make that happen financially....

Bulb

An homage to the psychosis that comes with the slow descent into insanity caused by overexposure to the background buzz of artificial light, a necessary evil of existing in this modern world of ours.

Art Dump

I have a bunch of paintings I've never shown. Not every painting is gallery-worthy, but some of them are blog-worthy, so here's a round of B-list artworks.

Rapunzel's Prince

When the prince called up the tower that night, the enchantress let the severed braids down to haul him up. When he reached the top, to his horror, he found himself staring at the witch instead of Rapunzel. She pushed him from the window, and he fell face-first onto the thorns below. Luckly he survived, but not without injury. The thorns blinded him and without sight or hope he wandered through the wastelands of the country for years, until one day...

Stargazer

Are you as interested in space as I am? Our best guess estimates that there are 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars (that's “ten billion trillion"). If mankind declaired dominion over all the universe and divided up the assets accordingly, then each person on Earth would receive more than 1 trillion stars. But considering the vastness and complexity of the universe, I doubt we're the only beings who would declaire such a thing.

The Virgin's Sorrow

Looks like someone has a case of the Mondays!

The Elusive Lighthouse

A man on a boat in the night,
as he sways now left, now right.
He hopes beyond hope,
as he looks through his scope,
to spy a lighthouse shining out bright.

The Octopus

He only has 7 arms, so I guess he's a septopus.

Sleeping High

There's less pressure up there, helps with the nose bleeds.

Trip to the Moon

Creative types are so lucky. We can go anywhere our minds allow.

Starflood

I'm kinda obsessed with the night. The moon and stars, the vagueness of the dark, the magic of it all. It's no wonder that primitive societies came up with otherworldy explanations for the heavens. Nowadays we know better than to make up stories of gods and magic to explain the things we see (at least those of use with a shread of common sense), but it's because we think we understand what these beautiful mysterious twinkly lights are that we can't experience the magic of naivete. Can you picture what it must have been like to believe the earth was flat and endless, to have no logical explanation why the sky changes from day to night, to witness the magesty of the universe uninhibited... I sort of wish I could experience that (but only temporarily, there's no virtue in ignorance).

Illustration Speakeasy

Dear friends,
I'm taking part in the Toronto Speakeasy Illustration Show this Thursday, at the beautiful Gladstone Hotel downtown Toronto. It's the first time I've shown my paintings in public since I was a student, and I've been working long and hard on the 10 or so paintings I plan on displaying. Come see the fruits of my labor, if you're around. I'd love to have the support of you, my friends, fans, and family.

Loves me not

As I pulled the final petal from the poor mutilated flower, my worst fears came true. "She loves me not" echoed through my mind like an annoying yet catchy song. But this time, instead of watering the remaining flowers with my tears, I vowed to keep at it, pulling petal after petal from the beautiful flowers until I found the love I longed for admist their naked stumps. It was nothing short of floral genocide before I found "She loves me", but hey, no one said love would come without a price.

Yet Another New Site

Well, I've shown my true colours again. My fickle sensibilities forced me to make a new site to accompany my new portfolio and usher in a new era of artistic exploration. Wish me luck!

Happy Father's Day!

To all the dads out there (especially mine), take a load off! You've earned it.

Wash Away

Stargazing

I remember my grade 6 teacher, Mrs. O'Neil, would always say "Get your head out of the clouds" to me when I was obviously daydreaming instead of paying attention.

I did just what she said. I let my head float past the clouds and all the way into space.

3fer

Three small pieces I did today.

The Meteorite

In the words of Joanna Newsom:
"The meteorite is a source of the light,
and the meteor's just what we see,
and the meteoroid is a stone that's devoid of the fire that propelled it to thee"

Screamer

HEY! Oh, pardon me. I thought you were someone else.

La Fin Du Monde

It's the end of the world. But don't be sad, it had to happen sooner or later.

House on the hill

New Header

I just finished this one, and I think it makes a fine header. Here's the old header, for archival purposes: