Monthly Archives: January 2011

My Latest Painting

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A few of months ago, I met up with an old friend of mine from high school who I probably haven’t seen in at least ten years. It was the magic of Facebook that got us in contact again. It happened because one day I asked my FB friends if anyone was interested in posing for some pictures that I would later use in paintings, and Chris, who I painted here, was down for meeting up for some shots. We met up at OMEN‘s B-Sides and Horrors exhibit and I napped a few pics.

I didn’t really know where this painting was going when I started. I began experimenting with some copper leaf effects for backgrounds and I wanted to attempt painting on one. The painting here is a sketch of sorts, testing out the surface. It’s quite small, at only 10″ x 8.” The white, feathery light from Chris’ forehead was one of the final touches and just seemed to be what the painting was calling for. It seems to fit my series of paintings, ‘Between Perceptions,’ and so I’ll be adding it to the line up. Although the painting is still untitled, let’s just call it ‘Chris’ for now.

Feature on Jung Yeon Min

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With what seem like banana slices, bronchial cross sections, bridges, waterfalls, mountains, polka dots, polar bears, unidentifiable organic tissue, and polar bears wrapped in unidentifiable organic tissue,  I think you’ll agree that Jung Yeon Min’s paintings are other worldly. I’d say straight up tripped out.

Surrealist lanscapes of the mind and body, Min’s work is Dr. Seuss landscapes meets 1980′s encyclopedia illustrations. In her fantastical worlds, Min is taking us through contemplative journies which don’t tire easily. The more I look at Min’s work, the more I adore it. I always appreciate artists that blend abstraction with realism, hard graphic lines with softly renderings.  It’s a dreamy world of impossibility vs. possibility. Min’s paintings capture a wonderful sense of space hovering between natural, microscopic and dream.

Jung Yeon Min is a Korean born artist now based out of Paris. Check out more info and more of her work here.

Feature on Helnwein

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Gottfried Helnwein: Gottfried Helnwein:

Gottfried Helnwein: Gottfried Helnwein:

This artist goes by one name, Helnwein. While we might find that distracting, his work speaks for itself. He could be named the artist formerly know as Helnwein for all I care.

Helnwein’s work is very dramatic and theatrical. It’s haunting and disturbing at times, like a horror or psychological thriller film.  Helnwein works in paint, photography, performance and instillation art. Featured here are only his paintings. Tragedy, children and innocence are reoccurring themes in his work and a lot of his work has a shock element. His paintings are huge, as you can see with the last photo included here, others are massive. murals that span 112 feet.

Originally from Vienna and now based out of Ireland and L.A., Helnwein exhibits at pretty impressive venues. Check out more of his work on his site, including cameo appearances by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Marilyn Mason… oh L.A.

Feature on Juan Francisco Casas

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Most people just write with their ball point pens, maybe doodle a little while on the phone or when in a class. Juan Francisco Casas has taken his use of a ball point pens a little further. With nothing other than a pen and a photo reference, this Spanish born artist draws photorealistic portraits of the young and the beautiful.  The pieces are usually quite sexy and and playful, sometimes depicting nude women, or people making silly faces or both. In all the work there is an element of fun and vibrancy.. although while looking at his work I can’t help but feel as though he is having more fun than I am.

Casas has a lot of work out there and is doing it well. Check out more of his awesome work on his site.

more photos

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I’ve been getting anxious and a little existential, probably because I haven’t painted in a few weeks. After the holidays I took on some organizing then to writing a proposal for a three month residency in Paris. I’m just about done all the paper work and I’m stoked to get back to some painting. I’ve had loads of ideas over the past little while, but without actually getting the chance to paint them, I feel as though I might be be over thinking them and loosing the initial sparks.. but then again maybe I’m just thinking too much.

Presented here is another addition to my photo blog which is in not chronological nor in any particular order. These are shots from here in Montreal, the city and the sky.

New Painting

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Above is my latest painting which I didn’t get to naming yet, but since it’s of my friend Raji, I’ll just call it “Raji” for now. This piece took a bit longer to complete than most of my recent work, probably because of it’s substantial size and my absence of big brushes. This piece is five feet high by 40 inches. As you can see it’s very colourful, so needless to say, it has a presence and demands attention. After staring at it for an extended period of time and then looking away, the colours of the world appear less lively.
This painting is the third in a series of work that is diving into super saturated complementary colours. The works are challenging me to control colours that compete and don’t easily play well together. On my palette the paint looks like an arrangement of brightly coloured candy. If I’m not careful while applying it and unintentionally blend rival colours, the colour becomes a murky mess. This forces me to paint in a fashion that is new for me; layering thick amounts of paint as to not disturb the underlying layer. The result is a more painterly effect with more texture than I’m used to.

more of my photography

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Here’s another selection of some of my photography. These shots are taken through the dirty windows of my studio, and one from a building in Westmount in Montreal. Again, these are just from a point and shoot, but I was able to get the focus in the windowpane instead of off into the distance. Winter in Montreal can get bleak at times; very little daylight and dirty, slushy snow in the city streets. In these shots however, I captured some colour from the setting sun. Winter, while being quite long in this part of the world, can also be quite beautiful a times. Fresh snowfalls and sunny days are glorious, especially if you like to hit the mountains for some boarding.

Feature on Spencer Tunick

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Herding massive groups of naked people for art; that’s one of the great feats that Spencer Tunick pulls off. His live people installations are very impressive. It boggles my mind how he was able to shut down NYC’s Central Station to get a bunch of naked people together for a photograph. But that’s the magic of art; people will get naked to be part of it. But then again, maybe people just really want an excuse to be naked, I know I do.

Tunick’s work is very intriguing, in process and as an end result. A lot can be said about how effortlessly he gathers thousands of people to bear it all for the camera. As well, the photos themselves are brilliant. The choreographed placement of all the nude figures on significant landmarks and landscapes are otherwise impossible events. A viewer looking at his work for the first time is shocked to find out that these happenings actually occurred.

Tunick once did an installation here in Montreal, and I may or may not have been part of it.

Check out more of his work on his website. There is loads of nudity, I promise.

Feature on Ekundayo

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Beautifully tormenting. Ekundayo, who is an LA based artist, has paintings with some serious depth. I really enjoy his use of such vibrant colours within imagery that seem to express struggle, heavily weighted burdens or challenges that one faces. The colour suggests to me that the situations are not completely bleek nor without optimism, but offer vitality and potential for change.

Ekundayo’s roots are with aerosol street art and graffiti. The style slightly remind me of Montreal’s graff artist PRODUKT, but most likely are by mere coincidence. Either way, I’m a fan of both.

You can see more of Ekundayo’s work at Thinkspace Gallery or read a little interview done by JUXTAPOZ.

Feature on Lola Dupre’s Collage-Based Art

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Lola Dupre is a young artist based out of Glasgow, Scotland. Her art is mostly figurative and collage-based, but what I find to be really interesting is how she uses multiple copies of the same image to build her subjects, effectively morphing the original image into something distorted and surreal. As you can see above, Dupre works from photography, some found, and many of which are of highly recognizable people, as well as images from art history. Paper, scissors, glue and whole lot of patience brings together these wonderful images.

Dupre has a great little interview on Fecal Face. You can also check out more of what she does on her site!



Feature on Christian Faur’s Crayon Portraits

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Sometimes artists get this feeling that it’s all been done before, usually when we’re lackin inspiration and artistic vision. I wish there was some sort of formula, some prescription of actions to take to cure this feeling. While there are a few things that can help, which are probably different for different people, one that is almost a sure shot it seeing some completely refreshing art.

Featured here is Christian Faur. While one might think that this is just some portraiture, or that this is no different than what Pointillism has achieved in the past, all I have to say is that IT”S MADE WITH INDIVIDUAL CRAYONS! How rad is that?

Faur is technical in his approach. He goes about his portraits in a very organized and planned manner, something that I, myself have been used to doing. Pixelated computer print outs of his subjects are used as reference so he knows where each shade and colour of crayon belong. Is he ultimately no different than a technician?  Well one thing I’m learning is that there are no rules, just opinions, and lots of them. As for me, I dig.

Faur does more than just crayons. Check it out on his site.