George Brown Show information - Opening Reception Date Moved!

Opening reception is now on April 9th!  I hear that the reception was pretty crowded for the last student show, but I say the more the merrier.  

If you can't make the reception, don't worry, the show is on till April 30th, so feel free to drop by the studio.  It's on Adelaide by Jarvis.  (ignore the 209 on the side of the building, look for the George Brown banner above the door and come on down the stairs)

George Brown Show is coming together

The theme of the George Brown show is "From Portraiture to Abstraction", so I decided to stretch myself a bit and do some portraits.  I don't do too many, so I thought it would be a fun challenge.

Water

Acrylic

12 X 16

Since they wanted some works from class, I submitted Water, which was part of a series from the Abstract painting class I took a few terms ago.  We had to do the four elements in portrait, so I thought it would be perfect.

Elizabetta

Acrylic

12 X 16

Sorry for the glare on this one (Guess you'll just have to come down and see it in person to get the full effect!).   I'm sure there is a way to edit that out, but I'll have to figure that out another day.  I finally my new mac set up (yippee!), and I'm still learning how to do things the mac way... I know it's supposed to be intuitive, but all the years using PC's has trained me to to things their way.  

And the last one that's in the show you've seen before, but I thought I'd post him again, all nice an cropped.

Intense

Acrylic

12 X 16

I dropped by the studio yesterday, and all the works are hung, just the finishing touches to be added.  If you can't make the opening on April 16th, feel free to drop by the studio in April and see all the different works.  

• Opening Reception Friday, April 16 April 9, 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
• Location: 207 Adelaide St E, Toronto, ON   It's at Adelaide just east of Jarvis; look up and you'll see the George Brown banner above the door.  

Fun with Gel and Texture

Hope you like the new format of the blog, might still play with it a bit; but I like that I can put the Shown Information in tabs up at the top.

A bit of an update on that front. The opening for the George Brown show will be on April 16th 5-9pm. I've been having fun doing some portrait-like paintings (the show is called "From Portraiture to Abstraction"), I'm curious to see what ends up in the show.

Black Texture 1
8 X 8

As you can see this week, I've been having fun with gel and texture. I've started a bigger paining using the black gel, but I wasn't satisfied with it, and wasn't sure what to do next, so I started to experiment on these smaller canvases. (I know, I know, you're supposed to start with the small stuff first, and then do the bigger work, but as always I'm doing things backwards)

Black Texture 2
8 X 8

Black Texture 2 - Close Up
8 X 8

Don't know if you noticed, but I'm not very good with "subtle". I tend to get bored. But I have learned to simplify things, and that was part of the aim here. Black gave me the drama, and keeping it simple then I explored various textures.... but of course I'm wondering if these would have the same impact in different colours.... or if I added colours (so much for limiting myself!)

Black Texture 3
8 X 8 

Baud & May Show Details

Baud

Acrylic and Collage 

11 X 14

I was looking forward to this one as soon as I saw it come up in the random word list.

As I said I am a bit of a geek, and I had visions of circuit boards, old telephone modems and binary streaming in my head.  I prettied up the colours and made it a bit more girlie then your typical trip into the land of geek. 

I also started to distress it, and I loved the way the paper would soak up the colours.  It's evolved into something up a bit apocalyptic looking. I think I like it better this way.

Baud - Close Up

The Don Valley Art Club updated the show detail.  The opening reception is April 30th, and the show is the first two weekends in May.  Check out their site for the details, or I've also got a new Show Information section, you'll see the link over on the right.  Hope to see you there! 

Save the Date! I've got Shows in Toronto!!!!

All the details aren't available for these shows yet, but I'm so excited I couldn't resist posting this.


George Brown Continuing Education - Student Show In April
The details on this show are still being worked out, but here is the overview

• it'll be in the Continuing Education Studio/Gallery which is around the corner from the downtown St James campus
• Wheelchair accessible is not a problem, it just requires a little coordination with the staff, since the elevator isn't in general usage. 

Don Valley Art Club Annual Spring Show - May
They haven't posted all the details on the DVAC site yet, but I'm sure they will soon I'll keep ya posted

• It's just east of downtown at Todmorden Mills.  They are doing some construction, and their site says "partial wheelchair access" so I'll have to check out what that means. 

I've only been to one of their shows (I'm a new member), and it was great. I love shows like this... there are a million different artists and styles.... you're bound to find something you like.    



I'll let you know when the details are up.  I hope I see everyone at the shows!!! 

Cud and a new batch of words

This was one of the random words for this month, and it was a bit of a challenge.  I had visions of cows chewing peacefully in a green field, maybe some strange anatomical drawings of a million stomachs, and I was a little frightened to find out what cud actually looked like.  But I bravely went forth onto the internet to do some research.

And as usual, the web provided too much information. CUD is an acronym, for a genetic disorder, a scholarship program, and the name of a a band.  I could go on, there was lots more, but then one caught my eye....  Did you know that a cud can be an error in coin making?  It occurs on the edge of the die causing a blank spot occurs on the edge of a coin.    Bingo!!!      I have coins.     I have paint.    And this is what happened: 

I think the colour scheme is an unconscious response to all those Halloween nights carrying around UNICEF boxes.  And I'm sure something profound can be said about the fact that a lone US nickel shows up almost dead center in a sea of Canadian coinage, but it's becoming gorgeous spring day, and I'm heading outside.

Oh, but just before I head out, time for another batch of words.

1. baud
2. parochialism
3. streetwise
4. trill
5. religious

Think I could have some fun with baud.  I've been identifying as a recovering geek, but maybe this will help me merge my geek and artistic sides.  Well, I can only hope!