IT'S LIKE THAT!

...

2011-06-11T00:17:00.000-07:00

2011-06-02T22:36:00.000-07:00

I know its been a while since I've updated this page, but its only because we have been busting our asses prepping for the upcoming 20 Something Else show this saturday, and seeing as this represents the blood, sweat, booze and sleep depravation of 8 collected months, why would you come if you'd seen all the art online ahead of time?

32 Artists, need I say more?

Decked Out

2011-02-03T16:04:00.001-08:00

A new drawing of a pimped out wooden bicycle. Equipped with all the gear needed to survive urban chaos and explore the grungiest dark corners of the city while staying environmentally friendly.

5th anniversary FAM live paint

2011-01-22T08:42:00.001-08:00

Not a lot of photos of this great night, celebrating b-boy crew THE FAM's 5'th anniversary and still going strong. Kudos to Phil Fury for having us.

Seecreative Space

2010-11-30T10:53:00.000-08:00

Nothing to Chance

2010-11-29T17:09:00.000-08:00

From The Sketchbook

2010-11-29T16:48:00.000-08:00

Boom Klak

2010-11-09T12:56:00.001-08:00

At Ease

2010-11-09T12:46:00.000-08:00

DESTROY

2010-10-18T16:34:00.000-07:00

Lots of good vibes happening in the studios, a new show im working on with Dorian Wolf formerly of Spiral Beach, awesome art and music in one venue.

Fuzion

2010-09-29T20:28:00.000-07:00

Sleeping Giants

2010-09-21T00:13:00.001-07:00

Fruits of the Labour

2010-09-12T09:17:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a while, but its only because I've been working hard and trying harder. Things are coming together with new studio space and a show with some much more talented and all round great painters Tongsen Chen, Nick Defina, Cameron Scarth and Filip Matovina at Sleeping Giant Gallery. This is the result of a year of constant painting, work, good times and sleepless nights and is the closest thing you can get to 100% soul extract.

Come on out and have a blast with us on Sept 15, cheap drinks and stellar spinning from DJ Gnat of the 1000 for 10 shows.
SLEEPING GIANT GALLERY
789 Dundas west

For those who can't make it I'll also be doing a live paint session at the ART FUZION collective show at the Steamwhistle Brewery downtown on Sept 15, my little bro Gabriel will also be rocking out to promote his first album release.

Abitcloser

2010-07-24T19:36:00.000-07:00

Live Ordeal

2010-06-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

Along with Tong Chen and my brother we did a live paint for a cultural event down on the Esplanade. Cool people, good work and solid shows were the labels for the night as we zoned into our A-game and blasted through this psychedelic Black Panther tribute, even though the photo looks like shit with all the vibrant vermillions and toothpaste greens looking mushed together.

Spunk

2010-06-01T08:57:00.000-07:00

Three Wise Monkeys

2010-05-04T18:32:00.001-07:00

Beastie Boys tribute to one of the first albums I was obsessed with.
See no evil.
Hear no evil.
Speak no evil.

BAILOUT!!!!

2010-04-26T19:40:00.000-07:00

Work and no play is rough, good thing I'm no longer like this working fella,
Actually I'm free like this guy, and loving it.

OCD

2010-04-19T11:34:00.000-07:00

A little childish obsession with dioramas turned into a cool project. I have a new appreciation for animators and how they manage to avoid, or accept hunching over sketchbooks and carefully composed scenes, cause what you see here looked nothing like it did in real life...

On a happier note the first t-shirts of the evil empire collab of Julian Altrows and Tong Chen, more to come sooner than later.

Unruly behavior

2010-04-07T20:09:00.001-07:00

The Assembly Line

And the pretty things it produces.

2010-03-30T08:05:00.001-07:00

Call it what you want

2010-03-19T13:15:00.000-07:00

That's just hard work, elbow grease and the entire QOTSA discography, there's no better way to spend a couple of days procrastinating real work and not regretting it.

But in other news the 1000 for 10 show will be going up in two weeks, should be better and badder than the last as the roster has been trimmed, the work ethic tweaked and what remains is a lean, mean art dream. For those that didn't make it out to last years event my printmaking pal John Barry and his girlfriend Anam who head up Art Club Int. collective as well as myself threw a nice little show, the simple concept being a roster of up-and-comers of a 1000+ pieces on sale for $10 a pop, first come first serve to nab the cream of the crop. We'll be holding it at Hotshot Gallery in Kensington again on April first, so prank out in the morning and come party with us in the night!

Late Additions

2010-03-12T10:28:00.000-08:00

The Villains

2010-03-09T15:02:00.000-08:00

If you think your having a tough day...

2010-03-04T23:19:00.000-08:00

Talk about pressure.

Stacked Attack

2010-02-26T14:53:00.000-08:00

New stuff from the dungeon.

Lucky lucky

2010-01-31T12:57:00.000-08:00

2010-01-31T12:52:00.000-08:00

I was asked to design a tattoo, so I looked up some on the internet and this caught my eye. I've never even thought of a Patrick Swayze centaur tattoo with rainbows in the background, but my life's definitely richer now that I've seen this.

Soyonara

2009-12-29T13:37:00.000-08:00

So long 2009, you've been good to me.

Pressure Point

2009-12-11T13:00:00.000-08:00

Finished the semester and crunch time's over, been busy with small shows and woodburns. Trying to keep R&R part of my life, I also joined up with Extempore studios, which in a little while will be my second home. Thanks to those that found the time to drop by the 918 show!

In 2 places at once

2009-11-18T15:46:00.000-08:00

End of semester crunch time and things like this may be the reason I'm a bit stressed.

Yin Yangery

2009-11-16T16:50:00.000-08:00

Carl

2009-11-13T10:59:00.000-08:00

This is Carl. He's chills, always fun to hang out with but you never know where he'll be. He's got a million travel stories and seen everything and been everywhere you wish you'd been. He doesn't have a cellphone, never judges and friday the 13th doesn't mean shit to him.

Whodunit

2009-11-07T10:24:00.000-08:00

I'll kill the surprise, these two little guys will be part of the whodunit sale at Ocad later in the month.

Same soul different face

2009-11-03T20:33:00.000-08:00

These busy little guys are part of a 20 print edition made for a class exchange and are floating around school. Every one has been tampered with, painted and/or drawn on to make it unique.
From treehugger minimalist to desert explorer to oil tycoon, these robots do it all.

I also got some pretty tight prints from other people in the class. Here's a few of them.

Not like this!

2009-11-02T15:09:00.000-08:00

The Lost Files

2009-10-29T02:05:00.000-07:00

This set of prints project for my photographic processes class, they're pronto plate transfers on paper and they're not photographed that well so sorry its a bit tough to read the text. They're a set of lost open cases and shotty police reports that could be real or fake, but from the police's point of view look like lunatic rants and ridiculous accusations. I love finding crazy stories that can be corroborated and gain momentum when people find a forum to talk about them with each other, next thing you know there's an avalanche of sightings, abductions, close encounters and hilarious youtube chatter that takes on a lifeof its own.

observer

2009-10-25T19:22:00.000-07:00

She has style.

Dressed appropriately for the occasion.

Too busy to pose, doing everything you wish you were doing.

Shed no tears for the guards

2009-10-24T22:36:00.000-07:00

It's easier to make a studio than it is to find one.

"Rehearsal"
Collage in a shoe box.

Old paintings, new ones coming.

2009-10-13T10:51:00.000-07:00

India ink and acrylic things, this stuff is so sensitive,
but so malleable.

And an old sketch

The drummer for the Reggae band I always wish I'd started.

2009-10-03T15:50:00.000-07:00

With movable arms!

And some mixed media collages

Vagabonds and Duchesses

2009-09-17T13:22:00.000-07:00

And the Leafs season started in exhibition games

Dig it

2009-09-13T14:36:00.001-07:00

An old collage piece I did about a year ago.

Ralph Bakshi in his awesome mastery of the rotoscope process, download or buy American Pop c. 1981.

Back to business

2009-09-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

2009-08-22T16:05:00.000-07:00

Speed it up, <1/2 hour paintings. No more.

The Bombs

2009-08-16T20:35:00.000-07:00

Caracas graffitti is everywhere, legal and illegal alike. Most of it is raw, dirty and splattered in the best possible way. Enjoy.

Apparently Banksy hit Antimano

And Then There Was Boom

2009-08-13T21:05:00.000-07:00

Only 2 of us left on the trip now. Winding down and reflecting on the 3 days spent at Nuevo Circo chilling with what I guess could be called staff, and may just be the coolest place in the entire planet. An unused bullring sitting in the heart of downtown Caracas reclaimed by artists, buskers, street urchines and undisireables, It´s now home to the largest graffitti wall in south america and some of the biggest concerts. Its been defended militantly against police and developpers during the early days of its occupation until Chavez offered his personal guard to be a constant presence, while we were there there was always something going on and everything was done strictly for kicks, never for profit.

Dirty Slackers

2009-07-18T17:50:00.000-07:00

Getting treated too well in Antimino, in the heart of the Barrio, great people. We ran out of black paint, which seems impossible to get if you don't know exactly where to look, and ended up with pure oil. Do the best you can with what you got when working for an anarchist pirate radio station.

This is what happens when you try to rob us

2009-07-06T07:53:00.001-07:00

Great people, good fun. Work starts soon but we´re getting great reception and support.

Colour

2009-06-29T17:09:00.000-07:00

Lots of new multi-coloured spray paint is keeping me busy. Some oldies and a new painting I'm working on. It looks like crap right now. I'm still experimenting, but I am working with shitty $4 paint. It'll be a good challenge to pull off this one off.

2009-06-16T09:44:00.000-07:00

New paintings on birch, both in progress.There was no colour used in the convict, weird that he looks blue. Venezuela plans are marching ahead slowly, I was shown the Thumbs Up! seasons for the Vice travel guide to psyche myself into travel mentality. I just finished off season 2, David Choe is a pretty amazing artist with a bit of cynicism and a lot of energy, it's tough not to like and compared to hitchhiking i'll be living in luxury.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqhLVUnCKOY

2009-06-08T13:28:00.000-07:00

Improving slowly, my house smells like a campsite. Its kind of nice.

Free Time

2009-06-03T09:25:00.000-07:00

For the first time since grade 10 I am unemployed and out of school, and am somehow still managing to falsely promise myself every night that I can get to bed before 4 tomorrow. Between a neglected bass, dusty novels, a brand new sketchbook and procrastinated responses to a facebook thread, I managed to get out to Active Surplus, where a crazy lady yelled at me in a mix of what sounded like Cantonese and English, but spelled out her insults instead of just saying them. Every purchase at that store is an impulse buy. I found a wood burner for $15 and rummaged my basement, which is a gold mine, for scrap wood to test it out. Here's what I came up with.

2009-05-31T16:02:00.000-07:00

James Mercer of The Shins, awesome concert and unreal stage presence. Ink on Mylar, 18" x 18".

2009-05-27T19:35:00.000-07:00

These were random splashes of paint that ended up as a person and a dog, they're both done with India ink.

2009-05-25T18:11:00.000-07:00

A painting from earlier in the year. Ink on mylar 24" x 36", and paintings, some done some in progress.

2009-05-23T09:05:00.000-07:00

Mikro Man

2009-05-23T01:11:00.000-07:00

This thing is just too cool not to mention, its a Sam Buxton fold-out diorama made of extremely thin sheet metal that my uncle gave to me along with some art books when I helped him move. One of a bunch of designs, he hands them out as his business card if you to meet him in person.

2009-05-23T00:27:00.000-07:00

A lot of things come to mind when you think of Toronto, tallest building in the world, a giant space dome that opens and closes depending on the weather, a melting pot of cultures, it's a great city but it's also ridiculous to have bars close at 2, especially when the only alternative to going home by cabs is nicknamed the vomit comet, you need a good night under your belt to justify the rough ride home. My internal clock is messed up after an all nighter that started downtown and ended in us watching the sun rise over Niagra falls. I'm still wide awake and the brush with nature made me decided to finish and touch up a piece I've left and forgotten about for a couple of months now.

it's ink on mylar, 24" x 36"

2009-05-21T15:35:00.000-07:00

1000 for $10

2009-05-21T15:20:00.000-07:00

This is the sketch that started the graffiti drawings that started the blog, I did this in the mad craze to reach a quota of images for the 1000 for $10 group show I was organizing with John Barry and Anam Ahmed, who are also from OCAD and head the Art Club Intl. It ended up being a really diverse market style small show.

2009-05-21T14:50:00.000-07:00

Sketches I've been working on recently to start a small series, jazz cartoons, quick, fun to make and really illustrative. I just finished the first one of the clarinet player, its also a square foot.

2009-05-19T15:23:00.000-07:00

I've been working on some mixed media stuff as well thats a bit quicker and gives me a bit more instant gratification. I don't want to take away from the really detailed and labour intensive stuff, cause I love that too, but when you do stuff quickly it feels honest and raw.
It's a clean square foot.

2009-05-19T15:15:00.000-07:00

Another piece I did in the same style but adding a couple of details, this one's on paper with highlighters and a couple of pens.

2009-05-19T13:06:00.000-07:00

First off These are some paintings I've been working on for a little while, some finished some in progress. The first one is for an abstract class, in a graffitti style based on native designs. Somebody told me it looks like a whale.

It's 3' x 3'
Acrylic on canvas