Toronto outdoor art exhibition

so i applied to TOAE... i hope  i get in, sorry for no new art pics have a few on the go so next week will have stuff to share, this is what i submitted in the portfolio for TOAE

 

“The music was like wind in her hair” 18”x24” – acrylic on wood. 2011

 

“The Golden Girls” 36”x24” (24x24 + 12x24) – acrylic on canvas. 2010

 

“Electric Medusa” 12”x16” – fluorescent acrylics on canvas 2005-2011

 

“Efukt” 24”x48” (regular light) – fluorescent acrylics on canvas. 2010

 

“Efukt” 24”x48” (black light) – fluorescent acrylics on canvas. 2010

 

“Lorena II” 24”x60” (24x24 + 24x36) – acrylic on canvas. 2010

 

“Dream of the fisherman” 48”x48” – fluorescent acrylics on canvas 2010

 

“Ocean of my heart” 20.5”x20.5” -polychromatic screen print on canvas, acrylic, sewing. 2010

 

“Forest”- Approximately 36”x46”- acrylic, watercolour, found objects, bone, sewing, crochet, hemp. 2011

 

“Forest” (detail)- Approximately 36”x46”- acrylic, watercolour, found objects, bone, sewing, crochet, hemp. 2011

wish me luck i will cry if i dont get in.  Trying to pick 10 images to submit was crazy hard.  Trying to pick 10 pieces would have been hard enough.

I dont think i find out until like may.   booooo.

its been too long.

So i have been a bit lazy about blogging.  Partially i was waiting on some photo's to be edited, partially i've just been busy with school and stuff.



I  had a critique in my alternative painting class.   I could not have wished for a better critique.. have not gotten my mark back yet though so who knows.  I have learnt not to assume i've done well even if i get alot of praise.  This is the piece:

I painted a watercolour forest, did some acrylic splatter detail, sewed in the fire and smoke from fire, added some gel transfers, stuck some twigs between the painting and the glass of the shadowbox, crocheted some plant/rock masses, then did some more gel transfers with paint splatter foliage, stuck those between 2 panes of glass, made a dream catcher frame out of branches and hemp, and added fun stuff like pussy willows, lantern plants, feathers, bones and acorns.


 what else have I been up to?  hmmm... had the critique for my gender studies class where i handed in the bear pissing.   It went over really well i was happy!

ALSO had a critique in my issues of representation class.  The assignment was to paint 3 versions of a photo that i personally took.  I chose the picture of elyse (from the last post) we had to do a photo realistic version, a semi realistic/abstract one, and an abstract.

I am not even posting an image of the abstract cause it sucked so much.  The realistic one went over well, the semi realistic one went ok... and the abstract one i guess technically was better than i was expecting... but... thats not saying alot.  No mark back on these yet either, I LOVE the prof but she is a ridiculously hard marker... I wish i was only being evaluated on the one piece rather than all 3.

Oh and I had a film studies exam.  YUCK 

I have been spending what seems a copious amount of time getting applications ready for a couple outdoor art shows this summer.  Currently sick... and its reading week.  wooo!  

I did a portrait commission:

Went and saw El Anatsui at the Royal Ontario Museum , it was AMAZING!!!  He is an artist who makes these giant quilt-like textiles out of bits of metal like bottle caps etc.  REALLY TRULY amazing, I recommend going to see his work before the show ends. If you go on a friday its half price after 4:30.

 

Elyse, start to finish

 THE WIND WAS LIKE MUSIC IN HER HAIR (acrylic on wood panel 2011)

Hey, I thought it might be interesting to document the progression of this piece from start to finish, it is one of 3 paintings to be done from a photo that had been taken by myself for my issues of representation class.  The piece i believe is 18x24 acrylic on wood panel.  have been working on it for more than a week now, I'd say about a total of 20 hours including breaks.

omigod i left my house and did stuff

So... actually went out to some stuff this weekend.  Second weekend in a row... woot.  Went with Joey and his friend daniela, first we went to bookhou it was not actually their work but some featured designers.  I dunno, it was crowded as hell, a cool map of canada... a neat blow up chair.   Not really my style though. Then we headed to Made they had the apartment above the shop all set up with merchandise/ art. MADE at home Some of the rooms were more exciting than others, but it was pretty neat. There was some work from a woman that is part of Joey's study named kerry croghan she is super super sweet, and does fun feltwork, and sweet nature prints.  The shop was really awesome too. I pretty much wanted everything.  But way to pricey for my blood. Awesome branch kitchen chairs that went for $1500 each and cool wood grain hanging lamps, everything was awesome.  Then we went to Come up to my room at the gladstone.

It was pretty sweet. Packed, pretty loud, but fun for sure. Mostly really awesome stuff. A room with little.. sensor lights of some sort that twinkled like starts and was somehow hooked up to an i pod touch screen.  An abandoned dinner party, a room full of crocheted web-work, a room that looked like a cross between being under and ship's deck and a tree house, lots of sweet stuff.  A really awesome room in which a girl named Amanda had sewn 2D near life size versions of all the furniture in her living room into solvy and hung the transparent work from the ceiling how it was arranged in real life.
Pretty cool.
Today we checked out the work of one of my profs at OCAD jj lee at loop gallery

She has a series of narrative paintings that are being used in a children's book about a Turtle ... my bad TORTOISE for Ch'u.  They were pretty cute, and lots of cool collage and textures incorporated in the paintings.  After that checked out show and tell gallery 

friday night blogging

Had a fairly busy, productive week at school, i meant to write a blog a week ago but it seems not to have happened. Last saturday went to the Kim Dorland opening at angel gallery, it was pretty sweet. Pictures of his work online arent as impressive as the actual pieces in person which are alot larger than you think, he does lots of trees and uses glow in the dark paint, so ... often painting trees and even more often using black light paints I was impressed.  He is a pretty young artist, who is now doing really well for himself.  I was both encouraged, inspired, and totally envious.

Spent most of my time this week working on a portrait of my friend Elyse, I will post the pics when it is finally completed... almost there.

 Close up of a fun textural encaustic piece

 posted an earlier version of this piece a couple blogs back, this is the completed version, and i like it quite a bit better like this.  Its done with encaustic wax on an old dresser drawer

 full version of the close up piece above...

 better picture of an encaustic jelly fish painting I posted a couple of blogs back.

You may ask MIKE: why all the gay art lately?  WELL ... why not?  Also, I plan to get a booth at this years pride if all goes well, and want a large body of reasonably priced pieces for it.

 Sewing into paper

 This is not specifically gay, I have a figurative painting class... which means its all in class work from live models, every class we paint a 40x30 oil painting... this was last weeks

 bear dude taking a piss, sewn onto paper and burnt.

 gel transfer of the same bear dude, sewed fabric onto transfer

gel transfer, all the line work is sewn into it.

Hung out with my friend jade tonight, ate yummy nachos, and gave her a sexy little tattoo on the side of her ribs... it was interesting, the ink did not disperse the same there as it does on fleshier places like legs.  Good to know, will post a pic once she heals a little.

freezing cold tattoo, porn, gel transfers and goodtimes

Starting to get back into the swing of school, pretty excited about certain upcoming projects. 
Talked to my prof about my modern art mark.  turns out i did fairly decently but because of attendance I got a shitty mark.  serves me right.
So i was gonna make sure i went to all my classes this semester and I already missed one tonight.  I thought it started at 6:30 but it actually started at 5:30 so there was little point in going.

Instead I dragged a wet oil painting home on public transit, got paint all over my coat, and discovered that there is no heat at all in the house I live, and the landlord is missing in action.  BOOOO. 

On the bright side here are some pics of new stuff.

 Tattoo I did for a friend, obviously Shaggy and Scooby doo

 Joey found a mouse skeleton so I stuck it to a stained wood panel and painted a black light mouse angel...  I like this quite alot, simple cute and creepy.   Now i must find more skeletons

 Dude sucking his own dick... I figured why not, its a sewn image onto a bark type paper then mounted on a panel... kinda wish I hadnt have added a glaze finish to it.  Bit too shiny

 Ring Ring Ring Banana phone   gel transfer on wood panel

 transfer of a photo I took of a cracked and weathered old lawn ornament at my parents house, added button for an eye some tree bits, self leveling gel and some paint/marker detail.

My current mess.