Showing at Fat Cow and Oyster Bar

  So you remember that creative funk I've been in? Well I saw a showing call that was put out by a local independent restaurant that I admire. With eyes wide I jumped at the opportunity and met up with Chris, the owner of the Fat Cow and Oyster Bar to look at the space. 

The Fat Cow is tucked in a little industrial plaza that would be so easy to miss if you weren't looking for it. Kudos to Chris for creating a restaurant that serves food you're willing to search for. Langley is abundant with large corporate restaurants that serve safe standard dishes for the masses coupled with mediocre service. My heart is always warmed when there are chefs willing to make great food with fresh local ingredients and who are responsive to their guests. Too bad there aren't more.

Back to the showing space.....the walls are quite high at the Fat Cow so I had to put up mostly larger pieces. I went with a recent food series I've been working on. I however didn't have anything for their large brick back wall so I had the genius idea of buying a 30" x 40" canvas and creating something. I haven't painted that large in ages and I had to wrestle with a lot of negative self-talk to get it done. Thankfully my timeline was short and I forced myself to get it done. How's that for confronting the demons?!

Below is the painting "Lotus Tea". I was able to work on a few things in this piece that I've been putting off for ages. The pattern on the cups is from an uneditioned linocut block I cut years ago. My mantra for this piece was,"less thinking, more doing". I have mixed feelings about the finished piece but I'm proud of myself for having done it despite my insecurities.

If you haven't made your Valentine's Dinner plans yet I recommend checking out Fat Cow for their yummy looking Valentine's Aphrodisiac menu. Tell them I sent you!

Year of the Horse print exchange

Well! I'm happy to say that even though I've been slogging it through an artistic slump that my creative addiction has won out and I created something for the Year of the Horse International Print Exhibit and Exchange. The horse theme was a little tough for me as I couldn't come up with anything that didn't look lame or cheezy. I think the new video I saw from Kayne West featuring running horses DID NOT help. Fromage!

Anyways, here's my linocut submission: "Circus Pony".  I look forward to seeing what kind of horses I get back from other printmakers. Did you submit something?

Wishing you a Happy New Year

Hi everyone! Happy New Year! It's been over a month since my last post! That's an epic amount of time in online terms. The truth is that I've been feeling really uninspired and I can't think of anything too positive to say. My studio practice has taken a beating lately and even though I keep trying to create something, I haven't been happy with the results. This funk has crossed over into my baking as well and has me making some silly culinary mistakes. So......I'm going to go with my instincts and I'm going to retreat away from an online presence while I find my way back to feeling relevant. I hope to see you again on the other side.

What about you? How did you get past your last artist block? I would love to hear your thoughts.

See you at the Steveston Christmas Craft Fair

  The Christmas craft fair season has started! I hope you're able to avoid the mall this year and make it out to one of the many fantastic handmade shows. I would love to go see all the vendors at Make*It at the PNE but I think it's a bit too far for me this year. Next year, for sure.

 The only show I will be selling at this year is the Steveston Christmas Craft Fair on Nov. 30 10-4pm. If you've never been, it's a great excuse to visit Steveston and see where Once Upon a Time is filmed. 

  I will be selling cards, calendars, prints, paintings, silkscreened napkins and tea towels and whole whack of other goodies. Shall I see you there?

Hot One Inch Action Saturday November 9th 8-11pm

Hey everybody! Guess what? I got into this year's Hot One Inch Action. If you've never been before it's the fun one-night art button trading show put on by Hot Art/Wet City. This year it's being held in their own gallery at 2206 Main St (@6th Ave) on Saturday November 9th 8-11pm. This is a really popular show and the space does get jam packed with traders but that makes it even more fun.
 This is the tenth year of the show so it they've added another ten artists into the mix to round it out to 60. I live too far away to do any live trading but I can't wait to see the other pieces that were accepted. How about someone else trades for me? Below is my submission. Keep an eye out for it and tell me how the show goes.

A homemade Halloween night.

Hi everyone. It's been a while since I've posted. I can't believe Halloween has come and gone already! Did you dress up? The weather here was nicer than past Halloweens so the kids got to do extra trick-or-treating. I thought I'd show you some pics of this year's outside decorations. I hope we didn't scare too many little ones with our zombie driver.

Submission Calls

Well hello there! I've been busy in the studio preparing for the Christmas season and some upcoming submission calls. Today I thought I'd let you know about some of those calls in case you'd like to join in the fun too.

 I'm preparing some work for ArtBomb which is an online art auction site and I'm thrilled that it is a Canadian site. The work being offered seems to be quite varied so I'm going to give it a shot.

Next up is the Anonymous Art Show at the North Vancouver Community Art Gallery which will feature all original artwork on 8"x8" panels or canvasses. The deadline is November 2nd.

Hot Art Wet City has put out their call for their annual Hot One Inch Action which features the always popular one-night button trading show. The deadline is November 1.

The North Vancouver Community Art Council also has their Art Rental Programme call out. The jury days are October 20 and November 3 and you have to register ahead for a time slot. I better get on that.

Finally there is the 13th International Print Exhibit and Exchange through Proof Gallery. This year's theme is the Year of the Horse. I've got some ideas rolling around in my head but I think that I might try giving Kitchen Lithography a try again. I'll let you know how it goes.

So there you go. Now I better head back into the studio and get to work.