Art Quartet: Live Collaborative Painting Event

One of two paintings created during the event last weekend. We were only planning on doing one, but it wasn't
big enough for us all to work at the same time. And a bunch of artists are not going to sit around and watch....

Artist Christine Newman starting off
the first of the two paintings.

Last weekend I did something new and different for me. I worked on a collaborative painting with 3 other artists from the area, and since we were working in a gallery, we opened it up to the public to come and watch. I actually don't really know how many people came by to see what we were doing.... I get very focused when I'm working and someone could stand beside me and I wouldn't know they're there. But I'm told it was a pretty successful event and we had a good turn out.

Working with other artists is interesting. Everyone sees different things when they look at a painting in progress. There were a few times when we stopped to discuss what was working and what wasn't, and then between us quickly figured out a direction. When I'm working alone it can take me weeks to figure out what the problem is and how to fix it. To complete two pieces in a 4 hour time span seemed pretty amazing to me. And the fact that I thought they were both good even more amazing.

Overall everyone seemed to enjoy the whole thing and it was agreed that we would do this again in the future. The gallery has already started to plan the next event in September... I won't be participating due to family obligations, but it is sure to be a good time. If you live in the Toronto area and think you'd like to pop around to watch, you can follow either Imagemaker gallery or myself on Facebook for updates.

I had a drawing of a bird prepared in advance... just in case we needed something. Here Lisa and Christine are holding it in place while I paint around it. 

As we had only planned on doing one piece, we had a charity lined up to take it and give it a home. The second piece came about because having 3 artists sit around while one is working really isn't a reasonable expectation. We were bored in minutes, and rooting around in the basement we found an old canvas we could use for the second. You can tell by looking at the finished piece that this was the one I spent most of my time on. It has something of my "style" showing... though definitely not my usual colour choices. The smaller "Whirlwind" painting was donated to Interm Place, a local women's shelter. We aren't sure yet what we're going to do with the larger one... they don't have space to take both, so we're looking at other charities as options. Or possibly auctioning it off and donating the proceeds. We'll figure out something.

Artist Lisa Jayne Irvine is working on the smaller of the two pieces.
We all switched back and forth all afternoon, working on the piece that was
speaking to us at the moment.  

Graffiti artist Joseph Capobianco adding the lettering to the almost complete piece...

While he was doing that, the rest of us worked on finishing the other one...

And the second piece complete. This one has been donated to Interm Place, a local women's shelter.
Everyone needs a little beauty in their lives. Hopefully this will provide a bit for these residents.

Art Battle: Painting Becomes a Spectator Sport

A shot of the crowd during round one. Quite a nice turn out for an art event... the organizers must be pleased. 

Have you ever heard of "Art Battle"? From everything I've read, it started in Canada in 2013 and has taken off to become a national event. The competitions are now held across the country and thousands of Canadian artists have participated. I don't know if it's been done in other countries... but I've been hearing about these events for the past year and as I've had a few artist friends participate, I thought it was way past time for me to go check it out.

Artists in the first round, ready and waiting for the countdown.

I have no idea why I waited so long. Oh my god, it was so much fun. I was pleasantly surprised at the turn out. I imagine each artist there brought their people, but there had to have been at least a few people there that were in no way connected to the artists. They sold tickets, had a bar set up, had a DJ that played a nice mix of old and new tunes to keep the energy up, and the MC did a great job of keeping people moving around and engaged. The basic premise is this: 12 artists, divided into two rounds, each produce a painting in 20 minutes. The spectators log in online and vote for their favourite piece. Two winners from each round go on to the final, where the same process occurs. From those votes, a winner is declared, and that painter receives a prize... in this case I think it was $100 and a solo show at a local gallery. The winners from various battles in any one city all compete against each other a final event, and that winner then represents their city in the final Art Battle Canada event. I will be following the winner from this round, which was in Brampton (and is a fairly well known artist in the area) to see how he fares in the next competition.

This video is from the beginning of round one. It was pretty interesting to see what could be created in 20 minutes (I have a couple other videos from the event over on my YouTube Channel, if you are interested in checking them out). I'm not sure how I would approach this... I usually paint in layers, and need time for things to dry before going ahead. I would probably end up with a canvas full of mud. It may be an interesting way to challenge myself though... maybe something to consider for next year.

A friend of mine was competing at this event, artist Sandra Robson. She also uses layering techniques in her painting, so it will be interesting to get her perspective as a participating artist. Maybe I can get her to do a guest post.... I'll have to ask and see what she says.

Here are some photos from the event... I will identify the artists where I can. I was pleased to see a mix of young painters starting out and older, more experienced artists. Honestly, I thought the room would be filled with kids... especially after I was asked if I was a senior and wanted the senior discount by the 20something taking tickets at the door. Seriously. I'm in my 40s. If I look that old, I desperately need an intervention. Someone please help me.....

A couple of the artists chose to work on the floor instead of the easel. Only 20 minutes, so doable. 

My friend Sandra Robson. You can check out the rest of her work on her Facebook page.

I can't remember this artist's name.... final result was pretty successful.

Artist Ryan C. Thompson. He was the overall winner of the event.

Artist Sumeet Gill. I believe she went on to the next round... but I don't seem to have a photo to confirm that. 

Artist Seanre Bennett. You should have seen those pants by the time
he left. Covered in paint. Hopefully, that was the intention.

When the garbage is not garbage

I walk every day. Luckily, I live in an area that has a lot of parks and walking paths. A couple weeks ago doing my "around the lake" route, I came across this fun, painted garbage can. I thought maybe an industrious mom with bored children? Or perhaps someone who thought the plain black could use a little colour. I've often thought this myself. Normally, this kind of thing is not going to hang around... the city is quite anti-graffiti, and unless it is city sanctioned, any kind of public art offering will be painted over within weeks (city sanctioning usually involves committees, lots of paperwork and takes years to actually happen).

So, imagine my surprise when today I found these:

I think we have a guerrilla artist in our midst. This makes me smile. 

The Locks and Keys Project

I swiped this photo off another site....
it's a great shot of the wall.

When I was at Artfest I met an artist from the Boston area named Denise, who created this wonderful public art installation called The Locks and Keys Project. A 12 foot fence, covered in messages, locks, keys, secrets, hopes.... I wish I could see it in person because it looks so amazing in the photos.

Denise gave me a little kit to take home, which I can then mail back to her and she'll hang it on the wall for me. Took me a while to figure out what to put on my note... there are so many possibilities. I finally decided to go with my mantra of the moment. 

Locks and keys starter kit

Final project

I painted over the foam with acrylic... started with a metallic bronze and put a transparent green over top. I hope it reflects in the sunlight. Paint pens for the type, then bent a piece of armature wire in spirals to make a hook.

I'm popping this in the mail this week, along with a couple other little things for my friend. Maybe a trip out there this summer.... a road trip is always fun, and can be really inspiring.