Sunflowers and Smiley

Continuing my quest to have something to show at my shows this summer, I worked from a.m. to p.m. and came up with these two.

The sunflowers are a rare subject for me. I hardly ever do flowers but I got a challenge from a friend to try it and so here they are. Voila!

Sun Worshipper
24 x 36 acrylic on canvas

Smiley the Dog is the kind of thing I really enjoy doing. Face on, direct gaze, big smile. Animals who know more that we give them credit for. This guy's very optimistic. Treats anyone???

Smiley
16 x 20 acrylic on canvas

on the eve of Urban Art 2010

I'm not at Carp Market this weekend so I won't have to stop and let the geese pass this Saturday like I did last week.


Instead I'll be out marking spots for artists and getting booths set up and wondering where item X is and did I remember to bring it?

I don't know where the time is going but it seems I'm always busy or thinking about what I have to do next. I'm either saving my energy for the "next big thing I have to do" (I usually do this by watching AC360 podcasts. Ever since I dropped the cable tv to save money last December I've missed Anderson Cooper the most.)

I'm on the eve of one of my bigger yearly events, namely Urban Art @ Minto Park. This year it's 5 years old and my 2nd time organizing it with my good friend and fellow artist Tim Hunt. We had far fewer breakfast meetings this year than last. A testament to how busy Tim was too.

So I had one stand out day this week. I was interviewed by Michael Bhardwaj for In Town and Out a local CBC Radio One program every Saturday morning from 6am to 9am composed of information and interviews concerning events happening in our area over the weekend. I was so happy to be able to get the word out about Urban Art and to get an opportunity to talk about the community Post-It Note event which will happen during Urban Art tomorrow.

Basically Ottawa is a town with a lot of office culture. What more familiar format than the post-it note can you have when you are used to office spaces? In the park I will set up a pseudo office and I am inviting the public to write a thought, an idea, a grocery list, a to do reminder, a pet peeve on a post it and to put it up for all to see. I hope I get so many post it notes that all the surfaces are covered. And, for those who want to tell me a secret, I'll have my Top Secret File available in the filing cabinet, so you can leave something hidden if you want.

Really I am wondering what's on the mind of the people in Ottawa. What are you thinking about?

After the show I'll gather the notes up and make them into some kind of art piece. I did this before, when I bound secrets anonymously dropped into a ballot box for me into a book form called a flag book. Each secret was glued against the spine and then the book flies open in a great dramatic gesture, one flap lying atop the next all the way down. I'm not sure if the post-its will become a book. I have to wait and see what I get. But that's the fun for me. It's out of my hands.
Great.

The other thing that made my interview day a very auspicious occasion was the fact that I caught the double-decker OC Transpo bus both ways. What are the odds of that?



View from the front at the top
I also spent a few days postering with Tim this week. Between us we put up 230 posters in the downtown core. Someone always takes most of them down during the week - I've seen city workers and private citizens do this - but hopefully some remain and hopefully all the other artists have done their share as well. Now all we can do is hope for good weather, and if we don't get, to go on with the show anyway.





See you tomorrow.

This Weekend June 5/6 in the Glebe - The New Art Festival

Hard to believe the year has already brought us to the doorstep of the New Art Festival. Last year I missed this show. I think I've missed only 2 or 3 since it started, so I am glad to be back this year. My location is #27 Patterson, which is an area I've never been in so that's a new thing too. And another new thing will be my booth full of prints! I've amassed quite a collection of them since I started school, 4 years ago now, and I am happy to bring some of these works out into the light of day. I actually have a long history with printmaking in my life, having been an hand-set type printer using a Vandercook proof press over 25 years ago. This pre-dates my foray into the world of craft by 3 or 4 years but dovetails with my calligraphic pursuits. I've always pursued visual art, though my path gets clearer and clearer with every year that passes. It's completely clear now that I'll never stop making art no matter what I am doing otherwise or where I am or what tools or materials are at my disposal. I just have to do it to be happy. It'll be nice to be surrounded by others at the New Art Festival who feel the same way.

Here are a couple of prints that will be on display:

Keep on Trippin' relief bleedprint, conte & charcoal on BFK Rives 24" x 24" 2009

Zombies Need Hugs lithograph on stonehenge 15" x 18" 2010

AND

If you are a part of the next Ottawa art in the park event, the Urban Art @ Minto Park show to be held July 24th, from 10-5pm at Minto Park on Elgin St. across from Jack Purcell CC, which is organized by myself and Tim Hunt, then please stop by #27 Patterson and pick up some of these nifty handouts to help us promote the show. Spread the word amongst art lovers so they can find you and support you at your next show.

We love art lovers.

Distribute Freely

Here's a poster for the Urban Art @ Minto Park Show. I am organizing this art in the park along with Tim Hunt this year. This image will give you two flyers (fold and tear in half lengthwise) to hand out or to paste up anywhere in the city... not that I'm suggesting anything... ;)

Urban Art @ Minto Park July 18, 2009 Elgin at Gilmour Street, Ottawa

This is a year of new adventures for me. Perfectly in line with this is my new position as one of the organizers of the 4th Annual Urban Art @ Minto Park art in the park show.






My good friend Tim Hunt is the other organizer. Between us we hope to get this thing going!







So, on bustling Elgin Street, one of the few Ottawa streets alive with action day and night, you will find the Urban Art Show on Saturday July 18th, from 9pm - 5pm, rain or shine. We are currently lining up participants for the show and if you are local to Ottawa, and a fine artist, I encourage you to apply. It is a juried event and it is an event strictly for handmade goods.




We are looking to give a hand up especially to those new to art shows in general and we hope your experience at the show encourages you to keep going. We need more artists in the world that's for sure.







I'm excited to announce we'll be participating in a community art event linked to a giant world-wide event called Art for Miles. At our show we'll be rolling out a 12' x 5' canvas and inviting the public and our artists to help create a mural on the topic of the Urban Environment. Our mural will join many many more from all over the world in May 2010 in Egypt.

FROM: TO:

At that time all the murals will be linked together and wrapped around a pyramid in Giza in an attempt to create 12,000 miles of murals for peace for the world, and possibly to break a Guinness Book of World record for the longest mural. This project has been in the works for TEN years. I love the idea that a part of Ottawa will be around a pyramid don't you? Over the years my art has gone around the world, to many places I have never been. This one totally captures my imagination.

More info on the event itself at www.the-art-miles-mural-project.org/

And if you are curious about Urban Art @ Minto Park check out the blog. You can find the info and application there as well as an intro to some of the artists appearing at our event. Or you can email the show at urbanartshow@hotmail.com