Goodbye, 2011. And Hello, 2012.

Probably the final post of the year, so I thought I'd talk a little about 2012. As I've mentioned previously, I've been doing sketches for a show called "Closing Time" - a series of pinup girls against the backdrop of bars and other drinking establishments (two subjects near and dear to my own heart).

Well, just one beautiful pinup girl, to be honest.

Anyhow, I procured a 36x36-inch canvas from the good people at Opus Art Supplies today, brought it home, scratched my chin, and thought about what I could do with such a canvas:

Of course the answer was obvious: I could plunge into the Closing Times series. Now, I've been giving these a lot of thought lately - figuring out how I might render them, whether or not I should incorporate some texture, etc. etc. (I must admit, the subject of these hypothetical paintings has been strolling through my subconscious on a regular basis, too.)

Anyhow, after some deliberation I figured out the approach I want to take with this series, and shockingly, it's a much simpler, more minimalist route than the one I take with the Metalflake paintings.

So, you've seen various iterations of this already, but a number of tweaks have been made to this design since:

(And keep in mind, of course, that this is just a mockup, not the actual painting.)

All that being said, I will be applying the first blue washes to this piece tomorrow, and we'll see where things go from there. And if you want to see where I go with this one, Loyal Reader...

... well, you'll just have to wait and see.

Thank You, Thank You.

So here we are, almost at the tail end of another year. It's been really up-and-down for me, but for our purposes here let's focus on the pros and not the cons. I met an astounding number of new friends, both locally and worldwide. And among other things, these friends (as well as the ones who've been with me for years) have bought and/or promoted my art everywhere.

I've been interviewed, profiled, reviewed, you name it. I was in two very successful shows (the second of which was my first solo show, and let me tell you, brothers and sisters, that there was no small amount of anxiety in the days leading up to that one). I've had many commissions, a handful of which are nearing completion as we speak.

So without further ado, here's the roll call for 2012. It's loosely organized into categories, but there's so much overlap that I'd rather not get too specific about what those categories are. Here we go:
My family, Dan Udey, Jenn Ashton, Patti Catroppa, Nicole and Todd Cruickshank, Ceci Graber, Lori Kittelberg, Donna Jaggard, Lisa Jarvis, Mario Loubert, Joe Clark, Karina Halle, Scott McKenzie, Regan Taylor, Devin Oickle, Jeff Murphy, Mike Seymour, Geoff Seymour, Susan Burzynski, Cynthia McShane, Lola Augustine, Jenny Burzanko, Linda Kat Spencer, Domenick Bartuccio, Geoff Gauthier, Anthony Wittrock, Jennifer Davis, Kit Knowles, Randy Bishop, Blair Pritchett.

Colin and Cameron and P.J. from the Tipper, Franziska San Pedro, Lori McNee, Lindsay B., K. Myles, Ned Tobin, Mike Hoffman, Cathryn Salter, Crystal Kwon and Karm at VanCity Buzz, Sati from LiveVan, Vincent Ng, Bahaneh Grewal, Matty Sadorf, Lexy Stabbs, Meghan Low, John Lee, Ian A. Martin, Rheni Tauchid.

John Watson, George Smeltzer, Gary Bolt, Tina Power, Stephanie Young, Jaye Frisina, Pól Rua, Mike Watson, Donna Jay, Jeff Hornby, Anthony Smith, and everybody at RedBubble, Imagekind, Blurb, MOO Cards and ABC Photocolour.

Robert Genn, Alyson Stanfield.

And obviously, Tess McCann.

I thank you all.


(Please note: if I left you out, it's not a personal slight; it's just the effects of my insomnia. In which case, drop me a line and I'll correct the oversight ASAP.)

A Christmas Story.

Gather 'round, children, and I'll tell you a tale of happiness and Yuletide joy. Once upon a time there were a boy and a girl who fell in love. And they both loved art, which is a good thing, 'cause otherwise this would be the end of the story.

Now this couple (let's call them, oh, "Dan and Donna") already had several paintings by a local Artiste (let's call him, oh, "me"). And they wanted more. So "Dan" contacted the Artiste in question and asked about commissioning a portrait of "Donna". The Artiste, of course, was quite enthusiastic about such a project, because he loved painting (and truth be told, he was also somewhat fond of financial remuneration).

So Dan and the Artiste struck a deal, and work began. And shortly thereafter, the Artiste heard from Donna, who wished to purchase a painting called "Ace of Spades" as a present for Dan.

This pleased the Artiste to no end.

(An amusing side note: after the deal was struck with Donna, Dan contacted the Artiste again, this time to inquire about purchasing the Ace of Spades painting. The Artiste expressed sympathy and apologetically told Dan the painting was already spoken for.)

The Artiste was understandably amused by all this subterfuge, and with uncharacteristic restraint, only told a couple of people.

Okay, a whole bunch of people. But not Donna or Dan, which is key.

Meanwhile, work continued on the portrait of Donna:

And time passed, as it usually does. The painting and the Artiste found themselves disagreeing from time to time, but with the help of the Artiste's lovely and talented Muse, the painting was finished with an entire day to spare.

On Christmas morning, paintings were exchanged, Donna and Dan were happy, and there was much rejoicing throughout the land.

And they all lived happily ever after.

The End.