Thoughts on the Dino Show, and a Question.

All sorts of fun things going on here in preparation for the next art show in October. You may have already seen the t-shirts and the new calendar, but there are also 18 new metalflake paintings in the works. Right now they're scattered all around my studio, in various states of completion.

Here's a sneak peek:

We've got paintings as small as 3x4 inches, and as large as 20x20. Some will have designs based on the illustrations in my calendar, and some will have designs that are just rough concepts at the moment (hey, there's still plenty of time). Just the other day, for example, the Agent and I were talking and she suggested doing paintings based on dinosaur fossils.

Clearly she's a genius, because this opened up whole new areas of creativity for me. This T-Rex skull design is already on a t-shirt, but on a metalflake painting I think it'll blow people's minds:

I've also got an idea in mind that involves revamping the whole metalflake technique so it's even more three-dimensional. But that may have to wait for another show.

There may also be some other dinosaur-related merchandise available, but that's still top-secret for now. Mum's the word.

While I've got your attention, what's your favourite dinosaur?

Metal Flake Remix - The Shocking True Story.

Well. As I write this it's late Monday night. It's been a pretty mellow day - slept in late, couldn't really get focused on anything, though I did still get a lot done. Yesterday was a hangover day, though more in the spiritual/mental sense than the physical sense.

But Saturday? Ah, Saturday. That was a fine, fine day.

As you obviously know from previous posts, Saturday was the night of my latest show, Metal Flake Remix. We had a great turnout, and I met lots of new people, which is definitely one of the best perks of being an artist. And I sold lots of art, drank some delicious bourbon, and created six new paintings:

After the show, I sat up with a handful of close friends all night talking (okay, and occasionally drinking). By Sunday afternoon it felt like the day after the prom - I was tired and burned out, but very happy. And it felt like I'd taken a huge step in my life.

I definitely want to try live art again. What an amazing experience - I was nervous as hell about trying it, but once I got started I couldn't have stopped if I tried. The music, the momentum, the amazing people watching, all combined to give me one hell of a kick in the ass. I know I have a lot to learn about this, of course - how to draw the audience in more, how to control the pace a little better, how not to blaze through all the work in just 20 minutes. But I'll get there, with practice.

Some of my favourite moments - Kelly winning the painting we drew for, finally meeting some longtime Twitter friends face-to-face, putting the big blue handprint everywhere, tequila shots, having friends from the bad old days in Charlottetown on hand...

Plans are already afoot for upcoming shows, too. The Dino Show is tentatively scheduled for September, and I wouldn't mind incorporating some live art into that as well. Closing Time is still a going concern, too (I'd really like to take my time and think that one through, though). And then there's For a Dancer - those six paintings could conceivably be finished by early August. Not sure yet what will happen there, but it'd be nice to have a one-night mini-exhibit in a restaurant.

I certainly don't want to oversaturate the market, so to speak. Fortunately my agent/marketing manager is passing on a ton of great advice in that regard, and in others as well.

So without further ado, some people I really need to thank: my family, John Watson and Imagemaker Photographic Studio, Kate MacDonald, Alex Stewart, Cosca Restaurant, the Après-midi Teahouse, Bailey Hunter, Lindsay Bayne, Derek Bolen and Karm from VanCity Buzz, Abbey Jackson, Kelle Belle, Dale Deruiter, Karina Halle and Team EiT, Corinna and Adam Carlson, Lola Frost, Lori Kittelberg, George Smeltzer, Samantha K, Matty Sadorf, Ned Tobin, Jonny Warkentin, Scott Graham, Oddball Workshop, Annie Friesen and Dottie's Buttons, Jamie Lee Purgavie, Nicola Proctor, Cynthia Griffiths, John Lee, Ceci Graber, Andrea Waters, Geoff Gauthier, Steve Goodman, Mike Watson, Johnny B, Novo Pizzeria, MCNG Marketing, Felice Lam, Cathy Browne, Anthony Wittrock, David Dreger, Amanda West...

... and of course, in the Without-Whom Department: Tess McCann.

(Photo by Lindsay Bayne. All other photos courtesy of Cynthia Griffiths.)

Metal Flake Remix - a Photo Retrospective.

So my latest show has come and gone. I'll do a more indepth post in the next couple days, but for now I'll just show you a few choice moments.

The day started with mimosas and grilled cheese for the Lovely Assistant and I:

(Go Habs!)

Once we got to the studio, we got all the necessary supplies ready:

Along one wall I showed the evolution of the Metal Flake series.

Of particular interest to many people were the seahorse and "For a Dancer" paintings, but those were already spoken for:

All too soon, we got to the live-art portion of the show:

(As you can see, painting is thirsty work.)

 

The live-painting portion of the show over with, it was time for some social activity:

Photos courtesy of Corinna Carlson, Cynthia Griffiths, Ian A. Martin, Jocelyn Aspa, Lola Frost, Lyndsay Bayne, Scott Graham, Steve Goodman, and the incomparable Tess McCann.

Thank you, everybody.

No Need to Be Koi, Roy.

Greetings and salutations. The big day approaches, all too rapidly. I'm slowly getting things together, but the usual pre-show stress (and accompanying insomnia) have already started.

Fortunately, painting takes the edge off, so it's good I still have new metalflake pieces in the works. Just finished this one today:

I may do a dragon on a blue background next.

I'm aiming for 24 paintings (and 3 prints) for sale, plus another 4 on display.

And before I know it, it'll be Friday and I'll be painting live in front of a crowd. No pressure...

Thoughts on the Remix Show

Two weeks from tonight, as you may already know, I'm putting on a new art show. The title is Metal Flake Remix, and as the title suggests, it'll rework visual elements from the original Metal Flake show last fall.

The key difference is, this show will be mainly about live art. I'll be whipping up a new series of paintings on the spot, in front of an audience. I'm aiming for six paintings of various sizes, done mainly with spraypaint and stencils - stencils based on the white lineart designs I used on the original series. I'm as curious as anybody to see how all that will turn out.

There'll also be several new metalflake paintings available. And I'll have a handful of older pieces for sale, as I'm trying to clear some of the clutter out of my studio and move forward with my art..

Further to that, if you're planning to attend, bring a business card for the fishbowl - we'll be holding a draw to give away one of the paintings.

The show will be in the same venue as January's art sale: Imagemaker Photographic Studio (210-2075 Yukon Street at 4th).

Doors will open at 6:00PM, and the paint will start to fly around 7:00. Hope you can make it.

Metal Flake Remix.

Preeeesenting:

Big Art Weekend.

It's finally summer here in the GVRD*. And what better way to spend a summer weekend than being immersed in art?

Friday night, bring a proud, card-carrying member of the Vancouver Art gallery, I attended the Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters opening. I honestly had no idea Matisse was so prolific, much less in so many mediums. His pen-and-ink work in particular really caught my eye - the linework was beautiful, and so fluid.

It was nice to see another Van Gogh and another Renoir, too. I feel a real kinship for Vincent in particular.

Saturday was mostly spent outside in the park, barbecuing and soaking up the sun with friends. That night we moved the festivities back to my buddy Mike's place for drinks and general good times, before closing the night at the Dover Arms. While we were all at Mike's, I whipped up a couple more Sketchbook Diary entries, including this ashtray:

And today (Sunday) I've been working on the playlist for next month's Metalflake Remix show. I haven't sorted all the details yet, but it'll be taking place the night of Saturday, June 16, and I'll be creating live art all night (expect an official announcement very soon).

In other art news, potential new painting concepts seem to be popping into my head on a daily basis now. Here's a couple to tantalize you:

Hope everybody else's summer is off to a great start.

*Greater Vancouver Regional District.

At Last, the Top Seekrit Revealed.

Way, way back, I blogged about a project I called Top Seekrit. The project took awhile, due to the vagaries of winter weather and life just getting in the way, as it often does.

The painting was more-or-less finished in early January, and presented to the birthday girl who inspired it on the day of her party. Unfortunately there wasn't time to get it properly photographed. Plus, the clearcoat was still milky in a couple spots, which I have to admit made me more than a little nervous. What if it never cleared completely? You really don't wanna be the guy who ruins a pretty girl's birthday present.

Fortunately it dried nicely, and a couple days ago I finally had it photographed by my good friend John Watson.

But wait - I'm getting ahead of myself here.





It all started this way: she told me about a seahorse tattoo she had, and how she'd love a painting based on Charles (the aforementioned seahorse, of course). She'd already seen several of my first-generation metalflake paintings, and liked the look of those. So really, it was all just a matter of sorting out details after that.

First I did a tracing of her tattoo, which hopefully didn't tickle too much:

Then I refined that a bit, and defined the lineart better:

Next came the final ink lineart, ready to be transferred onto the painted surface:

(It was during this stage that I decided to add the little circular bits to Charles's crest.)

And how did all this turn out, you ask? Well, a lot like this:

Oh, and here's a little macro detail to give you more of an idea of how the metalflake paintings look in the real world:

What can I say? When I'm inspired the whole process is just... easier.

Bret Taylor
Vancouver, BC
March 31, 2012

P.S. As always, thanks, Tess.

Colour and Texture.

Working, as I may have previously mentioned, on another series of metalflake paintings. Today there was big progress on 15 of them.

A few highlights of the day:

What'd you do today?

Paint Therapy.

So I woke up too early this morning, after dreaming of better circumstances, to find myself at home. And outside in the hall, the building manager and the painters he hired were yelling at the tops of their lungs as long-awaited renovations finally took place. (A word of introduction: building management has done almost nothing in the way of upkeep on the building for the last couple years - a long-standing resident manager left under mysterious circumstances, then we had temporary relief managers, then we had a guy in his early twenties who was apparently too preoccupied with looking like a gangsta to actually do his goddamn job. Elevators sat broken for months at a time, lights in the common areas were burned out, homeless people were constantly trying to infiltrate the building, mailboxes and entrance doors and even apartments were vandalized, etc. etc.)

Anyhow, three guys standing five or six feet apart while they all yell to one another simultaneously makes for a hell of a ruckus. Literally a rude awakening after only four hours of sleep.

(In case you're wondering, this is actually going somewhere.)

On top of all this, there have been many, many changes in my life in the past few months, nearly all for the better, but with their own accompanying stresses, of course. Insomnia has come back for several extended visits, the forces of evil seem to be conspiring, money issues continue to rear their ugly heads, people I need answers from are being flakes, and there are days when it's all I can do to just roll with the punches.

Which brings us to today. I was jittery, bleary-eyed, sleep-deprived, and generally feeling like my entire emotional spectrum had been abraded with coarse-grit sandpaper.

And I took a look at some of the new metalflake paintings I've got on the go, and decided they needed a quick application of glass bead gel. Opened the jar, got out a palette knife, and started spreading the gel. Half an hour went by, and I realized a huge chunk of the stress had just... lifted off.

Paint therapy. You heard it here first, kids. I recommend it for everyone, even if you aren't a painter. And did I mention I've got 19 new paintings in the works? That's a lotta therapy.

Metal Flake - a Photo Retrospective.

The Booze Brothers:

Explaining the method to my madness:

First sale of the night:

Talkin' art with Gary from Ontario and Gary from Ontario:

Another sale:

Planning and scheming:

Good friends sharing a laugh:

Having our picture taken:

Twitter friends:

Hangin' out with the ladies:

Overview of the show:

And that's all, folks.

P.S. Photos by John Watson, Gary Bolt and George Smeltzer.