DINOSAURS.

For your consideration:

Facebook event page is here, and in case you're not on Facebook:

Whether you love the ferocity of the mighty T-Rex or the docile nature of the brachiosaurus, dinosaurs hold a special spot in most of our hearts. As a child we were fascinated by these ancient creatures and for many of us, the fascination never died. 

It certainly didn't for artist Bret Taylor and he is celebrating them with an art show of earth-shaking proportion. 

So join us on Oct 13th and celebrate all things dinosaur. The show starts at 2pm and is kid friendly until 8pm, at which point we invite the over 19 to stay and celebrate with us. There will be dinosaur art and dinosaur collectibles, you may even find a few snacks for both carnivore and herbivore. Non-alcoholic refreshments will be available and should you choose to indulge in an adult drink or two, you are more than welcome to bring your own, but remember that until 8pm this is a child friendly show.  

For more information on the artist: http://howyadoingraphics.com 

Kid and adult friendly show 2pm - 8pm
Afterparty (adults only) 8pm - midnight

Imagemaker Photographic Studio, 210-2075 Yukon Street, Vancouver 

Thanks as always to my agent, who continues to amaze and astound me with her knowledge, skills and attention to detail.

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.

The Dino Show.

There is much news on the dinosaur front, my friends. Many more of them to draw - I went to the Extreme Dinosaurs exhibit at Science World yesterday with friends, and I got tons of reference photos and ideas.

They had full-size, moving, interactive mockups of the dinosaurs, plus several fossil skeletons:

 

So my new plan is, I want to do an all-dinosaur show - books, calendars, t-shirts, prints, you name it. I've already got a T-Rex available in my print store, and a handful of t-shirts already. Still a lot of details and strategies to be sorted, but I think this one's really got some potential - already sold one of the T-Rex shirts.

I'll keep you posted.

The Big Art Sale.

So I've been talking a lot lately about this upcoming Closing Time show I want to put on. And of course, the first painting's already done, but if I'm gonna put on a full-fledged show on the scale I want, it'll take some funding - I'd like to put together a book (via Blurb) of the initial sketches of my Muse and offer that for sale at the show in addition to the paintings. And really, having copies of my Hey Ladies book available couldn't hurt.

Coincidentally, I'm also trying to strip a lot of excess baggage out of my life these days. Being a packrat is a real flaw of mine, so I'm determined to cut some of this extra crap away. (Why no, it's not a midlife crisis at all.)

Killing two birds with one stone, then: I'm hosting a sale this weekend, and almost all my paintings prior to the Metalflake show in October are going, going, and hopefully soon to be gone. It'll free up a ton of wall space and hopefully raise the cash I need for the next big show. Prices are being slashed as if I were some crazed, fez-wearing carpet-warehouse owner.

What's on sale, you ask? Well, you can download a catalog of the show right here.

So stay tuned, and if you're in Vancouver, please come by the show. Relevant info is as follows:

Saturday, January 14th, 2:00PM - 8:00PM
210-2075 Yukon St., Vancouver, BC

Thanks, and please spread the word.

Bret Taylor
Vancouver, BC
January 2012

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.

Possibly the Best Day of My Life.

So. As you are no doubt aware if you're following this blog, I had my first big solo art show last night. After the show a couple close friends came back to my place for drinks, which inevitably led to me not saying anything online about the show.

Till now, that is.

The verdict? The show was a blast. First sale of the night went to my friend Patti, who bought the "Power Trio" triptych. Since then three of the smaller pieces were also snapped up, after some heated debate over "Dangerous Curves". The rest, of course, remain on display and on sale at the Tipper till the end of the month.

What really made my night, though, was seeing old friends and new come together to eat, drink, and take in my art. Even writing this now is making me a little choked up. I am a lucky, lucky man.

And the show of support lately has been absolutely stunning. I've been profiled in the Vantage and VanCity Buzz, friends have come from all over the damn place for the show, and everywhere I had a question or a concern about anything, somebody always, always stepped up to bat.

Without further ado, then, the above-and-beyond roll call. These people are permanently in my good books: John Watson, Patti Catroppa, Lori Kittelberg, Dan Udey & Donna Jaggard, Sati from LiveVan, the irrepressible Jonny Warkentin, Ceci Graber, Nic & Todd, Nicola and her mom, Gary and Gary, Colin and Cameron and P.J. from the Tipper (without whom none of this would even be possible), Lindsay B. and K. Myles, Corinna Carlson, Karina Halle, Kelly St-Laurent, Mollie Caselli, Carly Fryer, Mike Watson, George Smeltzer, Ned Tobin... and I know I'm still forgetting people. I'll keep editing this post as the day goes on.

Also, a number of people couldn't make the show but were kind enough to send along apologies and/or encouragement anyway, because they rock: Jeff Hornby, Brendan Moran, Donna Jay, Amanda West, Dilara Litonjua, Adam Carlson, Kate MacDonald...

And finally, the biggest and most heartfelt thanks of the day have to go to my lovely assistant, without whose support this event wouldn't have even been conceivable. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Tess McCann. Mere words cannot express...

Almost Done.

Coming down the home stretch for the show now. Finished this piece today:

That leaves two remaining, and I oughta be able to finish one of them tomorrow.

In other news, today is day 634 of the 1000 Days Project. Ergo, a year from tomorrow and I'll be done.

Then what?

Metal Flake.

So there've been all kinds of big doings going on lately. Arrangements for the big show have been made, and there are only three paintings left to finish (maybe 6 or 7 hours' work altogether).

Now, of course, there's a million other little details to take care of. But they're coming along nicely.

Here's a first look at the promo card/ad for the show:

How's it look?

The Big Show and Other Stories.

Just a quick report: the show with Mojave was a smashing success. Sold all but one of the pieces I had for sale, and sold them in the first half hour or so. Had a nice talk with the owner, and it looks like I'll be putting more art up for display/sale there in the near future. And I still want to put on a full-fledged gallery-type show before the end of the summer, and it should be possible to book the room we used last weekend for that very purpose.

Based on the responses I've been getting to my art lately, I want to explore three very specific directions for my painting. To that end I started six new paintings today, though there's not really anything to show at the moment.

I also ponied up the hundred bucks to buy a platinum membership at Imagekind. That gives me added galleries, a custom storefront (which I'm still tweaking), and most importantly a lot more info on sales - detailed figures, and info on where the buyers are and what they bought. Turns out I've made a pretty decent chunk of cash over the last year and a half with Imagekind.

I'm pretty pleased with Redbubble, too. I've recently added t-shirts to my online merchandise, and those are slowly starting to move. Thinking about postcards next.

There's probably more stuff I'm forgetting, but it's late. So I'll just leave you with this recently-completed commission:

Bret
Vancouver, BC
May, 2011

P.S. Special thanks to Lisa & Paul, Dan Udey, Susan Burzynski and Mario Loubert.

A Show/Display Question.

Fellow artists, as you may know I've got a show tomorrow night. I'm still in the process of doing all the prep work, of course. Isn't that always how it is?

For the moment at least, my focus is the display cards that go on the wall under the paintings. I figure they should include the name of the piece, the media used, the price, and my contact info.

Am I missing anything?

Four More Days...

... till the big show with Mojave. Pretty psyched for this, I've gotta say. There'll be a whole slew of new art from me, nearly all of which will be for sale (two pieces are sold already).

Plus I haven't seen Lisa and Rev. Paul in ages. And all sorts of friends, new and old, will be in attendance. Also, the Tipper is a great venue all around.

If you're in Vancouver on the 29th and looking for something to do, come by the Tipper for some music and art:

2066 Kingsway at Sidney.

8:00PM-11:00PM.

Oh, and admission is 10 bucks a head.

Hope to see you there.

Welcome to Another Year.

Hey folks, another rambling catchall post here, to kick the year off. Sorry 'bout the delay; I got hammered with a nasty headcold on New Year's Eve and it just wouldn't take the hint. Knocked me for a loop both physically and mentally.

On the plus side of the equation, once again I'm drawing and painting every day - as much to take my mind off stressful bullshit as anything else. Pushing paint around on a canvas is supremely helpful as a form of meditation. And sketching is a whole 'nother experience. Yesterday was a rare sunny day for January 2011, so I ambled on down to the beach with my camera and a sketchpad. Spent a long time learning that I don't enjoy doing landscapes (surprise, surprise), shot a few photos, froze my ass off, and finally started to head for home.

Then I saw the seagull.

This little fella was perched, as you can see, atop one of the posts they use to hang volleyball nets in warmer weather. Only had time for a quick sketch before he flew away, but that was enough to get all the basic info down on paper. After that it was just a matter of beefing up the lines with some General's extra-soft charcoal and adding a bit of watercolour.

Finished piece is available here, if you're interested.

In other news, I now have 4 commissions to work on, plus a whole slew of small paintings for a potential show sometime in the spring. Oh, and my good friends Lisa and Rev. Paul of Mojave will be performing at the Tipper in Vancouver at the end of April, and I'll have some paintings on display there, as well.

More info here.

And that's where I am. How are you folks doing?

The Party.

So I'm starting to look at logistics for my book-launch party in January. Today I figured out where the bar will be set up, how to keep people from hiding in the corner and not looking at the art, the music situation (a 5- or 6-hour iTunes playlist of cherry-picked old-school funk, punk rock, hip hop, 70s hard rock, and so on). My plan is to take the 10 best pics from the book and blow them up to poster size. Plus there'll be copies of the book itself for purchase, though I don't yet know how many copies to have on hand. Still lots to consider.

Would it be tacky to charge for drinks?