HIGHER, HIGHER.

This autumn, I was invited to participate in the group installation "higher, HIGHER." The project showcases wooden swings designed by 40 emerging Toronto artists - and intends to promote communal play among adults, and create awareness for the artists at the Muki Baum Treatment Centre.

Recently, a smaller selection of pieces from the project (including mine) were exhibited at Studio Theatre. Eventually the entire series will be installed around 5 public parks across the city. To learn more about "higher, HIGHER" check out the project's artist statement.

JELLYFISH.

Aside from art, my next creative love is definitely sewing - which has manifested itself, for the time being, in making one-of-a-kind bicycle seat covers! What's not to love? Recycled fabrics. Locally produced. Added comfort. Mad style. Doubles as a bag to keep your lights, gloves, & bike lock keys all in one place. Variety of sizing. AND customs on a request basis! Best ever, right? (I'm working on a bronze faux snakeskin neon yellow fringe one for myself as we speak).

They are already available on Etsy, AND for the next 12 days are showcased at the brand spankin' new Triangle Gallery - Artscape's latest addition to Toronto's Queen West arts district. So go check out the show (its FREE) & make your christmas shopping experience a less of a mall induced nightmare.

Also - as a total aside - apparently scanning bike seat covers, makes them look like jellyfish (my second favourite animal to fennec foxes). So I thought i'd include a quick drawing I did after visiting the Vancouver aquarium earlier this year. They're just so surreal & gorgeous & unsettling. I could watch them forever. for-ev-er.

LOSS.

(click to enlarge)

Some things are easier to process via journalling. And even then, some things are easier to process in diagram form.

A wonderful brother, son, father, grandfather & friend - but to me, one fantastic uncle. You will be missed.

JIMMY.

Took care of my friend Kirsten's bull terrier this weekend, and temporarily quenched my increasing desire to own a dog - especially a neurotic one, afraid of hardwood floors & jumping off beds, like Jimmy. There's just something so calming about a dog sprawled across your stomach.

BILL.

Spent the last few days in Boston. A combination of bicycles, blankets, connie francis and a cat named bill murray. So loving & so so incredibly spiteful.

MANIC.

Do you know what's the worst? Head colds. But, do you know what's the best? My Predators series hanging at Manic Coffee for the next few months. So go check them out & support an awesome independent fair/direct trade coffee shop at the same time.

AUGUSTINES.

I know, I know - two blog posts in one day, but there are simply too many exciting things happening... and I've been itching to post this one for a while.

Over the past couple of months, I've had the privilege of working with Brooklyn-based Eric Sanderson & Billy McCarthy on their new project A U G U S T I N E S. Those who know me well, know I don't say this often - but, this is one of the best bands I've heard in a long long while.

Here is some product that I designed for their listener supported model. So go check them out & get involved. Their website went live today - and incidentally my favourite song on the album, is currently the free download!

FASHIONFRIDAY.

A huge thanks to everyone who made it to the workshop on friday! And to all the lovely ladies at Freedom who facilitate such welcoming events. I was excited to meet lots of new people, but I think that's the work of Blog TO, over my own saavy marketing skills.

(photo by Ilona Pe)

WORKSHOP.

This friday, I'm teaching an open-to-all fashion illustration workshop at Freedom Gallery - held in conjunction with my October exhibition CLOTHED MATTERS.

There will be some awesome drawing activities to start & life drawing to follow - featuring models & clothing from the Deadly Nightshades. After the workshop, an opening reception for the exhibit begins.

So come by early to make some friends & brush up on your drawing skills, or later to take in some art & have a drink.

FRIDAY, OCT 15, 2010

Freedom CC Gallery

939 Bloor St W.

illustration workshop: 8-10pm (PWYC)

opening reception: 10pm - midnight (FREE!)

LIEFDE.

Two variations of an album cover I designed & illustrated for singer/songwriter Sarah Barry.

I had to laugh when I was given the album title though. Solely, because it reminds me of this song my sisters and I preformed at our aunt's wedding when i was ten. The song began with a prerecorded and overly dramatic swell of synthesizers, and us each saying "i love you" in a different language. During rehersals in our living room, my dad had thought it a grand ides to replace one of the other language options with Dutch, given our background. Good idea? Bad idea. I can tell you with all certainty that "Ik houd van u" from a ten year old in no way sounds graceful, or properly translated. (My pronunciation for anything other that english, is still horrific).

Thankfully this wonderful album, does not feature said track - or my accompanying ten year-old vocals.

MOMENTUM.

I did the above for Vancouver-based Momentum Magazine. A great publication "for people who ride bikes" - they just get right to the point... and hopefully so did this graphic for their BikeStyle page!

SIBLINGS.

My foray into the world of graphic novels. In this case, just a proposal for someone else. But I have my own exciting things on the horizon. Just you wait...(!)

This page in particular was really fun to work on. I'm the youngest in a family of all girls, so needless to say I had hoards of visual memories to draw upon for those photos - some better left forgotten. My middle sister returned to Toronto for a visit just last week, and it's always so hard to see her go back home. As contrived as it may sound, I love that I'm as close with my siblings as I am. Oddly enough, talented photographer & my wonderful friend Rosalie Villanueva, blogged about something similar just the other day. Yay sisters!

COTTAGEMADONNA.

MONSTERBOTS.

Above is my favourite part of the last sleeve I designed for my good friend Roberto. During our initial consult he asked me to create something creepy, but cute.

So, this is for you Bots. I think it fits the bill.

Also, a huge thanks for everyone who made it out to my opening at Freedom last friday. And for those of you who were cottaging or camping or roadtripping (or partaking in some other glorious summer fun) instead. Don't worry! It's up til August 10th...you've got loads of time.

KITE.

I was kindly asked by Freedom CC to illustrate the header on their newsletter this month. So here's what embodies this season to me - under water kites.

NIGHT SWIM.

These are the months that bring late night pool hopping & early afternoon sunburns, they also bring art shows (my second of the summer and definitely not the last, so stay tuned). Opening this friday at Freedom CC Gallery, come and check out this piece and other selections from my "into the woods" series.

opening!

Friday, July 23rd

Freedom CC Gallery

939 Bloor St. W

Toronto, ON

(exhibit runs jul 23 - aug 10)

JABBERBOOMBOX.

Apparently, this is the summer of sleeve designs for me. Working on another as we speak. Thanks to Julia & Doug respectively, for entrusting me with the task, as well as giving me awesome subject matter. (I've decided it will also be the summer of making my back yard into a temporary studio. Yes to sunshine & freelancing!)

DASH.

No more mosquitos. Just smog.

Back in Toronto. Not New York or the north any more. And while it's so nice to be home, both of the above, although entirely different, were unbelievable.

My exhibit in Tribeca was fantastic. So many people came out, it was eventually broken up by the NYPD. This shot is of only part of the crowds that swarmed Dash Gallery, and it doesn't even do them justice.

I met lots of great people & saw some amazing art. So, thanks BFF for an amazing festival as always, and to all my friends from Toronto, Vancouver & Brooklyn - who made the trek to show some support! It's pretty crazy to feel that loved.

To see what I was showing in NYC go HERE! And if you look around my website, you'll find some other stuff I've been working on lately too!

So far this year is shaping up to be really great! Feeling pretty stupidly happy these days. Thanks summer! Time to build a bike, go to the island and write some letters.

JOYRIDE.

Trees to tall buildings.

So this week, I'm exhibiting at the Bicycle Film Festival's art show JOYRIDE in New York! The BFF is an amazing international festival celebrating bikes through film art & music. It's always great people, a great party, and something I'm so proud to be a part of - especially as they celebrate their 10th anniversary.

I'll be exhibiting alongside a pretty rad line up of artists, including Spike Jonze, Tom Sachs, WK Interact & Benny Zenga among others. So if you're in the area, come say hey & check out a fantastic show:

THURSDAY JUNE 17TH

DASH GALLERY

172 DUANE ST

NEW YORK, NY

6-10PM

MERMAID.

One week alone equals headway on four different tattoo commissions, significant progress on my exhibition in july, five books read, and a sixth half done.

Apparently I should do this more often.

Above is one of my favourite pieces thus far in a new series. And below is one of my favourite moments from all that literature:

"the questions i really wanted to ask were, 'are you in love?' and 'what are you reading?'"

A revolution of small talk, i wish i had the guts to institute today. Who doesn't love scandelous 19 year old french authors from the 1950's.

DOCK.

One of my three favourite places in the world, is on a dock.

Somewhere you can feel alone, but not lonely. For me, it's where I've always felt most myself. And despite whatever else is going on in life, grounded.

Thunderstorms have held the week hostage, so my time by the water had been limited thus far. But, between downpours I went. An oversized sweater. A mug of tea. The lake a grey haze, and planks of wood underfoot black and bloated with constant rain.

I sat and watched the water and sketched. And I have to say lakes are an entirely different beast than oceans. Especially calm ones.

BLUE.

I know it sounds crazy. But I'm being stalked by a blue jay. Like every time I go outside, he's there.... watching me.

I swear the woods haven't gotten to me yet.

SUSTAIN.

Days one and two in the woods have consisted of giant power tools, putting up drywall, hammering in salvaged trim and other stuff with my Dad. And I'm pretty okay with that. Day three is the beginning of isolation (with the exception of quick jaunts into town on my bike.... like right now to the only local coffee shop with wifi) & some quality dock/art time.

But while I'm up here - back in Toronto, this poster I designed and illustrated is a part of the Subtle Technology Festival to promote sustainability... and in this poster's case, the Deadly Nightshades.

So go check out the festival and poster exhibition, curated by Lorena Salome:

June 4 - 6

Innis Town Hall

University of Toronto

WALDEN.

One night we were going to a concert, when a friend found this on the ground outside the Biltmore in Vancouver. And I have to say, I'm all about to do lists (especially this one). Firstly, you feel an instant sense of accomplishment in writing one. And secondly, there is something unbelievably satisfying about crossing something off.

My never ending to do list is comprised of many things. One of which is to live at my family's half finished cabin for a while.

to live at the cabin for a while.

done.

So moved out of my apartment. leaving behind barren walls and better acoustics. And instead have headed north with a duffel bag, bicycle, copious amounts of art supplies and a fully stocked ipod.

For me, art & music have always gone hand in hand. So today, instead of a drawing (as there will be many in the weeks to come), a mixtape of sorts.

1. it's a long way to the top - disco drive

2. oh, alberta - elliot brood

3. undercover martyn - two door cinema club

4. birdies singing - kelley stoltz

5. kassell - the clips

6. fight and kiss - we are wolves

7. my year in lists - los campesinos!

8. baby boomer - monsters of folk

9. the gayest of sunbeams - pink mountaintops

10. cannibal resource - dirty projectors

11. consolation prize - julie doiron

12. when i'm small - phantogram

13. you can't say - white denim

14. stay (just a little bit more) - the do

15. little bit - lykke li

16. the gardener - the tallest man on earth

17. great lakes - rae spoon

18. horny hippies - the dodos

19. tan lines - valleys

20. 100 pound eyelids - chad vangaalen

21. don't ask - grizzly bear

(...you can anticipate a considerably more bushwhackeddockrockcabinfever version in a months time. Get ready for my impending insanity).

WORN.

So, I was asked to illustrate a button for WORN fashion journal's 10th issue launch.

If you're in Toronto, check out their awesome launch party this friday at Cinecycle (which is a gem all of it's own).

Also, who doesn't love vests?

HEATWAVE.

The last few days officially marked the beginning of summer. I find myself at the end of the weekend with hair that smells like campfire smoke, a sunburn, more money, less stuff to pack or throw away, and sand.... everywhere. Strange how this time of year all i want to listen to is old punk bands I loved in highschool, east coast hip hop and never ending motown - as though nothing else seems quite as satisfying.

And so my favouite motown track & some sketches from this past weekend to kick off the summer.

Heat Wave – Martha and the Vandellas

MP3 search on MP3hunting

PURGE.

I move in two weeks.

Packing is a dangerous thing. Because packing leads to sorting. And sorting leads to finding all of those things better left forgotten. The ones you wonder why you've kept for so long. Items that once meant so much, and now mean so very little. Or rather mean something else entirely.

I'll be the first to admit i'm a pack rat. But an organized one if that's possible.

I began collecting vintage suitcases when i was thirteen. And now each one sits, brimming with tokens intending to be memories.

And so in an attempt to purge before the move, I sorted through them for the first time... ever?

Least favourite finds include: angsty cassette tapes of me and my guitar in early highschool (yikes. drama... although found a song about my roommate's dog, which is pretty funny), a script involving the entire character casts of star wars - the original obviously - indiana jones and batman foever (my 11 year old self = the worst...or best?) & extensive comics about my best friends in middle school (yes we were superheroes, no you can't see them).

Most favourite finds include: MY POGS (as if!), hoards of long forgotten photobooth photos (grade two neon jackets, to blue hair, to no hair, to friends i don't talk to anymore, to ones i surprisingly do, etc etc). And finally, this epic shot my sister took while i was finishing up grade five (or perhaps wrapping up a hard life on the road?).

...and for the record, the next person to take photobooth photos with me WINS. I knew something was lacking in my life, now i know what - an awkward succession of overpriced miniature photographs, equalling instant nostalgia.

DEADLY.

In the past little while I have been reminded why I love my bike gang as much as I do. Aside from impeccable style and adventurous spirit (such as playing bike polo for the first time the other day. terrifying & hilarious - I don't recommend using one's large cruiser, as tight turns are impossible and I nearly impaled myself multiple times on oversized handlebars), if nothing else, fierce loyalty & integrity go a long way in my books. Kudos kids.

And a sample of one of the new fonts I designed for our new & upcoming website.

NEST.

I’ve been a bit of an insomniac lately, and when i do sleep, it’s been full of strange dreams.

Yesterday i had three. You know the type, the ones that bleed into the next.

In the first, I was sailing a gigantic ship over enormous waves in the middle of cottage country. But the ship would bend over each wave, like a rubber sole, so that the masts would cross. Despite being thrown about the rigging, everyone (being miscellaneous friends i couldn’t place) seemed pretty happy. The sun was blinding, and we would high five every time the masts bent close enough.

And then, it was night and David Suzuki was trying to teach my crew, the “dangers of isolation while ice fishing,” by dramatically faking a suicide and throwing himself off an ice flow (why one would fish off an ice flow is beyond me). But, just as we were getting worried, he popped back up grinning wildly, and lifts something above his head. “Don’t worry I have a secret rope!” and pulled himself back up and out of the black water.

And then, I woke up the next morning to find a birds nest at the back of my head. Literally. My hair had been woven into a tiny basket. My dream self was confused as to how this might have happened, and eventually concluded that a group of swallows must have come and done it while i slept.

And then my real self woke up (it's always strange waking up twice), and thought it was such a bizarre and pretty little image that i had to draw it immediately.

RESOLVE.

It was my birthday friday.

A weekend where the air was heavy with spring rain. Thunderstorms that have been skirting the edges of the weather forecast for the last few days.

A weekend of grainy slides projected across darkened living rooms, and my nephew blowing out my candles before i had the chance. A weekend of crowded backyards and clusters of bicycles like metal bouquets. A weekend of campfires and the silhouetted backs of houses. A brick fortress with blackened windows.

For as long as I can remember, it’s a day that feels more like new years than january 1st. It’s always coinsided with the start of warmer weather, the end of school (when that was remotely relevent), and I suppose the illusion of a fresh start. If I were the sort of person to make resolutions I might do them now. But I find it kind of silly to make promises to yourself only once a year. I’d like to think that one can be capable of change and/or challenging oneself at any time, and not strictly during the first few weeks of january.

So in the spirit of change and of challenge, the largest pen & ink piece i’ve done to date - a commissioned work, inspired by the series did back in 2008, measuring 2’x3’.

Funny how i’ve now done not one, but two, queen of hearts portraits, as she is probably the one whom i relate to least in a deck of cards.

I’ve always been a fan of the queen of spades myself.

BARE.

Check out my brand spankin' new WEBSITE(!)..... aaaand just cause I like you, a sneak peek at the new series of oil paintings I'm working on.

xo.

l.

WEST.

I spent the early part of this year, shifting between the isolated wilds of northern alberta and the warm coast of british colombia. Both provinces contained a barrage of new friends, that felt like old ones. Months of living out stories, instead of retelling the ones that have already happened. And since the moment my plane has touched down in toronto, it’s as though i’ve hit the ground running.

This entire year so far has been an acceleration of tiny moments, that feel like big ones.

I finished this tattoo design in the rainy coffee shops of east van, for a roommate i left in alberta. And while i’m so glad to be home, it reminds me fondly of wood paneled motel rooms, and the muddy backs of pick up trucks.

RETIRED.

FLIGHT.

"cause the more you live in a certain way the less it feels like freedom."

two months out west & i'm finally home.