Introducing Sherlock

In January I got a tiny little dog from the pet shelter Hull's Haven. Despite specializing in Border Collies this rescue shelter takes in small dogs as well and I found Sherlock while in foster care. He is part chihuahua, and probably part miniature pincher. Most of the time he is a little sweetheart because he loves to cuddle, and fits perfectly on my lap, which is where he is resting right now as I write this. Sometimes he can be a little monkey, and show some neediness and co-dependency, but overall he is a fantastic little dog, and I can barely remember how boring and bland my house was before I got him.

This one is a self-portrait.

Chair Lair

Able wholesale is this somewhat eccentric used goods and Liquidation store on Notre Dame Avenue in Winnipeg, except it's not the cool kind of eccentric like Ragpickers, or that antique store in Osborne Village. It's more like the eccentric-eerie kind of store. I drive past it everyday, and one day in summer I couldn't suppress my curiosity anymore: I entered this three story building mish-mash of furniture, housewares, industrial kitchen supplies and other miscellaneous products. As I was walking through this place it just kept on going and I didn't know what I was going to find next. There was at least one flickering florescent light, and in the back part of the industrial kitchen gear there were some guys moving furniture around. To be honest I felt a lot like I shouldn't be in there, like this is the kind of place that isn't so great for a 20-something to be by herself (no-one in there was creepy or acted weird, it was just the general vibe my intuition was giving me). Nevertheless, I love a good bargain, and can't resist the idea of turning something ugly or almost-good into something fabulous. I happened to find an old vintage desk chair that looks a lot like something that Ikea would mimic nowadays. I got the chair for the fair price of 20 dollars, took it home and refinished it. Here are my visuals from that experience.

Dadaism

"Dilemmas may be rebutted in more than one way."
A collage. I think it's dadaist.

Gadhafi Dies, Libya is liberated...

"Libya's new leaders to declare liberation Sunday amid questions over Gadhafi's killing"
Image # 2 from my new challenge, to create an image a week based on a news article. This one is from the Winnipeg Free Press.

Operation: Headline Deadline

"Zombies Hurt in Film Set Accident"

With my image a day challenge behind me I decided to begin a new challenge for myself: to complete a piece of art based on a weekly news heading of my choice. I decided to just keep the challenge well within reason and so that I would try to focus my attention on one piece for longer. The image a day for a year was actually really great and I still sort of have that mentality that I need to be sketching every day, but it's a bit of relief to know that if I don't draw I'm not disappointing myself, and also won't have as much to catch up on if I slack a little. I found the image a day challenge really great to stimulating spontaneity, creativity and great ideas. It would really help to loosen me up and also helped me to be more ok with a drawing that was simple. It also made me appreciate sketchbooks so much more. With my new idea challenge I want to push myself a little more stylistically and also technically.
The rules for my new project are as follows(it's fairly straightforward, but I like making clear guidelines for myself):

I will take any news headline and illustrate it any way I choose, except if it has already been illustrated.
I must post weekly, and complete each drawing by Sunday night.
The starting week is the week of Oct 10th to Oct 16th.
I am allowed to make more than one image per week which can count towards future weeks.
In the event of disaster, death, a large commission, moving house, or major illness I can excuse myself from image making without penalty(in my image a day project I stated a clause that if I took longer than the time frame to complete it, I got a one week extension with an extra image tacked onto the pile). Yeah, ok I know that it's a bit silly to make deals with oneself, but that's the only way it's gonna get done, set a definite goal!
I will complete 52 images.


This week's Headline is from BBC News: "Zombies Hurt in Film Set Accident" (just an FYI, on the linking page the headline was shortened to this, but the full headline reads "Zombies hurt in Resident Evil Film set Accident" In Toronto some zombie actors were hurt on the movie set and when the ambulance arrived, the paramedics initially thought the injuries were a lot worse because of all the zombie make-up. Read up on it here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15268321

Toy-Illustration Friday

The topic for this week's Illustration Friday is Toy. It is a picture of my dog's stuffed toy.

Illustration Friday- Layer

Jackrabbit Layer.

Coloured Pencils and Snow Days

I thought this quote was appropriate for a snow day!
School has been cancelled due to treacherous roads, so I am happily at home in my pyjamas colouring with markers. Now to motivate myself to get my Illustration homework done...
Here is a link with the essay by G.K Chesterton where this quote is from, and is well worth a read if you like a good lie-in (lie-in: the term Brits use for laying in bed longer than is necessary).
http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/20726/

Sheer Ashtonishment

Painting, Drawing, Collage.
I tried painting on drawing vellum because a recent Illustration instructor(Craig Terlson) said that he loved how the ink sits on the vellum. I found I love it too, except that when I went back in with yellow ink, it was too wet for it, and wanted to curl up a bit. Nevertheless, I still like how this image turned out. Part of the image was cut off, because my scanner is only so big, but you get to see the main part of the image. I'm going to try out more vellum paintings, but might stick to just using black India ink on it.
In other news, the Beautiful Mercy and Other Works opening reception was tonight, and the show runs until this Sunday. It's always nice to visit some art. It's an eclectic show, and there are some nice pieces on display. Check it out at 200-75 Albert street.

Safe from Attack

#67 Safe from attack

Collage, drawing, ink...

I did a series of Brain Tree drawings last year, that I was reminded of recently. There is a small town in South Western Manitoba called East BrainTree (as far as I know, there isn't a west BrainTree). On the way out to my friend's Cabin, we passed a sign for this town, and my friends and I imagined different versions of what a brain tree would look like. .

Brotherly Influence

This Was Made in Summer. My brother helped me with the title. I really like this one, but I understand that only a particular type of person will enjoy it- my brother and me included in that mix.

"As it tended to do, it was ready to annouce its idea."

Brain Picking

I've been doing small drawings lately, and then have been colouring them in with ink. I like this one, it is silly. The background colour has been coloured digitatlly, but the rest with ink and watercolours. There is something satisfying about making these silly things.

Concerning Matters of the Heart

I made this today. I drew the heart with an ink pen, and then added the background and the text in photoshop. Sometimes I need to make things that don't have animals or creatures in them. Sometimes it feels good to make something that isn't as silly as a shark teacher. I don't feel like elaborating on any reasoning behind this.

Ink Work

This is what I'm working on right now. I'm re-inking the parts of this drawing that I decided to add colour to. This piece is different for me because it feels a little more serious than my other recent drawings, and there is no creature, or character included in this one(though I am trying to decide if I should add in a person at the base of the tree. -Finished work will be posted soon!

Painting

This is a recent painting I painted about a week ago. It is an ink and watercolour abstract painting. I didn't quite get the lighting right when I photographed it, so it isn't 100 percent true to the colours, it's a little darker in this image than the real thing. There is a flow to it that I enjoy. I'm told that it looks like a squid is in the middle at the top- but I shouldn't have said that because of the power of suggestion, now that's all you will see...