a tiny thing

a children's charity asked if a few of us art-student-types would be willing to do a little tiny painting/drawing of a 'safe place' for them. they gave us little packets with paper and tiny pencil crayons. all very nice. the little works will be auctioned at a fundraising event.

so. i did this tiny little guy. (it's about 6" x 8")



technically this place doesn't exist anymore, but it'll always be a warm and cozy place in my memory. thanks to granny and gramps and the saskatchewan family. xoxo

the rockinest running playlist

the following is the ultimate awesome in current running good times rock outs. it has a bit of everything. you'll love it. in no particular order (because it is best on random, so you don't know what run-mood will come next!):

1. I'm so small - Fleming and John
(really solid pacing-beat and quality screamy-vocals.)
2. Massive Nights - The Hold Steady
(good sing-along rock-anthem feel, with some groovy bass.)
3. Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts - Wolf Parade
(just a really killer good song.)
4. One for the Cutters - The Hold Steady
(maybe a strange choice, but damn do i love some good harpsichord action!!)
5. Suddenly I see - KT Tunstall
(this one is especially good if you're a girl between the ages of 12 and 32, and you love fashion, and like to pretend you're in a movie montage... harken back the warm feeling you get every time you watch The Devil Wears Prada and the opening credits play, and you're filled with glee... yeah. you know. that feeling...)
6. Mercy - Duffy
(aside from the fact that a song that's all begging for mercy seems appropriate, also great for reminding us of the crazy-fit-awesomeness of s.y.t.y.c.d.d.d.)
7. Stay Positive - The Hold Steady
('it's a pretty good feeling... it feels pretty good.')
8. Cold Shoulder - Adele
(great drums. and chimes. chimes and drums. chums.)
9. You are a Runner and I am my Father's Son - Wolf Parade
(i think this one is obvious...)
10. American Boy (feat. Kanye West) - Estelle
(heck yes, we about to get down. and it's all about going places!)
11. Tired - Adele
(she says over and over how tired she is. but it's still all upbeat and whatnot. clever...)
12. Can't Stand Losing You - The Police
(nothing makes you wanna run like a song about killing yourself over a girl. and a lot of repetition. and it's a nice kind of mellow change up.)
13. Black Tongue - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
(best-ever heavy drumming. more top-shelf screamy-vocals.)
14. Grounds for Divorce - Wolf Parade
(it's about pretending buses are whales, and that's just good times all around.)
15. Pass This On - Knife
(steel. drums.)
16. The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders - Sufjans Stevens
(clap along everybody!!! horns!!! and a good little cool-down, mellow section at the end.)
17. That's All I Know - Fleming and John
(best swing-style, heavy heavy drums. perfect for running uphill.)
18. Heartbeats - Knife
(remember the goodtimes with nightbeatz on the streetz? now get up and get moving!)
19. Poster of a Girl - Metric
(because whisper-singing in french and really driving drums make you go fast.)

don't forget to put it on shuffle. now get out there and run around!

a project for the project space.

each student in the mfa program (both years) gets this little square of a false-room for one week of term. they are asked to create a piece of art specially for this space, and only in that week. you follow? good. the week always starts on a wednesday, and culminates the following tuesday at 1:15pm, when the whole class, and a few tutors gather and critique the project. then you take it all down, and the next person starts. etc.

this week was my week. i'm done now. thankfully. the setup and pre-art-work took a good amount of time, and so my drawing began on friday night. sigh. my goal was to produce 8 portraits of peeps from back home. a sort of nostalgia, memory work. oh. and each portrait was life-sized, and combined with a liquid suitable to the individual. (i could go on about the concept, especially after the nearly two hour conversation/crit yesterday, but i won't. i'll just let you take a look at it instead.)

you should know that spending three days trapped in the tiny box of a room, with eight of my home-slices, for approx. 7 hours a day (with no leaving allowed, exept for loo-breaks), makes a person a bit mental. but it was a nice thing spending time with those i was drawing, and thinking about home. the family/memory thing was made especially relevant and poignant when news arrived on sunday that my Granny Old had passed away. it was good to be surrounded by loved ones, even if they were made of paper.









and then i got to take it all down!!! and cut everyone's legs off. and play with the liquids...

sorry.

the week got kinda crazy. and i didn't do miny paintings thursday or friday. for shame. i promise to make it up next week, once my project space is out of the way... promise. sorry.

no. 4

sooo... this one isn't very good. not very good at all. the goal? thick paint. the result? unfortunate.


BUT! i kinda like how it looks from the side, like this:

No. 3

reverse-styles.

painting first:



drawing after!

no. 2

goal for today's tiny painting: flat colour.

tiny things

one of my profs suggested i try working in acrylic. i know. shocking. but i'm here to listen and learn, right?

then my name tutor suggested i do some fast little paintings to help me figure out what i want to do to my big paintings. less precious and stuff.

SO!
combine the two? and you get small fast acrylic paintings! i've decided to try to paint one every studio day (so not saturday and sunday) until i learn something. it's all very exciting, not knowing what you're trying to learn, and being scared of your medium, and so on and so on. today is DAY ONE. here's the first one!

the latest

say it with me everyone: 'moodle is LAMETOWN!'

good job!

anyways. meanwhile. here's the latest update in painting town. melanie marlin, your face has been a struggle... but i think it is coming along now.




see if you can figure out what still needs doing! FUN GAMES!