Breaking Bad

... but not a stressed as moving!

We're still settling into the new place... mostly unpacked. 

Bathroom mostly renovated. 

New drawing table assembled (yay!). 

New Mac set up, then died, begrudgingly repacked and returned for repair (boo!).

I thought I'd add a few bits and bobs from the sketchbook in the coming days since I've not yet had the peace of mind to start any new art projects. Soon though.

Blue meanie

This is an unfinished acrylic painting I recently unearthed during the move. I think I started it about 5 or 6 years ago but, for whatever reason, set it aside. It's based on a photo I took of an architectural detail in old Montreal. I was doing a lot of darkroom work at the time and was experimenting with tones (my favourite print of this was blue toned). Maybe if/when the unpacking is complete, I'll have a crack at finishing it.

Aztec Zoo

More art from the archives uncovered during the unpacking process. This linocut is from 2004. If I ever find my print stash again, I may post this in the shop.

Doodle in flight

The missus and I are moving this week so there's way too much turmoil for any creative work. Easels, paints, papers, linos... all in boxes. All art is on hold until we settle into the new nest. Can't wait... my new workshop will have a woodstove! Very pleased about that.

Acrylic alien (It's no fun, being an... )

It's funny what you come across when you clean up your basement. I found a little stash of acrylics I did when I first started painting five years ago including this alien dude.

Patina square

This is the end result of the 8" x 8" set of plaster panels. It seemed to be going so well until I realized I had no bronze or copper paint. Or ink. So I ended up with a faux gold patina tile. It's especially faux since I'm pretty sure gold doesn't tarnish in that way.

Plaster series

I'm not sure what will become of this but it's a series of three 8" x 8" panels...plastered.

Plastered again

More fun with plaster. 

Plaster and acrylic on canvas, 8" x 10"

Plastered

This poor little thing has no name. It's an experiment in plaster and acrylic washes.
Plaster and acrylic on canvas, 8" x 10"

World Doodle Challenge

Check out The Doodle Daily's World Doodle Challenge. This tree was my submission.

Skully

Oil on MDF

8x8

This painting is available for sale in the shop.

Bargain books

If you're so inclined, Drawn and Quarterly is having its annual online sale. Although I'm pinching pennies these days, I couldn't resist picking up a copy of R.O. Blechman's Talking Lines. Sale's on until the 27th.

Harvey Pekar

This one marks the passing (belated) of Harvey Pekar, American comic book writer. I must admit, I didn't know much about him before the American Splendor movie came out in 2003. Since then I've picked up a few collections of his books. His first book was self-published in the 1960s and illustrated by Robert Crumb, another fav of mine. What's nice about his series is that he always had a wide variety of artists working for him... you never knew what styles you'd see from issue to issue.

This painting was a bit of a quickie... which is how I want to do them these days.

I've been really inspired by Karin Jurick's ongoing "100 Faces" series. Great stuff. I'd love to be able to paint like that one day. This one's on a small canvas but I recently gessoed 10 or so 8"x 8" hardboards. The plan is to practice portraits.

The Hendrix stoke

Fish fossil

I've been wanting to play around with various acrylic mediums for a while so I finally purchased a few items. The above piece is a cartoonish fish fossil made with Golden Coarse Pumas Gel. It's neat stuff! I wonder though if the same effect can be achieved with a simple blend of sand with gel medium and/or paint. It would certainly be a lot cheaper.

So, at this point, the piece is only halfway there. The plan is to do the background with Golden Crackle Paste. Then coat the whole thing with matte medium, wash it with some colour and varnish. At left is a test of the Crackle Paste.

Making this doesn't really feel like painting per se... more like sculpting. But it sure is fun!