31.12.08



an installation shot from the gallery

crow on the fence


Will the transformation. Oh let your spirit be enchanted by the
flame,
Which draws to itself that thing within you, where transformations
abound;
That designing spirit which masters these earthly things,
Loves nothing more within the figure’s trope than the point of the
turn.

(Sonnets to Orpheus…Rainer Maria Rilke)



this pic offers a good sense of scale on this guy, who stretches to ten feet across,
and stands at four feet. The image is separated into four individually framed units,
and, thanks to the gods, was recently sold to a cool guy (who has guaranteed visitation rights), and thus rescuing the drawing from the dusty grave which my studio becomes for other less fortunate pieces!

Model supplied by...don't ask...you can't afford him.

6.12.08

"a naked seed"



There are lonely cemeteries,
Graves full of bones without sound,
The heart passing through a tunnel,
Dark, dark, dark,
As in a shipwreck we die from within
As we drown in the heart,
As we fall out of the skin into the soul.

Death Alone, Pablo Neruda



Finally! Some thumbnail pics from the show, hot off the desk of Vladimir Antaki, the mastermind behind Artistic Agitators! Check his work out at http://www.artistic-agitators.com

More to come soon, as like a kid on Christmas eve, I'm in eager anticipation of the high-res images from the man, allowing me to go full bore into catalog production! Promise to keep the details flowin' on this page...





VLADIMIR ANTAKI
ARTISTIC AGITATORS | 3818 Berri | MONTREAL, H2L 4H1
C: 514 963 8523 | E: vl@dimirantaki.com | W: artistic-agitators.com

10.11.08



another "sneak" preview...some animation from the coming show...enjoy! A little warning however...sideways video, for reasons yet to be disclosed...may cause need for neck adjustment post viewing pleasure. Sorry folks, but sometimes its worth the work.



Show prep is coming along fast and furious...deep into the framing stage at this point. A couple of nights ago, put the 'polish' on the largest frame of my yet young life, 6'x9'...a beast by any standards. Takes two strong men to move the thing while blowin' hernia action all over the place. I'll include some pics of the ordeal and the end product...


My lovely assistant, the infinitely patient and wise master carpenter/framer/cat around town, Pierre Daigle (with blue plastic)



and another shot to give scale...big boy!

19.10.08



This show is coming up right around the corner...this coming week in fact! I'll be offering up a piece or two through Galerie Pangee, and am looking forward to what should be a pretty interesting collection of works on paper ( I can vouch for the medium whole-heartedly!).

"For the second consecutive year, the Contemporary Art Galleries Association (AGAC) will be presenting the Montreal fair PAPIER 08, from October 23 to 26, 2008. This fair dedicated to art on paper, the only one of its kind in the country, will be open to the public from noon to 6pm and entrance will be free of charge."

For more info...http://www.agac.qc.ca/papier?lang=en



Of other interest, this is a show coming up at Galerie Pangee in a couple of days. This guy is a pretty interesting cat, with enormous talent in both the visual and musical arts (a quick google search oughta net a good haul for more info on the man, or check out the sidebar link to Pangee). Promises to be a good one!

16.10.08


some images from the coming show...enjoy




15.10.08


Ha! After arduous months of steady procrastination, mixed with a healthy dose of work 'over-load' in the studio (show prep), I've finally completed my first 'official' commission for a t-shirt, drawn ever so carefully by hand with the good ol' sharpee.

The crow/raven is an image which has been coming up on semi-regular occasion within my work, especially the new drawings for "(trans)formations". Not only a remarkable, heartily feathered friend, but long held symbol of a winged messenger, embodying creative and spiritual strength. Nice singing voice to boot.

Thanks Nancy!

In other news, or to address the lack of news (as updates haven't been coming fast and furiously lately, primarily caused by astral misalignment amongst other factors), things have been going well. Despite the 'silence', I assure you all that the work continues steadily, with much to reveal after the curtains have been drawn back come mid November. Something to look forward to...a pre-Christmas 'treat' of sorts.

More details to follow soon, however, in the meantime, I'll be sure to freshen up the content a little more often, as per the advice from today's astrological chart (or something).

3.9.08

(TRANS)FORMATIONS...



The title of my coming solo exhibition, to be held in mid-November at Galerie Pangee. Would love to disclose more images, but I'm afraid doing so might spoil the surprise! More details to follow in the coming weeks, but for now, please enjoy this small taste of things to come.



a man of many marks



more india ink salvation...



an odd meeting of associates...



sometimes...it's best not to ask

27.8.08



thank god for india ink...that's about I'll I can say. Keeps a man on the straight and narrow.

9.8.08



a mural I recently completed for a family here in Montreal...quite a departure from the usual work, but a fun and terribly cute project none-the-less!



27.7.08



a series of faces I created for a book some time ago...a 'flipbook' of sorts, where cuts in the page allowed the reader to mix n' match the the various features, and in doing so, create a seemingly endless variety of new characters.

the following post is the product of a little time on my hands this evening...an experimental animation based on these images, entitled FLIPBooK.

19.7.08



smoking head...

In homage to my pal Tim Barnard (a man most decidedly worth a google if you've not already done so)...some experiments with the "sharpee" on white tees. The following images (with a fifth to come, as soon as it's washed) were all created on route to Winnipeg, or the way back to Montreal, via Via Rail. The ride was a tad bit on the side of bumpy, so time was taken to steady the hand carefully, however, given the six days round trip, time was both on my hands and undoubtedly on my side.

Drop me a note if you're interested in gettin' yer own, while quantities last, or at least as long as they still make magic markers!

And James, thanks for the motivation.



cool days at the moon cabin...(for Colin)



windy girl



orange blossoms (for Mika)

7.3.08



feet in bags...

I woke the morning haunted by this image, a pivotal scene from the still fresh nocturnal cinema. The setting was somewhere in Asia, on a site of construction where there were many such bamboo scaffoldings.

26.2.08


Nearly one year ago to the day I came back from an extended period of time spent in Costa Rica, hanging out with the kids and their mother in what was both paradise, and the madness of the jungle, metaphorically speaking of course.

These next few drawings reflect the emotional state of those times...not completely...but in a general way, very accurately.



no title for this bad-boy...only reflections of fun at the San Jose psychiatric hospital. Good times...did I mention how great the fruit is down there?



manifest...

Didn't find much time to draw while down in paradise, excepting for the occasional art explosions with the kids. However, when the opportunity to play with the pen and let the shnitz out came, it wasn't lost. For more info on this one, well...you may have to wait for the memoir.

Senvest Collection...

"We are lovers of Canadian art and we seek to share our passion with the world. Through the acquisition of new works and their showing in its corporate offices world-wide, the Senvest Collection of New Canadian Art encourages the appreciation of Canadian art internationally."

The folks at Senvest recently acquired one of my drawings...tis' a good thing...and a honor to be part of a fine young collection! It's worth a look...

http://senvestcollection.com/default.php

20.2.08



Security Verification Department



National Verification Office

A series of images from a show that found its way to Scotland a couple of years ago, in an exhibition curated by Paul Butler, captain of The Other Gallery.

These drawings deserve a little back-story, as they hearken back to days darkened by my brief career in telemarketing. On the reverse of each image exists either a sale “contract” (typically gone bad) or a list of call “leads”…stacks of names, addresses, and phone numbers of potential (American) victims of the prescription pharmaceutical telemarketing trade. I won’t get into the gory details…however many of the drawings include elements of the day…routing, account, and bank telephone numbers, snippets of conversations, bits of call patter, and allusion to my phone ‘persona’, a Senior Account Representative by the name of Jesse Butler, employee number 042.

Strange times, strange drawings. Ballpoint pen on good old-fashioned 8 1/2 x 11. Git yer’ checkbook…I’ll hold the line!



Senior Account Representative...

"This call applies to all 'account' eligible account holders...you're not being singled out...right now, it's simply your turn." Something along those lines.



I'm going to talk...



First America Bank

16.2.08



Mika/dad colab...daughter on the pencils, lead guitar and vocals, dad on the bass guitar, brush and ink

Some wise words from J-A...a true master!

"Drawing is the honesty of art. To draw does not mean simply to reproduce contours: drawing does not consist merely of line. Drawing is also expression, the inner form, the plane and modeling. See what remains after that. Drawing includes three and a half quarters of the content of painting."

~ Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres.



inside form



body construct

9.2.08



"a nice place to enter"...



some mugs...playing around with some old photos I found some time ago...enjoyed the graphic quality of these images, thus spawning this latest urge to exercise, like a good set of sit-ups.

4.2.08

A beautiful quote passed on to me by a beautiful friend in Korea...where would we be without Rumi?

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

27.1.08



bald woman



big lipped boy