Interview with Miss Cotton Venus

Conversations with Winnie: Thieving the warm spot.

Winnie: This spot is nice and warm.
Me: Winnie, out of my spot in the bed.
Winnie: No. You left, no savzies.
Me: Move.
Winnie: But look how comfortable I am.
Me: You’re totally faking it.
Winnie: No. See? I am snoring too.
Me: Out.
Winnie: Oh, I see… You are not convinced.. Okay… watch this big sigh.
Me: I’m gonna go make coffee.
Winnie: Okay. I’ll keep this spot warm. ..No, wait! I will come with you.

Capturing A TimeLapse Painting: College Baths Road, UK

I was recently asked to make a painting for someone who would bring it as a gift to London, UK. Since it would be small I figured it wouldn’t take me long so thought I’d take the opportunity to create a timelapse of the work in progress. I used a little piece of freeware called Gawker from sourceforge.net. I like it because I can set the intervals between frame captures (30 seconds, a minute, etc.) and when it’s done it will generate a little video file I can easily import into any video editing software. I used FinalCutPro, but you can use Adobe Premiere or iMovie or even use the free online creation tools now available on YouTube.

I painted this in one sitting (about 4 hours). The music is from a THE PEEL SESSIONS of a little known defunct band called TWA TOOTS.

NEW Summer Social Media Course @OCAD

Writing about social media and teaching workshops for artists and cultural organizations for three years has taught me a lot about the social media marketing needs of artists, musicians, designers and cultural organizations. It has been rewarding to work with visual arts and cultural institutions to develop social media policies and implement strategies and watch the ‘a-ha’ moments when possibilities are created. I have had the pleasure of participated in panel discussions about social media and the arts and have met some really smart people alone the way. It may then comes as no surprise to hear I’ll be the instructor for one of OCAD U’s newest Continuing Studies courses beginning this May.

Social Media for Artists & Designers is a four week affordable course for any artist or designer who wants to know more about using social media to raise awareness of their practice, turn engagements into work or sales opportunities and continue to reach even greater audiences through various social media platforms.

There are only 20 spots available and half of them are already filled. For $250+GST, you can not beat the value of this four week course. If you are interested, you can read the full course description and register here.

Feel free to contact OCAD U’s office of continuing studies or email me if you have any questions.

 

VIDEO: My TOP 5 TOOLKIT Suggestions for Neighbourhood Arts Network

Back when I was the Social Media Director at Akimbo, my good friends at Neighbourhood Arts Network asked me to participate in a night at the Gladstone Hotel, talking to young artists about best practices for self promotion using social media. While we were there they asked me to jump in front of the camera and offer my top five tips for using social media. Here’s what I said:

I look at everything as a potential learning experience so here’s what I learned from participating in this event:

1) It is harder than I thought to sound smart on camera –especially in one take.
‘ Ummm…”
2) There were a lot of people who needed the information I knew.
3) I love teaching people new things.

 

Dr. Dennis McCormac Talks Art +Science + Portraiture

Dennis McCormac from the Ontario Genomics Institute talks about his role at OGI and the work we did together using his DNA sequencing to create a unique portrait.

 

 

A Studio visit with Ryerson Students

Cheyenne Robinson and Erica Ngao from Ryerson stopped by the studio to talk about my work, the Toronto art scene and the value of intervention. Here’s what they put together.

Drum roll please…The 2014 10×10 Photographers!

It’s been a great process selecting the 2014 photographers for the 10×10 Photography Project. In previous years they have been chosen from photographers answering a call for submissions. This year, I switched it up and asked for recommendations from people in the Canadian visual arts and LGBTQ communities with input from past participating photographers of 10×10.

Some of this year’s photographers I have have known for some time and some are new to me. All of them are fantastic photographers and collectively they represent diverse professional backgrounds and approaches to portraiture.

The 2014 10×10 photographers are: Pascal Arseneau, Micheal Chambers, Christopher Cushman, Evergon, April Hickox, Marni Grossman, Zoe Gemelli, Mikka Gia, Mitchel Raphael, and Alejandro Santiago. For more information on these photographers, please vise the 2014 Photographers Page on the 10×10 Photography Project Website.

New Work Complete: RIO

After some time away from my regular style of work, it was really nice to to return to it when painting Rio, a private commission for a collector.

Here are some process shots.

           

            

New Work: PORTRAIT OF A GENETICIST

New work completed! PORTRAIT OF A GENETICIST (Now I Know My C.T.A & G’s). was commissioned by Dennis McCormac, Director of Platform Development at the Genomics Lab of Canada. The 36×48 portrait is comprised of 1700 coloured block characters and a unique DNA sequence (CTAG) that determines the shape of McCormac’s face. The result is both a visual representation of the subject, and a DNA sequence that presents a portrait of a different kind. PORTRAIT OF A GENETICIST will be on permanent display in the MaRS building in Toronto and will be featured in an exhibition in 2014 spotlighting artists using science to inform their work.

Here are some process shots: