Jamiyla!

My girlfriend Jamiyla just set up a blog for her illustration and screen prints... I really love her work, and that's not because we are dating, for about 5 years before we dated, even before we were friends, I loved her work...

Anyway, please check it out, and if you are into it, please leave a comment or follow it...

www.jamiyla.blogspot.com

Here are a few of her drawings, and a mushy/gross photo of us from last summer...

Andrew Wilson Solo Tonight!

I should have posted this earlier. Tonight is the opening reception of Andrew Wilson's first solo show... For those new to the blog, Andrew is my great buddy / assistant. In the beginning he was just my assistant, and over the past 5 or 6 years we have become really close. Anyway, if you are in Toronto today, go to the show! It will be great, I'm a little upset I have to miss it...

Here is the info:

Opening Reception:

Thursday, Nov. 6th, 7-10pm
Artist will be in attendance

Location:

Magic Pony
694 Queen St. West
Toronto, ON, Canada
416.861.1684

Exhibition Dates:

November 6th - 30th, 2008

Event Description:

Magic Pony is pleased to present A World's History, a solo exhibition of new paintings and drawings by emerging Toronto-based artist Andrew Wilson. Exhibition runs November 6th to 30th. Opening reception is Thursday, Nov. 6th from 7-10pm. Artist will be in attendance.

Chronicling the mysterious history of an alternate world, Wilson's fantastical abstracted landscapes suggest the possibility of other worlds occurring simultaneously with our own. Past, present and future coalesce within this imagined topography. Futuristic architecture and geodesic domes crown primordial geological forms, while abstract shapes collide. Elaborate, mixed media resin-coated paintings encapsulate vast mountain ranges, crystalline forms and volcanic interiors. Both gesturally inspired and carefully constructed, Wilson's paintings combine contrasting layers, textures and colours to subtly create depth.

A World's History also features a series of meticulously rendered ink drawings. While Wilson's geometric landscapes and utopian architecture evoke the future tense, his drawings explore an imagined past. Medieval villages and church spires are nestled into mountainsides, while enigmatic faces materialize in organic, Arcimboldo-esque illusion. Quietly beautiful and vaguely haunting, Wilson's imagery resonates with the vision and mystery of the fantasy genre, yet leaves definitive narrative open to personal interpretation.

Press Inquiries:

Please send an e-mail to contact@magic-pony.com.

show flicks

So I took some photos during the setup of the show... As usual, I forgot to take photos during the opening... I just took one on my way out of the door at the end of the night... All that it proves is that yes, there was a room, and yes, there were some people in that room, doing...something...

Zaks show was great, the response to it, and to our Road of Knives installation was encouraging...

My girlfriend Jamiyla came to visit me for a few days during the weekend as well, I hadn't seen her in a month so it was great! I won't see her for another couple months now...sadness. I miss her and the rest of my friends quite a bit...

ok, photos:

Our stacks of Road of Knives drawings.

Zak and the gallery staff looking at...something... I think...

The back of Shawn Cheng. Man, I'm starting to realize that I really suck at taking photos, these are so boring...

Zak and his girlfriend Mandy. Mandy is a fellow Canadian, hailing from Ottawa.

Me and my bud/former studiomate Emily Stoddart. We had a studio together a couple of years ago. Weird coincidence, we now live just down the street from each other in Brooklyn.

Me pointing my camera at the door as I was leaving... Jamiyla and I had to call it an early night, neither of us were feeling very well...

This is Jamiyla! I miss her! She is awesome at drawing, I'll put her drawings on here soon, if she lets me...

Up in the Nedhamptons

While I was staying in Italy a couple of years ago my girlfriend at the time introduced me to all of her classmates... There were a lot of talented people studying there, but this one girl's art was the most badass. Her name is Amanda Nedham. Since then we've stayed friends, and today she started a blog... This summer she had a show at Le. gallery, the same gallery that I show at in Toronto. It was awesome. Anyway, Amanda's work is amazing and keeps getting better. Today she set up a blog, and you should go there and book mark it, and go back from time to time...

Here it is.

Zak Smith Solo and Road of Knives Group Show

Hey All, I think this is the 3rd post this week... thats crazy.... Thats as many posts as I made the entire summer I think...

Ok, the reason for this post is to promote a show happening this upcoming weekend. It is my friend Zak Smith's solo show. I've mentioned him on here a number of times. We met about 5 years ago when he emailed me and asked me to be in a group show he was curating, I jumped at the chance, and being in that show led to my NYC gallery representation... Incase you do not know Zak's work, some of it looks like this:

Thats a photo of him at the end there... On his leg there is one of my old monster drawings... I think I've mentioned that on here before too, I just think its cool that he has it...

ok, so this friday, which is October 10th, Zak has a solo show at Fredericks and Freiser gallery here in NYC. In the back room of the show, Zak, Shawn, and myself are showing the entire Road of Knives project... I haven't posted my new pages on here in a long time, but the three of us have been working away on it... Zak will also be showing another collaborative project as well, which is sure to rule. Ok, if you are in NYC, come out! Here is the info, I pulled it off of Shawn's site...

They Fought A Running Engagement (Collaborations)

@ Fredericks & FreiserOctober 10 – November 29, 2008
New York City

Come see what Zak Smith has been up to in the City of Angels – his solo show Midnight in the Empire opens October 10. As a bonus, two ongoing collaborative projects will be unveiled:

On the Road of Knives...
The "battle blog" wherein Zak Smith, Shawn Cheng, and Nicholas Di Genova take turns drawing monsters fighting each other.

Six Versions of Blood Meridian
The heretofore "secret project" taking the one-picture-for-each-page treatment to Cormac McCarthy's violent masterpiece. Features Zak Smith, Sean McCarthy, John Mejias, Craig Taylor, Shawn Cheng, and Matt Wiegle.

Opening Reception
Friday, October 10, 6–8pm
See you there!

Ok, and lastly I'll leave you with some of my newer Road of Knives pages...

Brooklyn Studio

Well, here I am in Brooklyn, my studio is more or less set up... Here's some random flicks taken over the last month... I think rent prices in Toronto have spoiled me, I'm used to having much more space... and a shower... But don't get me wrong, I'm very glad to be here.

A balanced diet of milk, muscle milk, soy milk, and cheese.

Right across the street from me is a sheet metal shop. They start pounding on sheets of metal around 7am, and stop around 7 pm... It makes sleeping in pretty difficult...

Fucking can opener....

Laundry day.

The bucket I pee in. Don't worry, I don't think you can catch anything by looking at photos of it on the internet...

Some small drawings I've been working on... I'm trying to blend the grid drawings with the more freestyle-type drawings... What i'm talking about makes more sense in the first one...

My bud Maia. I've mentioned her on here before, we met back in 2002 during my first trip to NYC and I see her everytime I come down. Now that I'm living here I get to see her a lot more... I'm glad she's here, its kinda like having family in the city...

OK, thats it. Back to work for me, but I'll be posting a couple of more times this week to promote an upcoming show...