Artisan's Market

Every Saturday this summer (and until the end of September) I am selling my wares at the Penticton artisan's market. Arranged by the Arts Council, the market is designed only to showcase arts and crafts created by hand, by the people selling them (no plastic beads here, folks).

You can find me next to the courthouse from 8:00am-12:30pm (and sometimes longer). I make new paintings every week, so be sure to come and visit me more than once!

Ephemeral Art

I had a sculpture instructor in University named Byron Johnston who truly believed in the importance of ephemeral sculpture, and I think, more particularly, outdoor ephemeral sculpture.

ephemera [ɪˈfɛmərə]

n pl -eras, -erae [-əˌriː]

1. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Animals) a mayfly, esp one of the genus Ephemera

2. something transitory or short-lived

3. (Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Antiques) (functioning as plural) a class of collectable items not originally intended to last for more than a short time, such as tickets, posters, postcards, or labels

4. a plural of ephemeron

(Thank you, www.freedictionary.com)

In this case, this little mermaid has been sculpted out of mud from the shore of Paul Lake, in Kamloops, BC. My friend Maile and I dug some of the soft clay up, and enjoyed the oozy sliminess of it. The mermaid probably didn't last more than two days, but she had her day in the sun, and I had a great time making her!

I struggled at University, and for a couple of years after, with the idea that my art had to say something meaningful, something profound. But I have come to realize that my sense of humour and my fascination with fantasy and the unreal will continue to channel through me. So I don't always have anything important to say, but I usually have fun saying whatever I am saying! On that note, check out the fantastic Avrell Fox, who has also come to accept that it's OK just to make life beautiful, without forcing herself to be profound: http://www.avrellfox.com/

Rustic Robot, Missing Artwork!

Alright, alright. I'll admit that I've gotten inexcusably behind in keeping my blog and fan page updated with the shiny new works of art that I've been creating. But perhaps you can forgive me, as the reason I've been so busy is that I've been selling so much art! This painty lady can't complain.

The only downside to the speedy turnover is that I have failed to document a couple of pieces which are now off *somewhere* in the universe, perhaps never to be seen again (by me). Unless of course the physical world doesn't cease to exist in 2012, I become an artist of great clout worldwide, and then all of my works are collected by the Guggenheim for a retrospective show. Yeah, I'll see them then.

This piece above was painted at Rustic Robot IV, July 24th 2010. You can see that I am nowhere near finished painting it here, and I really hope that SOMEONE captured the finished image because (da da daaaah) it was STOLEN following the end of the festival! It's really disappointing, because the five works of art that were created were meant to be auctioned off to fundraise for next year's event. Two are missing. Mine was taken, as was Eswin's (a beautiful sorrowful looking sad blue moth creature, surrounded by dark sky and mushrooms). Report to me if you come across any pirated art work! We would really like to have them back.

Life on Mars

This was live-painted at Mars Café when I was the featured artist for the month of April 2010. I believe the band in the painting is called Pineapple. They were fabulous! I even had the chance to paint Cary Pratt, lead of the band Prairie Cat, but I left the painting behind at the Mars Café by accident. Hmmm, now I have a reason to make a trip into Kelowna...

The painting was sold the night of the event, and is now in the private collection of Jeff Myers, creative director of living source media group.

Thanks very much to Phaedra Heiby for the photography.

"Sister Night/Water, Sister Day/Earth", 2009, acrylic & spray on concrete

This was my entry in Penticton's First Annual Street Art Festival last October. It's on the back of The Bum Wrap, a cool Penticton surf/swim/awesomeness apparel shop. I was a prizewinner, tying for both the Artist's Choice Award and the People's Choice Award.

Cherry Blossoms (aka "Candy Blossoms"), 2009, acrylic on canvas

This one is currently on display at Fibonacci's in Penticton.