Tree Frogs Are So Darn Cool

Agalychnis callidryas is the scientific term for the red-eyed tree frog which is the subject of my latest painting. This piece was started a little while ago, and was a side project while I worked on other, larger pieces.

It is one of my "portable sized" pieces. I usually work on larger pieces at the studio, and works like this one are carted around with me in my daily adventures. I began this piece when taking the skytrain back from the airport, after seeing off my good friend Beth from Vancouver. Drawing on transit is a favorite pasttime of mine.

The initial painting began pretty quickly after, but it remained idle because I went on an adventure out to Atlantic Canada to visit old friends for my 5-year university reunion (Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick).

Upon my return to Vancouver, I began working on another painting that consumed me for some time. I worked on this frog here and there, and tightened up the colours on it. I felt that they had gotten richer, and deeper, but were still lacking the volume that I desire to satisfy myself with these art works.

I made it my mission to sit and finalize this piece last Friday after work. It was one of those nights where I had the time, and I wanted to finish a piece while watching a movie at the studio. If memory serves me correct, I watched The Empire Strikes Back, sipped red wine, and added all the highlights that finalized this piece.

Upon posting to my facebook page (facebook.com/jonshawpaintings) I sold the piece quickly - within an hour. It also got a good response from my followers and I'm happy with the overall piece.

Painting a Baseball Bat For the Toronto Blue Jays

I recently created a piece on a raw spruce baseball bat for the Toronto Blue Jays. This was for their annual gala fundraiser called The Curve Ball, held in Toronto, each May.

My piece was based on the interests of a particular player; #53, Melky Cabrera. His interests include Land Rovers, Reggaeton music and movies. These played an integral role in the images I painted on the bat.

Painting on a round surface was a lot of fun. It opened me up to new possibilities and possible future endeavours of painting on various primed objects.

One thing I did was use the roundness to my advantage. For example, the handle of the bat has a long strip of film wrapped around it. I felt this was a neat way to draw in a 360-degree manner.

The process was very similar to my flat pieces. I primed the bat with a clear gesso and did all the ink drawing first.

I filled in various parts of the bat with paint and stencils. One thing I couldn't do that I usually add is the effect of a flat pool of liquid paint left to dry before adding more layers on top of it. Because the bat is round the paint would just run off to the sides!

At the end, the bat was on display and ready for charity auction in Toronto. However, it was pulled from the show last minute because the player association did not like the fact that I had included a Puerto Rico flag on the bat, as Melky Cabrera has an issue with that flag. I included it as a reference to the origins of Reggaeton music.

I am happy I got to finish the piece but I am pretty upset that my piece was subject to an obvious case of art censorship - where one person got to decide its fate without understanding what was in my piece and why.

Very Cool Feedback Based on Observation

I had a pretty rockin' weekend doing the Make-It show here in Vancouver. I had a booth set up with a number of originals, and new prints and greeting cards I have started developing as an entrepreneurial project.

The good thing about these shows is that based on numbers, you get to guage what is most popular. For me, that meant that my greeting cards and prints sold in distinct sets.

For example I discovered that certain Vancouver images sold like hot cakes and more generic ones didn't really at all. I learned that even though both of these prints are very cool images, the First one of the Woodward's W-sign sold significantly higher than the parking meter piece:

When it came to my originals, the situation was interesting to observe as well. I presented several of my smaller, 12" x 12" panels. I have been studying various parts of the city with these "Urban Snapshot" pieces. I found that the ones that show spatial depth and environment were more popular (and sold) versus the ones that were an object study.

For example, the first two images below sold. The third and fourth ones did not. Furthermore, I had the most feedback on the alleyway/spatial ones (the first two). 

This is interesting information as it reminds me what appeals to particular audiences. While I don't dictate my work based on mass response, it is certainly good information to have at one's disposal. It's always good to receive feedback and critiques in any means possible..even if it is based on statistical analysis and response!

Hot Art, Wet City: A Video Interview

I recently did a video interview for Hot Art, Wet City, a video blog spotlighting artists in Vancouver. Here is my interview, which shows my studio, my work, and a discussion about my methods, inspirations, roadblocks and fun times :)



Interview with Vancouver artist Jon Shaw from bentzen on Vimeo.

Dyadic - My Painted Examination of Phone Booths

I recently sold one of my favourite pieces of the latest set, called "Dyadic". It is a painting of two phone booths, representing urban decay and the passage of time.

I approached this piece as the beginning of a fresh set of city art works. I had previously created a few urban-inspired pieces as an experiment. When I realized that I loved making them, and that people were also excited to view them, I decided to create this work that treats them as a pair (the term "Dyadic" refers to dualities, relationships between two objects, etc). View it here: www.jonshawpaintings.com

As with other works of the same series, I started with an ink drawing. I remember really enjoying making this drawing. I did some of the drawing at a coffee shop near my house with my friend Beth. This was a significant day because at some point walking to/from that coffee shop I lost my wallet and somebody took it..we later found the contents (except cash and credit cards, of course) discarded in a bush. 

The drawing took a few days, as this is a 2' x 3' piece, and therefore has more content to fill. It was really awesome seeing it take shape though. I really love that part in the process when I can work on my pieces from anywhere - such as in public venues or with friends. Makes the work hold more memories and connections to people and places.

As I worked on this piece one thought was about how great it felt to be working on a larger drawing. Now that my most recent show is up and I have more time to explore new projects, I would like to work on something quite large (in the 4' range). 

The first stages of painting were as fun as always. I apply very loose pools of paint and let them dry flat. I work very spontaneously at this stage, often working from a loose colour scheme I've picked beforehand. The colours look somewhat disjointed at this stage, but its really interesting to see it like this.

This piece was the first time I focused on the addition of stickers, graffiti and other remnants on the phone booth. As time goes on, urban objects such as these phone booths age, decay and collect evidence of time and people gone by. I am very interested in the addition of these components because they are extremely fun to photograph around the city, interpret, and recreate in my paintings.

One neat other new addition began in this painting, and became a mainstay in future pieces. I began dropping very light paint blobs on top of lighter highlight areas, to break up the visual plane. I discovered that if I blot them dry when they are half wet/half dry, that I get a really amazing effect where the paint stains an outer ring of colour, and the middle becomes quite transparent. I find that with this subject matter, it adds a whole extra layer of texture and visual appeal.

You can see this work and the rest of the series on my site: www.jonshawpaintings.com

My Joys and Struggles With an Abstract Painting

When I started painting seriously, and in the style that I currently work (with drawing and painting combined) I focused a lot on animal studies. On my online gallery, www.jonshawpaintings.com/gallery.html you will notice that the 2011 work is all animal studies.

When I figured out just how I like to work and got the flow down, I had this moment when I realized how much fun it would be to focus on that technical approach without representing a “subject”. This led me to begin a small series of abstract works. Below is the step by step development of the first of this series!

I was doing a show in West Vancouver last August called Harmony Arts. I often like to work on a piece of art at shows that I do – it attracts attention and is a great starting point for a discussion about technique. People love to see the process. So my girlfriend suggested that I work on a new piece at the show, and I figured doing the abstract work would be the best approach to showcasing how the layers of my paintings work!

I started this work (and other abstracts) with loose paint applications. Usually, when doing a representational piece, I would draw the first ink drawing before painting it in very loosely. By starting with paint applications first, I ensure that I can really play around with the notion of spontaneity and expression.

I worked with large, broad marks. I wanted a very loose structure. As the paint dried in the sun at this show, I was able to quickly move into drawing finer detailed line work.

The process is so much fun in these works. It’s so uninhibited, and a complete overload of endorphin production. I put myself in such a good mood while meditatively tracing over paint and drawing new lines, etc. The more areas I fill in with paint, the more layers that are established. Then, as those get traced over/drawn into, new opportunities for deepening colour layers appear. It’s an ongoing process of exploration and fun.

 Working on larger works (this one is 30” x 30”), I’m able to get really lost in the process for a long time. I spend time carrying these works around various parks or public places in the nice weather and start to draw lines..the work carries me for hours and I’ve actually found myself getting close to it so that most of my peripheral vision is dwarfed with art. This makes for a really amazing experience of being lost in the excitement of the work developing!

 I had a couple of moments working on this new piece where I just wasn’t feeling it. I thought it was getting sloppy and overworked, so I ended up doing a couple of radical paint dumps – one with a big pool of red, and another where I drizzled clear primer all over the canvas. Once these dried I was still unhappy with it, but I learned an important lesson to my methods, which is that its important for me to make a mess with paint then clean it up with ink lines. That’s what I spent more time on, and eventually I ended up loving it in the end!

This piece was great for a building exercise in spontaneity, technique and overall layers and structure. I also pushed my textures and material combinations; the final canvas has a nice texture to it. The final varnished piece is now among my favourites!

I think as time goes on I will continue to work on some abstract works casually, if for nothing else than the sheer joy and relaxation and focused escape it brings to my day. See the final work and other abstracts at www.jonshawpaintings.com

8 Reasons To Enjoy Painting Portraits

When I was in art school (I went to Mount Allison University, in New Brunswick) I painted a lot of industrial subject matter and things that were dark, and used lots of browns and greys in my work.

During one of my painting critiques in second...or third year, I cant remember exactly which, I had a classmate remark that I need to use more colour. At the same time, our painting professor was encouraging us to make a painting a week. He said we had to consistently deliver, and to push ourselves. 

I got into a habit of working quickly with colour and doing colour sketches on cardboard. I shifted that into a project where I would paint 50 portraits of people I knew in 50 days..so that I would (hopefully) begin to work very quickly and looser with my paint applications.

I painted a lot of my friends in this time. I took a lot of photos and worked from those as reference. I like this because each one has a story behind it. More stuff at www.jonshawpaintings.com

This is my friend Mike. We used to work together at the Keg restaurant in St.Catharines where I grew up. One time we came home from the bar to crash at my house, but my parents have really loud dogs so instead of risking waking them up he crashed in the back seat of my old car. My dad asked in the morning if I knew that there was a person in the back of my car. It was an odd talk because it was 7am and I was really hungover.

My buddy Hal. This friend is an exceptional artist and we used to jam on drawing back home all the time. He backpacked south through South America and is one of the more travelled, interesting artist friends I know. 

I went to art school with my friend Jessie. She always had this amazing ability to paint bright, vibrant works with minimal brushwork. I always envied her marks and how she could confidently build up colour areas with variety and geometry of paint. It was so cool to watch.

This is a self portrait I did. I really like the angle of this. I won't talk much about myself, as there is plenty of that on this blog already!

This is my friend Jono, who I still jam with here in Vancouver. I have painted him more than anybody else, maybe 5 or 6 times. One time I painted a 4' x 4' picture of him playing his bass with his tongue hanging out. He loved it and put it in his apartment. His girlfriend disagreed.

This is my friend Lynn who graduated a year before me and now runs a gallery and artist-run-centre in Lunenburg called the Power House. Our friendship began out of a mutual interest in metal sculpture and time spent in the metal shop, which is also what explains my initial painting direction before adding colour. Lynn and I have been known to use grinders and drink coffee at the same time.

My old roommate Neil. What a fellow. I remember painting this piece when I was watching Snakes on a Plane at my old house. I also remember this one flowed so well and came together so quickly. Must have been from the quality of that movie in the background! The first time I met Neil was when I was unpacking my bag upon arrival in first year at our residence room. His parents were also there. The first thing that happened was my big glass bong fell out of my bag onto the floor and we all stopped and looked at it. That was awkward.

This is my friend Sarah. She was really into theatre and also modelled for some of our life drawing classes. It was always awesome when a creative person modelled because they didn't act weird about it, and when you saw them around campus things wouldn't seem strange. Sarah's a great actor and cool gal.

At some point with my new working styles I will definitely go back and make more figurative work. It's just a matter of time now! You can scope whats currently new at www.jonshawpaintings.com