Another Martyr and Two Sisters Dancing

Playing the Martyr Two {SOLD} , Sister One, Sister Two {SOLD}

Each piece is twenty x twenty four inches, acrylic on canvas, .

The "Playing the Martyr" series cotinues, this image finds its inspiration in the angry political talk flying around the Cloak and Dagger these days, where the Liberal Gov't , the empty shirt that is David Miller, the inefficacy of the arts protest two days ago and of course handy mainstays Iraq and the next U.S election have dominated all conversation, shattering the cardinal rule of the pub, "no religion, no politics or you buy a round."

The following images of the Sisters were inspired by a photo of one of my favourite dancer/actresses in our city Monica Dottoir and the dance troupe she belongs to "Company blond" from the performance "nice cuppa tea". I was looking for an image that would aid in the bridging of the pieces from Fables to my past work, and the dominant symbols that I have used for the past two years, if you trace a line from the houses from small towns {see "Small Towns"Tab} to the figures of the paper dolls {see "campfire dolls" in "paintings" tab} to the unifying images of "Untitled {School Play}" {see "Fables" tab} you see two marionettes being manipulated by one of the bandits - when I found the image of Monica I knew where to go next, these are the "portraits" of the two marionettes dancing together among the houses.

contact Andrew Shay Hahn at madcraftshoppehotmail.com

hope everyone is getting over the first cold of the fall, I've almost kicked it {five days down}

best to you,

A.S.H

Boys and Girls Riding Birds, Mothers at Rest, Bandits In Your Backyard

The new Dress, Tea Time{SOLD}, Untitled {School Play}, Untitled {Hide and Seek}SOLD, Taking a Trip Pt.Three

each piece is twenty x twenty four inches, acrylic on canvas, five hundred dollars each.

People have been quite demanding asking about the themes that I'm using in this series of "Fables",

group think- {participating in crowds}, escape/adventure, these are very popular themes in children's tales and I think they also reflect strongly in my life as a painter. The anonymity of the artist, the observer, the creation of images as mirrors of personal, societal tableaux {due to the figurative aspect of these works} had been my working model for many years as a painter, after a two year break to try to express these themes in a non figurative way {see Small Towns , Birdhouses} I wanted to find a new "in" to look at these themes.

The use of the "Children's Illustrative" model was a new and novel way for me to share these "thoughts", images that also have a less tragic or bleak approach to subject matter that could, if presented another way, may seem, too sad or too distant from the personal world of the viewer to access the image. The viewer identifies in the lack of identity that the "Bandits" possess, the "Mothers" are identical for the same reasons. The boys and girls of the "Taking a Trip" series are an image directly from a dream, a dream of escape and adventure, the severe mock murders of the "Martyr's" reflect the power of anonymity in "group think".

Also a love of theatre and storytelling is prevalent in the series, pageantry, false enviroments and playacting deserve to be noted. I hope this helps as a begining to enjoying this work and addresses some of your questions.

contact A. Shay Hahn by calling

madcraftshoppe@hotmail.com

Fables "Playing the Martyr"

Playing the Martyr" twenty by twenty four iches,acrylic on canvas , SOLD

I absolutely adore this painting. I enjoy the concept, the composition and tones, this series has retured me to my love of figurative work after a couple of years away from it.

More to come tomorrow.

To purchase or commission contact A.Shay Hahn at madcraftshoppehotmail.com

Fables at Factory

top image "Taking a Trip Part Three" {SOLD}acrylic on canvas, twenty by twehty four inches, five hundred dollars

second image will be uploaded again tomorrow

bottom image The Factory Theatre

This past weeked the Shoppe travelled to the Factory Theatre for Aviva Armour Ostroff and Andre du Toit's fabulous "Lab Cab Festival" several works from the Fables series were shown and a great time was had by all. Also the courtyard at Factory is officially gorgeous after years of "This is the Courtyard ?"

contact A.Shay Hahn for commisions or purchases at madcraftshoppe@hotmail.com

Side note of Interest: The first initial of my name "A." did come in handy as I was listed first on the poster, which had fifty names on it, way to go Mom and Dad {exclam of a son's love}

Do you have your own ...

How Do You Keep a Moose from Getting Lonely ?

{This needs little explanation}

Water Towers cont'd

"Jamieson Rock and Roll Farm" acrylic on canvas, eighteen by twenty four inches,

{SOLD}

I've realized it's not as much about the water tower as it is coming up with something cool to vandalize it with, which is a case of art imitating life, if you think about this kind of stuff, I do ,so you do't have to.

Portraits

"Rodeo Stars" portrait for C.M of her kids ,Twenty Four by Thirty inches,acrylic on canvas.

for commisions contact A.Shay Hahn at madcraftshoppehotmail.com

Populate your Small Town

I'm a dog person myself but a nice orange cat can bring a touch of warmth to any small town.

New Feature Song Stuck In my Head "My Friends " by The Red Hot Chili Peppers, I can't stand this song, I think it was playing at lockbuster today when I purchased a copy of "Munich" a movie about the Hulk and James Bond killing Palestinians , which is an odd premise for a film.

How to build a Small Town

Still as popular as ever I thought I'd show you how I make a small town.