So, getting closer to being caught up on all the work that has been here for the past two weeks, if I can finish two more pieces for (50) today, then I can get back to the commissions. Sure it sounds a little backwards doing your own work before finishing commissions, but hey folks, it's not about the money. But just in case it is this is the last weekend to see my stuff at the Wilson 96 and it would be great to sell four paintings, seriously. Some of this work will move to Shampoo Hair Salon in Kensington Market for the month of November and the rest will come home with me, I don't have much luck selling work out of hair salons, probably a karma thing, I haven't paid for a haircut in at least seven years but it's nice to have the work out there.
These pond Goons turned out really well, regardless what these photos look like.
I don't think I've done any sports related pieces in awhile, maybe the Joan of Arc fencer, anyways I put these up yesterday at the Wilson around 6 pm, and one of the tenants who lives upstairs came in to get change or whatever and he immediately walked right over to where the were hung, didn't look at the pieces along the way, just went right to da goons.
A.S.H
The White Glove Test (#40)There's something about the minimal events that take place between these two that cheers me up to no end, as seen in "The Light Sleepers" and "The Sisters", I can't wait to see what they're going to do next.
Thoughts on this series called, (50), it's like Canadiana via Smiths album covers.
The Opening at the Press Club will be Sunday,Dec. 5th, work is already selling from this show, this is both encouraging and a bit frightening.
A.Shay Hahn
Morning (#42) SOLD, Morning (#41) SOLDTrying to get caught up, really bloody trying.
A.Shay Hahn
Foxes SOLD and Nurse, DESTROYED each is 6 x 6inches, acrylic on canvas, framed $40.00 each, Between this new series, the alphabet letters I"m doing (see links) a commission to finish, Any How Town Maquettes (see links), updating all the blogs, facebook, twitter and tumblr, may plate is too full and I have to get back to work, I can't even go out and get drunk without feeling too preoccupied.
A.Shay Hahn
Bremen (#45)I have alot to write here, but very little time right now, once I get the others in this particular series done, I'll do a more comprehensive write up.
A.Shay Hahn
The Pilot, Yellow Guitar (#46)I love the idea of this little yellow guitar, I didn't want to have too many canvases with the small red airplane, I think it would diminish it's power, I've been wanting to pick up a ukelele or guitlele since about January so I thought I'd try it in one of the pieces, and it works so well. I have a great love of music, live music especially, some of my favourite moments are when I discover a band when I'm off somewhere sketching.
I also love the guitar but my hands are too small to really get a good bar chord and my carpal tunnel or whatever it is that makes my hands cramp up makes practising a proper guitar at length almost impossible. So instead I paint alot of people playing instruments, it's strange the way I hold a brush has no painful after effects but if I write with a pen for too long my hands really cramp up.
Right now I am working on two commissions, a really lovely "Lady of the Flowers" (see labels) that is coming along nicely and three kids letters, I'm also trying to do one 6 x6 inch piece a day and also work on these new pieces, while building all kinds of crazy popsicle stick buildings/cars etc. for Any How Town (see links), so things are pretty chaotic in the studio, there are frames and half finished paintings everywhere. Hopefully some more work will sell at the Wilson 96 by the end of October because I really have no idea where I'm going to put all of this work for a month before I move everything to the Press Club in December.
Yes, there is alot going on.
A.Shay Hahn
If you go all the way back to the beginning of this blog, and my return to painting, five years ago or however long it's been that is where the little pilot and the red airplane make their first appearance, actually I"m not sure there's a picture of that here, I'll have to check at some point. Regardless, the Pilot, like the birdhouse, has been around a very long time, he/she comes and goes, the Pilot showed up in "Silver" (see labels) and then went away, came back for a commission, went away again etc.
The first Pilot that hung at the Wilson 96 sold the day I hung it, actually it sold before the bar had even opened, I'd wanted to work with a more reduced palette and painted the four, Jacques Cousteau, Joan of Arc, The Pilot and the Airman with that in mind. The pose/ orientation of that Pilot was perfect, a great little piece that came together quickly.
Of course with each show there is one (hopefully more) runaway success, the piece everyone has to have and with this show, it was the Pilot, it could've sold ten times over. I'd thought I could produce a few more, with different poses etc. but just couldn't do it, they'd be too similar, it was too soon. Once I started sorting through the new source material I'd found and started blocking in figure poses, backgrounds etc. I found a few poses that I thought could support the image of the Pilot, here are the first two. They are hanging at the Wilson 96 (on College for the umpteenth time) but I'm sure they won't be there long.
EDIT: the photo I'm talking about is not there, it's somewhere on my external hd I'm sure, so I'll track it down and post it in the next week or so.
cheers,
A.Shay Hahn
I'd been getting a little tired of workind with the "back to the viewer" concept, as powerful as it is, I had to change things up for a time. All my sketches started to feel the same and some of the excitement and discovery had gone out of what I was doing, I'd been pushing myself too hard for too long and needed to take a new tack for awhile.
A couple of years ago I'd begun a "Fifty Posts in Fifty Days" project where I was trying to do a painting a day, this was of course, impossible, due to commissioned work, the job I had at the time etc. and I think I got to 25 posts, you'd have to check the archives.
I've recently found a bunch of source material that I quite like and am using the poses as a starting point for my new work, instead of scraping around inside of my head I'm going to let the poses guide what I'm doing. The work is still similar in most respects, I have started about ten new pieces in this size and I may not reach fifty pieces, but it is nice to find a new way to work.
And if you are looking for some very reasonably priced photography check out this link from photographer Joanna Smith http://jojotography.com/
A.Shay Hahn
More Crows, Snakes, FoxesA.Shay Hahn
