A.Shay Hahn, Cameron House Murals Finished!

Here they are folks and they look good! The murals are finished and waiting for you at the Cameron House to head down, hear some music and have a look. Be sure to check out the Out Door stage, buy some merch and support local music.

Here's a link to the facebook event https://www.facebook.com/events/394480184000962/ and another to the Cameron House records site http://www.cameronhouserecords.com/ I'll be taking the day to collect myself and get organized for working at home again.

Have a look around the blog, check out the paintings, there's lots to see here.

many thanks to Cosmo and McQ for the chance to paint on the walls.

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

 



A.Shay Hahn, the Royal Ant Mother, Cameron House Mural

We hit it hard today at the Cameron and got a really great block in of "the Ant Mother" and lots of highlights and finishes on the West Wall. Tomorrow it's my last day there and I'll whack my way through touching up the East Wall. During the day I was kept company by the great crew of "A Case of the Mondays" and got to hear them rehearse their "slow jam" night and got to listen to Ginuwine's "Pony", TLC's "Red Light Special" and all kinds of great jams. A very talented crew of musician's be sure to check them out.

time to rest and watch Top Chef Canada.

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com



Cameron House Records T's and Junos

Working down in the studio today, it's way too nice out to be stuck in the basement cleaning but things have really started to pile up down there, and then those piles fell over onto each other and then they made little baby piles. It's pretty chaotic.

So before I head back down into the dark I thought I'd post a picture, that I meant to get up on the blog ages ago of the Strumbellas at the Junos. If you've never seem/heard them you have to check them out and one of the fellas, apologies for forgetting your name man, is proudly wearing a "Cameron House Records" T shirt, which you can buy at the Cameron or online.

I'll be back at the Cameron House tomorrow and Tuesday finishing the walls, check back here for photos or head on down to see what I've done.

cheers,

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com



A.Shay Hahn, Cameron House Murals, Day One and Two

Here's what twelve hours or two days looks like. I don't think there's anyone in the city who can move as fast as I can along a wall, yes I'm bragging, but yes it's true. There are no heads blocked in on the first day, that's ladder work and best done all it once, if you want to waste time, go up and down a ladder 1000 times in a day. I don't waste time, we don't have time to waste, so you do all the low work one day and all the high work the next day.

So there is still a figure going in the center of the west wall (bottom two photos) and more detailing for the East Wall but we're in a really good place right now for finishing them on Tues. or Wed.

The murals will be up at the Cameron until at least September so you have lots of time to come by and check them out.

As a test for myself I also walked to the Cameron House on both days that I worked on the mural, so that was17km+ and then twelve hours of work, today I am covered in myoflex and writing this from bed.

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com



Mariachi Skeletons #1 & #2

Here are the first two (of five) skeletal mariachi that will be adorning the walls of the Cameron House. You have to follow the rules of murals Rule 1) Movement the things have to flow from one side to the other, angles are good and so are figures in motion 2) Colour lets get a cool palette that will really pop on the golden walls of the Cameron and keep it limited to five/six colours 3) It's gotta be clear and fun (that's my own rule)

Alright, the weather is great outside and it's time to get started on two more.

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com



The Press Club/ Cameron House news

Jimmy Byron mourns the loss of artwork

I have taken down the Anniversary Sale at the Press Club and also the "dedicated wall". This is going to be a very busy summer I have several projects on the go that are going to have me working at home in the studio or writing on the back porch and it's best that someone else take the space. I won't be in the West End that often so it's time to close down the dedicated wall for awhile.

Lucky for you the person who will be hanging in the "dedicated" area is Jack Breakfast! He'll have his great shots of birds up on the wall and they are priced to sell. Many thanks to the Hickey Bros. Veronika, Ian Philp and of course Jimmy for their support over the years.

 

Starting next Thursday I'll be doing a large figure based mural inside the Cameron House, I'm drawing and designing it right now and let me say, it's going to be fun. There will be skeletal mariachi, ants, flying records and musical instruments, flowers, sticks of dynamite it's going to be nuts. The mural will be up until around September so keep coming back here to see it progress. In other Cameron House news, Cameron Street will be closed and turned into an outdoor venue on the 15 & 16th,read about that here https://www.facebook.com/events/394480184000962/ad

Very proud of Cosmo and McQ and all the great stuff that Cameron House Records are doing.

if you have any questions about commissions or the work that was at the Press Club, send me an email at the contact below.

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

 

 



Dates and les Anniversaires

The Done Right Inn, 12 year anniversary mural

"The Trinity Belles Reunion Tour"

(see the label "murals" for more info)

So sorry folks, I feel like I haven't been here for years, I also think I should have more to post but looking over at "the stack" I realize that most of the things I've been working on have been commissioned pieces or incredibly top secret so even though I've been doing a ton of stuff, I haven't been able to post it, but will at a later date, when it's ready to be loosed upon the world.

Date for the OPENING RECEPTION, that's right, we've got this figured out,

Opening reception for (50) at the Press Club on Friday, December 3rd from 6-9pm, feel free to stick around after Alun Pigguns is playing that night and he is boss, not sure who's opening for him, but he usually starts by midnight, god that seems late, man I'm getting old. I am not having a band for the Opening Reception, but am planning something cool for a closing party. I hang the show on December 1rst and that's when I would reccomend you get your advance peek at what's going up if there's something you want. The Press Club is usually open by 6:30 and I will be there December 1rst from 6-8pm, that evening The Pivot Reading Series will be on and they usually have some good authors reading their stuff and by stuff I mean words.

As always for the December show you will be able to take the work home with you that night, so you can do your Christmas wrappin' or whatever, but you have to pay me first, this is a lesson I am trying to teach the entire Internet at the same time, it's going very slowly.

On Sunday, November 28 at the upstairs cabaret at Theatre Passe Muraille I will be sketching with the National Theatre of The World as they perform "Angels In America 3" a tribute to Tony Kushner, I'm not going to explain this, just go to their website, http://www.thenationaltheatreoftheworld.com/NTOW.html and check them out. I missed sketching for the first one due to the goddam flu and I am attending this to sketch them irregardless of how much sleep I will lose getting caught up on finishing paintings, these guys are amazing and you can't miss them. I think I just said "can't miss them" four times in this short paragraph. But hey it's 6:05 AM, what's a fella to do.

Alright, I've got a huge day, hope to have something else posted later on in the afternoon/early evening. Now I'm going to jump over to the Any How Town blog and put up some pictures of buildings.

all the best,

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

The End of An Era, but it really wasn't that long

This is incredibly eerie, after three years of occupying this space on the back patio at the Cloak and Dagger the mural has come down. It would have been great to line up another sponsor to use the wall, as the construction of the piece is quite solid but we were unable to find someone willing to pay the fee. I'd like to thank Guinness for the oppurtunity and C and B for letting me do the piece. It's a little like phantom limb syndrome looking at this photo. You can see the mural if you click on the label "murals".

A.S.Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Mural news

As most of you may know, (or check the "murals" tab in the column to your left),about twelve years ago I was commissioned to create a mural for Theatre Passe Muraille's bar area, this was probably my second or third contracted mural. This one project started a relationship with the Theatre that continues to this day, under Layne Coleman's stewardship and Jonathan Rooke's steady friendship, I became the resident scenic artist,painting almost all of their shows for the next five or six years, and every wall in the building except the ceiling. I was playwright in Residence for a year, that play went on to become the show "St.Christopher" which was produced on the mainstage in association with DVxT theatre and another show of mine, "Lemon Water" was produced by Greg Thomas and his partner Liz Dalgleish at Summerworks on the mainstage.

Almost all of my time was spent there, in the Theatre or the Shop, it was a studio, a refuge, a club house, an office {a place to crash and sometimes a place for...} and so much more, so many of my closest friendships began at Theatre Passe Muraille. Artistic Director Layne Coleman left the position and a new Artistic Director, Andy McKim was hired. Andy is a great man, he accepted me into the Tarragon Playwrights Unit with only three "little" produced shows ( Two Rhubarbs, one Summerworks under my belt), he has nurtured playwrighting talent all over this city and deserves his own theatre.

Last week I was asked to do some signage for the Theatre, (which of course because of my loyalty to the building I did for free, so don't ask how much I charged) that night at the bar upstairs was Greg Thomas's Bachelor party, he and Liz are getting married, it was great to stand up at the bar (which I also painted) with so many friends that I'd met through TPM, looking at the back wall I did understand fully that it is a different place now, the mural has been painted over, I'm not mad at all, not in the least, it was high time for it to go, part of me does wish that I'd been told that it has been covered and another part wishes that they's ask me to do the job. It's a great, great place, you should go there and see a show.

Here are some additions to the mural at the Done Right Inn, people there love the Spy Vs. Spy and I didn't want to cover it completley so I decided to continue the Mad Magazine theme by adding characters by the great Don Martin. I feel there are enough, I couldn't have done any more that day as I was thick in the head with a cold and had to get home to freebase some neo citran.

madcraftshoppe@live.com

cheers Shoppers,

A.S.Hahn

The Done Right Inn

I have no excuse to have not posted this sooner, here's the mural at the Done Right Inn, which I did in March of this year, featuring everyone's favourite Mad Magazine folk Spy Vs. Spy, there isnt alot of detail here, it's a huge hit though.

Also for the month of August work from the "Fables" series will be showing at the Done Right Inn, so drop by and revisit the magic.

A Dog Named Oreo

At the top is the brand new mural at the Done Right Inn, a tranquil image of a Dashboard Hula Girl drifting through space surrounded by her little Ultramite friends, if you look closely you can see the model standing on the bar looking at image.

Also for your enjoyment here is another Cloak and Dagger T-Shirt design based on the coat of arms on the door of the pub, no word on when these will be printed, Murder Squad and Cloak Spy shirts should be available by the end of this week.

Small Towns is up at the Starbucks at Queen and Claremont til the end of the month, damn the pimply barrista wageslave who threw out all of the info cards that I had put there so people could actually contact me about the work, when I get my hands on you I'll Venti you're Grande for sure.

Sorry I forgot to do viewer mail but I'll get to it next post, if you have any questions or want to participate ring me up at the address below.

Contact the Shoppe ! I need the work !
madcraftshoppe@hotmail.com

best,
Andrew Shay Hahn

The Cloak and Dagger Mural, Summer 2006

Remember those "Spot the Differences" Puzzles that they have in kids magazines ? Well here's a chance to not only do that but to see the evolution of panel from raw sketch to finished product. I like to start things rough and just get a good blocking in done so I can judge how the panels move from one to the other, I have to say that this one is my favourite as a "Stand Alone" Panel. (The Joey Ramone in the top piece is better than the finished one though.)

(figures represented, back row; Pootie Tang, Bjorn Borg, Evel Knievel, Front Row; Dog Playing Poker, Joey Ramone, The Joker, Cobra Commander, The Great Gazoo, missing from this image Brent Micks as Superhero.)

Here is another stage of blocking in when gobs of cheap paint are hunked on to flesh out areas, if you compare this image to the finished piece below you will see many differences and changes that had to be made to accomodate the right feeling of "Chaos" in the bar scene.

Changes here include Mike Ness on guitar being changed to Pat Morita, Red Dress Girl and Bald Guy changing to Gold Dress Woman and Vinnie Jones, Block in figures beside them changing gender to become Owen Wilson in Royal Tenenbaum's and Bardbella and the addition of Robert Mitchum and the Riddler.

Comprehensive list of figures in the finished piece as follows: back row;starting from Left Mr.T, Pierre Trudeau, Pat Morita, Violin Girl, Mike Ness on accordian, Harvey Birdman on Bass, Pootie Tang, Bjorn Borg, Evel Knievel. Middle Row Jaws, Green Girl from Star Trek/She Hulk, Robert Shaw as Quint, Anne Margaret, Vinnie Jones, Stiffler's Mom/Robin Wright Penn, John A. McDonald as the Five Dollar Bill, Owen Wilson as Tenenbaums, Barberella, Generic Hottie Waitress. Last Row Marvin the Martian, Space Invader, Shane McGowan, Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore, Robert Mitchum, The Riddler, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Malcolm McDowell as Clockwork Orange, Dog Playing Poker, Joey Ramone, Joker, Cobra Commander and The Great Gazoo. Also in mural Spy vs. Spy, Donkey Kong, Cloak and Dagger Superheroes, Couchy and maybe a couple more things that I forgot.

The Long Genesis and Continuing Story of "World Domination"

as told by A. Shay Hahn

It's a lovely piece to behold, sixteen feet long, five feet high hanging proudly on a strong brick wall looking down on a beautiful hidden back patio on College Street. Clover grows amongst the elegantly laid patio stones, 23 beers are available on tap to server even the most (or the least) distinguishing Drinker's tastes, the staff has character and are attractive, the owners slightly less so, but they make up for it with personality and good cheer.

To be continued....

Red Stripe Murals Summer 2006

This is the back patio of Collision (Collission ?sp) on College, a band of RedStripe (always two words) cases floating on their wall. This was done on the two hottest days of the summer by your albinist host/proprieter.

This piece was done at SuperMarket in Kensington ,see how the truck contains Red Stripe cases! I quite like this one it's hard to find a beer add these days that is this simple and deconstructed, just a photo of the back end of a shoddy Jamaican delivery truck.

This is the (soon to be opened) back patio at Cocktail Molotov on Dundas at Bellwoods, my favourite so far a six and a half foot tall bottle of beer. Perhaps the patio is open I'm not sure.

These are the three murals commissioned so far for Red Stripe that the Shoppe was contracted to do, hopefully there will be more before the Summer ends, if you have any thoughts or have seen these pieces don't hesitate to contact us by leaving a post!

A.S Hahn

Planet Traveler's Original and Repaint

Study this picture carefully (above) .

There are those bird houses again, this time attached to men, I thought it would be a great image for a hostel to have birds looking for a home. Also the female hockey players with Canadian flag would make a good area for photos, most of them are missing teeth and have black eyes, there is also a lacrosse player included, the best durn sport on Earth. Also featured are "Tiny Houses" another signature that lets you know A.Shay Hahn was responsible.

About six years ago (maybe five) I was hired by The Planet Traveler's Hostel in Kensington Market on Augusta to paint a mural for their back patio area. This is one of the instances where I was given free rein to paint whatever came to mind, I had very limited time to paint this piece but I enjoy the surreal humour and homages to Kensington/Canada very much. Actually I painted the piece with a giant tarp behind me so I was literally pressed up against the wall and had to push back against it to back up to see what I was doing, it was freezing cold and raining intermittedly over the three days that I had to paint the piece, before leaving for the Blyth Festival to work. The only source of a heat was an oven that I would rush in to warm my hands on when they started to freeze up.

Over the years the neighbouring eavestrough managed to wash out large chunks of the piece, (see first photo) I did not know this and this is where the Cloak comes in to play. I was having a pint and struck up a conversation with another patron, we were talking about murals as I was planning the Cloak and Dagger piece, (see above post) and Tony, the guy I was talking to, said that his favourite mural in the city was at a Hostel in Kensington Market and I started laughing. Tony was nice enough to get me back in touch with Anthony the owner of the Hostel and I was able to restore the piece to it's former glory, with some added new touches. Anthony estimates that easily over a thousand people from all over the Globe have had their picture taken in front of this mural, whichI find very touching that my work has travelled so much.

I rarely get to restore work and I think these photos really show what the environment can do to a piece and also give credence to a new coat of paint. If you are looking to stay here, International Shoppers it's located at (I believe) 185 Kensington, right across from the Park and Amadeus (sardines!) there is a Majong Men's club with two Lions right beside it and there is a barbecue every Saturday, very reasonable rates.

Theatre Passe Muraille 1998 & 2005

This is one view of the Office Mural, it features collages created from TPM's archives, featured here are quickly rendered pictures of Jean Yoon, Paul Thompson (or Box Body as he is sometimes called) John Blackwood, Billy Merasty and some other actors whose names I do not know and should.

These are two views of the Mezzanine Mural painted in 1998 and my first Introduction to the World of Theatre Passe Muraille, seen here are John A. MacDonald (Mc?Sp) Louis Riel (or Flaming Ted Danson as my friend Gray referred to him) Big Bear and others, the Indian Virgin Mary in the Quebec flag was Layne Coleman's idea, originally the dress was Royal Blue and she was white, but I thought it looked boring and changed it significantly. If you look closely you can see a drum, a birdhouse and a violin floating about, three symbols I've used in my work forever. The' mural does extend for about four feet in either direction but you'll have to go to Theatre Passe Muraille to see it. I quite like the dark tone of the piece as opposed to a more glowing look at Canadian history, this is a haunted piece.

I was never happy with the Office mural, there just wasn't enough time in the budget (if you know what I mean) to realize it properly. If I could only have three more "day$" to complete it I'm sure it would be perfect, but deadlines are deadlines. Rendered here are Jim Gerrard, D'bi Young , some other people and a girl with a Rooster head dress on that I quite like.

The Done Right Inn Murals

This piece is over a year old, it had been awhile since the pub and I had been able to get the time to do a new mural, I was advised it would be cool to return to the origins of the piece (see explanation below) so the result is also, well, below. The above piece is based on Geof Darrow's Clip art that populates his incredible comic book panels (Hardboiled, Big Guy and Rusty, Shaolin Cowboy) so it's a tribute to his work and looks crazy good all mashed up.
This is the newest edition, "The Return of Troy", a young violin playing orphan from the very first Done Right Inn mural (explained further below) There was some confusion as to the plane having D.R.I on it's body as if I was saying "The Done Right is going down!" or something, I was going to put a dinosaur under the plane like Troy crashed it into the Dino but there wasn't enough room in the composition, sure it's a big wall, but it didn't fit as you can see further down is a bar with stools and that's where his head would've been and no one would've seen it, so another time maybe. I wish I had better shots of this but you get the drift.

(Another shot of the "Darrow" piece, this time with some sun and blurs ! Sorry all.)

I've been painting a mural at the Done Right Inn (Queen West and Trinity Bellwoods) for about six years, maybe more - they used to have a Graffitti artist come in but he always made a mess so I got the job. It's probably the only "Seasonal" mural in the city, repainted four times (yes four!) a year, so there have been about Thirty different pieces in this space since about 1999.It began with a group shot of a female marching band "The Trinity Belles" and eventually the women in the band received names and an expanded story. The figure above is Troy the most popular of the characters, a woman even dressed up as her for Hallowe'en - can you beat that!

I hope to expand the history of this mural considerably on this Blog as it is very close to my heart I just have to secure more photos from the past few years and all the changes it has gone through. If you have photos please submit via email madcraftshoppe@hotmail.com