
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
The Multi Taskers

Friday, March 12, 2010
Untitled (the Hammer Team)
I'll write some thoughts about this on Monday, but it's the weekend and I'm taking some time away from thinking. The Cameron House is confirmed for May 2010.
A.Shay Hahn
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Untitled (the Painter's Assistants)
Working hard on the second globe piece, so not much to say right now, may put this up at the Garrison tomorrow, will see what the reaction is.
happy birthday to me.
A.Shay Hahn
Friday, March 05, 2010
the alphabet shoppe, the other blog
Get your Brows here, both High and your Low

Thursday, March 04, 2010
The Thing About Working on a Large Scale

Prometheus commission
Here's a commissioned version of Prometheus that I am incredibly happy with, the client and I collaborated on the smaller details of the work, hair, location and she suggested the tiny plants that are around her feet called, "The Devil's Paintbrush" (a new favourite plant, how often does that happen?). There is a second piece that I worked on simultaneously to give another take on the woman carrying her buckets of fire, but it was not as successful, her pose made her look weak, this one is strong and regal. If I fix the other one I'll post it here - but I'm thrilled with this piece.
A.S.Hahn
Tern Art Supplies

A.S.Hahn
Small Towns/ The Gulliver Project

I'd started these small towns almost a year ago, there were two of each colour, conceived as pairs. As the months went on they remained unfinished here in the studio.
While I was going over some old sketches I came across notes and drawings of figures sleeping amongst the houses, I'd completely forgotten the notes, maybe that's why I hadn't shown them. I do love the Small Towns on their own and had wanted to continue playing with them to see what direction they could go in - to add something new to the image. I suppose at the time I'd started working on the series, "the Woman Who Slept" a series of four paintings of a woman sleeping in a row boat, this was the next extension. I'm working on one more and we'll see what the response is, I'm still tweaking the light on some of the above pieces, but they won't look radically different from their current state.
A.S.Hahn
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Last Day of the Press Club, rest four hours and resume


Thursday, February 25, 2010
The Second 30 x30


Perspective really is everything, as an artist who enjoys representing things in different scales, giant birdhouses, giant chickens, tiny people etc. I'm amazed at how working on paintings of this scale makes everything else seem so small. As I begin these blockins for the work I'm also finishing a commission/request on a 20x20 inch scale, and it looks so tiny. I have paintings arranged in my studio by size and the 20 x 20's used to be the "big stack", well add 10 x10 inches and suddenly a 20 x 20 looks like a pretty small fish.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
the first 30 x 30, let's see who reads this



So it took a few days to do it, but I finally put the brush to canvas on the first two 30 x 30's, I thought I'd begin in comfortable territory and work on the above, "Waiting for the Lake to Freeze" but render the piece with cooler tones, than the previous paintingss in the series, work the clothes differently, give it a cool "black and white" tone palette. I'm going to enjoy just pushing the paint around, there's so much space to use.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Size Matters (cont'd)


Animals With Day Jobs or Always Be Painting
I paint, it's what I do, I watch TV while painting, listen to music while painting, I have tried to play xbox while painting but that just doesn't work.
A few days ago the Olympics began, my girlfriend and I have absorbed about 9 hours of it so far, she falls asleep and I paint. A couple of days before the Opening Ceremonies (I paint) two friends and I were joking around at the Press Club and came up with the concept for a web series called, "Justice Snake" about a snake who is also a lawyer/ street vigilante. Having no current ideas in my head while I'm researching/sketching/preparing to start working on some larger canvases (see next post) I decided to paint Justice Snake and see how he looked. Well, as you can see, he looks great, so since I can't control myself I just started painting other animals and giving them day jobs. Yes, one would assume that a husky already has a job pulling dog sleds but that is an insult to their potential and an unfair stereotype.
I occasionally ask people over on Face book to contribute ideas, here is a sample of what came my way within seconds, a fat cat, sitting behind a grand desk, smoking a cigar. Black Labrador Retriever Lifeguard. Pig chamber maid. Owl bartender. Owls who are painters - like wall painters, not artist painters.Construction worker bears. A parrot who is a chef. Mail Delivery Squirrel. Meter Maid rooster. Penguin pharmacist. UPS rabbit.Housewife Dog. Dinosaur Pilot. Cat florist.Librarian eagle. Mouse butcher and a maitre'd horse.Seahorse Lumberjack.octopus hairdresser,lizard priest.cat acupuncturist, there are more but I'll stop there.
In the past I have painted pictures of peoples pets for them as gifts, I can now say that I probably won't ever do that again unless they give their pet a profession - and then maybe I could be persuaded. If you have any suggestions or would like a picture of your pet hard at work at their day job you can talk to me here.
These pieces (the unsold) are hanging at the Press Club until February 27th, but I doubt they will be there for long.
A.Shay Hahn
Friday, February 12, 2010
Size Matters



Friday, February 05, 2010
All's Quiet in the Studio, why is that ?

Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Guinness Pigs and a Questionable "Winter" Olympics


A.Shay Hahn
Monday, February 01, 2010
February First, Press Club, current layout
Friday, January 29, 2010
Extended for the month of February at the Press Club
Monday, January 25, 2010
Queen of Birds III
I'll put this up at the Press Club soon, some other work has sold so now there's a space for this more pastoral look at one of the "Queens of Birds".
Happy Monday,
A.S.Hahn
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Works added to the Press Club, eight days left

Here are four more pieces that have been added to the ever changing walls at the Press Club. As of today you have eight more days to get to the see the show in the space, after such times you'll have to schedule a visit to the studio to see the work, and my selection of beers isn't even close to being what their's is.
I'm working to finish a couple of commissions that I hope to have up here by the end of the week, deadlines are helping to make this possible.
Not alot to say right now, taking some time to just live a bit and spend time away from the studio, lots of other things to get sorted to start the New Year in a positive way.
As always (since they haven't moved it) the Press Club is located at 850 Dundas West, between Euclid and Manning on the North Side of the street, they open at 7pm, bands usually start around 10:30. This week on Wednesday is the Pivot Reading Series, it starts around 8 pm.
A.S.Hahn
Thursday, January 14, 2010
You Only Have 17 more days to see the Show
Here's another painting that just looks terrible as a photograph, (take that image thieves) but looks just stunning in person. In fact it looks so stunning that you should get down to the Press Club to see the show before it comes down on the 31rst.
This has been a terrible waste of a week, I haven't felt like I've gotten anything accomplished. I was trying to do some toy building but realize I need a mini drill press to make the proper holes, a purchase that isn't ever going to happen. On the resolution side, clothes are packed, plants are watered, and general progress all around. So, you win some, you lose some, here's hoping next week will be full of images to post here for your pleasure.
A.Shay Hahn
Friday, January 08, 2010
New Year's Resolutions...and progress
I did write a list, here it is, here's how it's going so far, these are of course in no particular order of importance.
1. Buy a ukelele, perhaps learn to play it (record ep): I'll buy the ukelele before the end of the month, I figure I can watch enough clips on You Tube to get up to speed pretty fast. I have small hands and carpal tunnel syndrome, so bar chording on a guitar would send me to the hospital. The ukelele will be kind to my hands
2. Dig out Spanish Language Cd Rom and get back at it: This is the resolution that I drop every year, I say I'll do it and then I don't, hopefully this year, since I spend so much time "listening" to movies, I'll be able to get back into learning Spanish.
3. Reduce Smoking 50% by April: Not too worried about being able to accomplish this, currently I've been reducing the amount I smoke signifcantly, most people I know have quit, I'm getting tired of being the guy going outside, it's bloody boring.
4. Go to Montreal for the weekend I think we'll do this in the early spring, it's been years since I've been to Montreal and I'd like to go there for a weekend and stay somewhere nice. I rarely travel, it's been years since I've been on a plane. I'm too poor and committed to painting to even think about vacations, but this year I am going to periodically leave the ten block radius that I exist in to see new things.
5. Finish One of Three Illustrated Books for Children: I've been keeping notes and sketches for years for a short series of kids books, sure there's no money in it, but when did I ever make money ? I am committed to getting three of them finished and published by the time I'm Forty.
6.Buy More Plants: Thanks to the Practical Pirate I now have TWO plants, so I'm well on my way, I have a spider thing, that looks terrible, so I talk to it all the time. Now I have added a lovely jade plant, you only have to water them every two weeks, so I may just buy eight of them at once and cross this off my list.
7.Reduce Clothes, DVD's and Books by 30% by the Spring: I've got a good start on this, already started folding the clothes and putting them into bags for the diabetes people to pick up. The DVD"s I'll just put in a box and leave them outside, they will be gone in seconds and I think a group of us are organizing a book swap, I'll let interested parties know when that's going to happen.
8.Spend More Time with My Friends Children:This is pretty self explanatory, most of my friends have one or two of the things, I should get to know them. What kid wouldn't want an "Uncle Shay" in their lives ?
9.DON'T Explain/Apologize for the shitty habits of others, not my job:Yes compared to the above resolutions this does seem to be coming from left field but it's important and something that I've felt for a long time. Let me explain, I know a lot of people, more than you do I'm sure, somehow in my life people have decided that I"m the guy to come to when they have a question about how someone else is acting. Yes, I am observant and wise, but guess what ? I'm not going to offer an opinion, that department of "Services Provided by Andrew Shay Hahn" is closed. If someone is acting like a dick, go talk to them yourselves.
That's pretty much the list, there were some smaller items, build wooden toys, blog more often, eat three vegetarian meals a week, but they didn't seem to need to be written in bold.
The Press Club show is up til the 30th of January, if you scroll down on the blog, you can see what is currently hanging there - even though I changed a couple of things.
A.S.Hahn
madcraftshoppe@live.com
Proof that just about anything fits in a cup.




























