Mitzi's Sister, Final Week

" Chicken Toss $1.00"

8 x 16 inches, acrylic on canvas, framed

$140.00 each

can be ordered

from the series, "weapons"

Final Week at Mitzi's Sister, the last day to see the show is Sunday, August 8th. I will be there today from 6-8 pm if you'd like to chat about the show or pick up your artwork.

Upcoming at the Lower Ossington theatre I will be doing some improvisitional sketches and stuff, here's a copy of the email, it's how we artsty types communicate,

"Hey you guys - we're doing this art collaboration project in summerworks AUG 5-14th. We had the idea that since it's about the various arts coming together (music, performing, improv) we thought it'd be cool to have an improvising art corner. Basically, you'd tell me when you would like to book in - pull together what supplies you would need and we would give you a table to watch the show and be inspired by...plus, free drinks! The art could be anything from sketches, to paintings, to collages - anything that you get from watching the show.At the end of the night, we have a swag table that the pieces can be displayed on and SOLD with %100 going to YOU! (money and art pieces can be picked up at the end of the week)."

Here's a promo of what we are doing.

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DuuJGgXHCHPo&h=47a26Ws2jhSglr3jlBKTXrwI_jQ

What is Fiasco Playhouse?
http://www.youtube.com/

I will be there on the 11 th of August at the Lower Ossington theatre, doing my thing.

Also at the Lower Ossington theatre I will be participating in the "Square Foot" show that is run by AWOL Gallery, here's a link with that info.

http://www.awolgallery.com/square_foot/

There will also be a couple more interesting bits of info. coming your way after the 10th of August or so, but until then, enjoy Lord Simcoe (King of the Vikings!) Day.

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Deep Sea Divers, the rest of the band

Deep Sea Diver with Keys, Deep Sea Diver Drummer

top 14 x 18 inches, bottom 18 x 18 inches, acrylic on canvas, framed

commission

Here's the rest of the band, I can hardly wait for the client to send me a photo of all five hanging in the jam room. This was a real pleasure to do, lots of fun.

We are extended at Mitzi's Sister until the 9th of August so head on down to Parkdale and check out the show.

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

PRESS FEST THIS WEEKEND.

at the top is a shot of some of my gig posters hanging at Mitzi's Sister beside the great Alun Piggins and the bottom is the line up for Press Fest, starting Friday at the Press Club, come and see a whole butt load of great bands, expect to see the last of the Muppets get sold off this weekend, so if you want one get there early, I think they are opening around 4 pm to accomodate the sheer volume of folks playing.

We may do a raffle for a piece, but I don't know if there will be time to organize it.

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Pencil VS.Pens at Mitzi's Sister

Pencils / Pens

12 x 12 inches acrylic on canvas, framed

$160.OO each

I had these two hair bun pieces sitting on a shelf for over a year at least, maybe since the Anniversary show at the Press Club, I couldn't think of what to do with them, I liked the execution but always felt that they were unfinished. I realized that there hadn't been a " The Sunday Challenge!" on facebook since my show at the Cameron House in May, so this idea came quickly. In the end pencils defeated pens by a score of 1O to 2, I will probably do a couple more of these I immediately started scribbling down other ideas, tiny drink umbrellas and all kinds of stuff, so we'll see where this goes. Hopefully, "Pencils" will be at Mitzi's for the rest of the week, but I have a feeling that it will sell soon, I'll probably do a brown haired version over the next couple of days.

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Praxis Theatre Fundraiser at the Press Club Tonight

Here are a bunch of Mitzi's Sister pictures, I said I wasn't going to, but why not.

Whoops, I forgot to post this earlier, due to computer buggery, TONIGHT, July 15 th at The Press Club, Praxis Theatre is having a fundraiser, since I can't help myself when it comes to Theatre Fudraisers I will donate $1O.OO from every painting sold tonight to Praxis. Admission is $1O.OO. Here's a fb link to the event.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=127261050641178&index=1

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

An Idea is Like A Storm, at Mitzi's Sister

An Idea Is Like A Storm I & II

acrylic on canvas, framed

$180.OO each / $320.OO pair

I don't give up on an idea until I figure out why I painted it, so after painting the large piece for the Fringe Festival and being asked numerous times why I chose to paint the women with the books, so I decided to work on a couple in the studio, once I got the title I understood why I did it. I've been looking for new ideas, inspiration etc. and not finding anything, so instead of looking around I went looking in books. So the books are a gateway to new ideas, and it all made sense.

The work has been hung at Mitzi's Sister and looks great, the staff likes it and I've received several compliments, I don't think I'll post and pictures of the way the show is hung, it's all spaced so far apart that you don't get a sense of the paintings in the space, so just head to Mitzi's Sister to check it out, Queen West, west of Lansdowne between Fuller and Sorauren on the north side of the street. Mondays half price nachos and on Wednesday kids eat free (but only if they squeal and scream) . They open at 6 pm. I'll be there Mondays from 6-8 pm if you want to meet, see the work etc.

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Musa Fundraiser at the Magpie, July 26th

As you may know, Musa, one of Toronto's most loved restaurants was damaged by fire and had to close, there will be a fundraiser at Magpie, which is one block East of Musa's location on the 26th of July,I'll be contributing a painting, here's the facebook link to the event, please come out and support Musa.

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/event.php?eid=134568366576416

A.Shay Hahn

Gord Zubrecki Band Gig Poster

Poster for the great Gord Zubrecki Band, they play (don't quote me on this) every second Monday at the Press Club and have a monthly at the Local for the summer, find them on MySpace.

There are also Press Fest and Big City Hicks gig posters showing up all over town.

to contact me for Gig Posters knock on the door below.

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Mitzi's Sister, July 12- 31 rst

Top Woman with An Axe, Woman with a Hammer

10 x 12 inches, acrylic on canvas, framed

$160.00 each/pair $300.00

Middle Canadian Girl (Prairie), Canadian Girl (Maritime)

12 x 16 inches ( think) , acrylic on canvas, framed

$160.00 each

Bottom Woman With Hammers

14 x 18 inches (I think) acrylic on canvas, framed $200.00

On Monday I'll be heading down to hang at least twenty pieces at Mitzi's Sister, come on down Mondays for $3.00 beers and half price nachos, I should be there from 6-8pm most Mondays for pick ups, sales, questions. I will of course post photos once the show is hung.

thanks to T.Thompson for the hook up.

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Deep Sea Diver Commission, the whole band

Here are three of four commissions for a whole band of Deep Sea Divers, still working on the Drummer, each piece is 14 x 18 inches, framed (Jacobean stain), acrylic on canvas, title for the series, "Deep In the Jam". My computer is still in the shop, I'll add more text when I get her back. To contact me for commissions just flick the switch below.

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Lap Top is sick until Friday

URGENT.

Just a message to let you know ,my laptop is getting fixed, I will be off line until Friday, if I am working on a commission you will receive photos this weekend. Won't be checking email or posting until then.

cheers, stay cool

A.S.H

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Fringe Details and Posters about Town

Ran up to Fringe HQ today to get some detail shots of the 4 x 8 for you to see, also here's a Dodge Fiasco Gig Poster hanging in the window of the Dakota.

Happy Pride everyone.

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Fringe Mural Day 2, "Last Man Standing"

The last photo turned out a little blurry and I probably should've shot some detail work so you can see the overwhelming number of brush strokes on this piece but here she is in all her glory, turned out pretty well for the time alloted. Who knows if my schedule frees up next weekend maybe I'll do another. Oh and of course, just like I wrote yesterday I had to force myself to focus more on one tight section than go all over the place. I taped a bunch of business cards to the sides of the piece, I figure I will do two or three singular women reading at some point this week just to keep the idea fresh for myself.

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Fringe Mural, Day One "A.Shay Hahn, he's Bionic!"

So I decided work upright instead of horizontally, this follows my usual pattern of write one thing here and then do the exact opposite thing the next day ie: I won't be able to finish, I have to paint horizontally etc.

The folks who are working horizontally (3 out of 5 of the artists are working horizontally )have their canvases directly on the ground and so are bent over, or sitting on the ground while they work - this takes too long, hurts your posture, believe me, years ago I did a "Flooral" which is a fancy word for," mural on the floor" and instead of doing it upright and then attaching it to the floor, I painted it in place, I think I spent three days in bed when it was finished. Jack it up on milk crates folks, get a chair, ah well.

The upright mural is working much better, just had to get myself in a similar headspace that I had when I would do the murals at the Done Right Inn and just bash away at it for the first day and then I'll spend tomorrow refining (yeah sure, did you read how this post started). Currently it looks like one of those "technique paintings" you see in faux galleries, looks pretty but doesn't mean anything, so I'll also add, "make it mean something" to the list of To Do's.

Had a great chance to see some folks, actors etc., had a great talk with T.Hughes, but I didn't hang around when I was finished working, I always feel so strange at these events, Theatre is something I contribute to, I always give work to auctions when asked, many close friends are still involved in the business, I go see a show every few months, the thing is, "The Community". "The Community" is something I no longer really participate in, I love hanging out for a pint with someone I haven't seen in awhile, maybe two or three folks, but the whole overwhelming beer tent aspect, just isn't my bag anymore, too much going on, so I went for a quiet pint at the Red Light where the music was perfect. and then fell asleep to "the Newsroom", possibly the best show ever produced in Canada, "This Is Wonderland" Season One, being a close second.

I'm still pretty sure I won't be able to finish this thing.

A big thank you to all at the Fringe,G.Arthurs, P.Forst, D.J Morum, R. Reddie, Miriam (Oops, I don't know your last name) R, Ivey, and thanks to all the techs and volunteers who run tings, thanks to S.Edworthy for taking the photo that began this post. Hope everyone had a great Canada Day, and have a great Pride Weekend, I hope to either be shooting Zombies or doing some Porchin' I don't want to paint at all this weekend.

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Press Club Dedicated Wall, June 30 th 2010

So at the top of the second row from left, I added a "War Pig" ($80.00) and at the bottom by the antique fan that is affectionately known as "the Chopper" I've hung, "A Quiet Place to Call My Own" ($160.00) which I'd reccomend picking up if you're interested in the piece, it won't last. The rest of the wall is the same, actually, the muppets may vanish, I'm going to try to sell them all off quickly at the Fringe, they were fun to do for a spell but it's time to move away from figures protected by copyright, so if you want a Muppet I'll have them with me in my knapsack while I'm at the Fringe, 6-9 pm July 1 rst and July 2nd, $40.00 each.

see you at the Fringe,

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Guess who's back ?

War Pig II (top) War Pig I, 8 x10 inches, acrylic on canvas, framed

A Super Steal at $80.00 each

I'm working on a whole bunch of commissions at once, but needed a break for the day and painted a couple of war pigs to amuse myself , work off some stress, smile, all of this while watching"District 9" and "the Crazies", which seems counterintuitive, but it works for me. Sometimes, that just what you gotta do.

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

What's up Mr. Fox ?

The Fantastic Mr. Fox

8 x 10 inches, acrylic on canvas, framed

$100.00

Easily one of my favourite films of the past year and a DVD that cheers me up every time I feel a little stressed, I decided to pay tribute to Mr.Fox by painting his portrait .

Just wanted to show you that it hasn't been all posters around the studio, the way my time has been working out is that I've been painting Deep Sea Divers during the day and warming up for them by starting a smaller piece like the above Mr. Fox, which is then finished over a couple of days.

I've been using this method for a couple of weeks and it seems to work. So, the day is something like this, get up for 8 AM or so, do "warm up" paintings until about 12 Noon and then paint through until 6 PM, break for dinner go to the Press Club and draw posters for two hours and do notes for paintings for the next day. I am also currently designing an album cover / back cover / T Shirt concept that is actually a photo based project which is a nice change and involves some computer button pushing, had a meeting with the client during last night's tsunami and they are very happy with the work, can't post anything yet, but when the album comes out I'll let you know about it. Not only is it a great concept, the music is really good.

I also have two smaller commissions that have come from doing the above, Mr.Fox piece, I'm meeting with another client this evening to discuss a large scale commission and I am going to the shop all day to build frames.

If you would like to see me working live and in person and you have nothing to do on Canada's Birthday or the day after Canada's birthday you can come and visit me at the FRINGE Festival where myself and five other painter's will be working in the alley beside Honest Ed's for the Fesival event "Pretty Things". The FRINGE is now in partnership with Mirvish Productions and they have moved the Fringe tent from it's usual home at the Tranzac Club to the Parking Lot of Honest Ed's to make people aware of the switch they have hired some painters ( The actor's had to hire the painter's to get attention, that cracks me up )to do some large scale work, 4' x 8' to be exact, to catch the eye and guide folks down the alley to the tent. We'll be there from 6PM to about 9PM on Thurs. and Fri. I'll be the guy sitting down guzzling Vitamin water.

I love the Fringe, lots of friends work for the event, run the event, perform in the event but I just have to say this and I'm not stepping on any toes here, I am getting paid to "perform" but I'm pretty sure that I won't be able to finish a Four Foot by Eight Foot painting in 6 to 8 hours. I'm fast, everyone knows that, you can see it by how much work I post here, but man, I'm not that fast. I do detail work, it takes me over four hours to paint a whale that is 8 x 12 INCHES. Whatever I paint becomes the property of the Fringe or Mirvish and can be used in promotional materials/fundraising, but this painting is too big for me, give me a 4 x 4 or something. I also think that a vertical 4 x 8 painting won't fit in most homes and a horizontal 4 x 8 painting is longer than the average couch. 4 x 8 is the size of a standard theatre "flat" or "wall" so really, that's what we're using, probably because they were free, and the idea of scale appealed to the organizers, but really, I won't be finished. I'll post photos of my progress, I'll probably bring a bag of muppets to sell on the side too.

So things are really busy around here.

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Press Fest Poster

This is just straight up functional, Press Fest is three days of music with anywhere between five and eight bands playing through the day, no room to get cutesy here. Not the most exciting work, but you can see it from a distance, which is the most important aspect, and everything is spelled correctly, which is also important.

I'll be posting a reminder about this event as I may have a SALE/ SPECIAL DISCOUNT EVENT during the three days of music, there are an awful lot of older paintings in the studio and it's time for them to move on to new homes. So mark those dates in your calendar and come back here to see what I come up with.

A.S.Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Between the Hammer and the Anvil finished

Here are two variants for the "Between the Hammer and the Anvil" DJ night at the Press Club, Burke Broadway and I figured that if I just focused the poster on what kinds of music was being played we could skip the name of the night and instead replace it with a six armed female bodybuilder in a luchadore mask. I'll probably do a variant poster at some point that has the name of the event stencilled over the stamps, but this is good for now. Come to think of it, this event is tonight at the Press Club.

I like both of them, while the top image benefits as it is easy to read the music styles which is most important, the one that is upside down would grab you're attention while you're peeing, I mean I have to be honest, most of these posters get hung above the urinals , so you may as well have something interesting to look at. This week if you're in the city and finished being detained by the police and having tea with the Queen keep an eye out for my "Dodge Fiasco" poster, it should be appearing beside or above urinals all over town.

A.S.Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Playing around with stamps and ink

Currently I've been on the hunt for two of the most elusive items in the city of Toronto, an ink stamp pad and a backgammon board, finally I bought an inkpad at DeSerre's and guess how must it cost ? EIGHT DOLLARS! I remember those things were everywhere when I was kid and cost nothing, but due to the scrapbooking fad they can now charge whatever they want for them.

I need to secure a backgammon board for next week for a CD Cover that I'm designing, I wonder how much it will cost ?

The above is for "Between the Hammer and the Anvil" a great monthly DJ night at the Press Club, this is not the finished artwork, I'll be addin and image over top but I wanted to get a look at it without artwork and I think it looks pretty damn super. It is a little counter intuitive to do something different from my other poster work, which is easily recognizable, but I wanted to see how this looks, and we like it.

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Milk Run gig poster

Here's a poster for I. Philp's rockin' good time musical enterprise, "Milk Run", this was the first poster I'd done in awhile, but it got my line work/ ink skills back in line pretty quickly.I'll be putting up another one later on this eve. These are done on a commission basis, price negotiable.

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

It's Tuesday, there must be stuff by now

Rescue Dog (Siberian Husky) 11 x 14 inches, acrylic on canvas framed

$160.00

Not much to say today, big day of working on a Deep Sea Diver commission ( a whole band!) and touching up a couple of smaller things, there will be a couple of band/gig posters that I'll put up today too.

If you need to reach me,

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

The Press Club, A.Shay Hahn's Dedicated Wall

from left top to bottom I Cannot Tell A Lie $160.00, Artemis $160.00,

Deep Sea Diver w/Acoustic Guitar $200.00, Asst'd Muppets $40.00 each

This Little Piggy Love Metal $ 80.00 (SOLD) The Whale of Safety $160.00

This Little Piggy Had Bad Luck $80.00 (SALE)

Lady With An Axe $200.00, Rescue Dog (scuba gear) $160.00

Deep Sea Diver w/Electric Guitar $200.00Girl w/ A Catfish SOLD

Here is the June 16th layout of the A.Shay Hahn wall at the Press Club, to locate this wall go to The Press Club which is on Dundas West, between Euclid and Manning on the North Side of the street. Their summer hours are 6 pm - 2 am, enter the bar walk to the back to order a drink and look East. I will be changing and updating things as they sell, new work is created, my moods change, etc. So if there is a piece you're interested in please contact me here to gurantee you get it.

I'm currently on a huge Gainsborough kick, leading me towards my own take on his work and the paintings of other British painters from the late 1700's, so expect that influence to show up in the new stuff. Who knew that looking at all those paintings of hunting parties, royalty, horses and landscapes when I was in England as a chilod, would resurface as such a strong impulse thirty years later. Thanks Dad, Mom and the British Mockridges.

I just spent a few days building frames, I've got about 35 of them now taking up most of the space in my studio, I also have the same amount of canvases, so I am more than prepared for these new ideas to start floppin' out. Currently I am taking commissions and also, please contact me if you need to still pick up your work from, "Come On Pilgrim" at the Cameron House.

I don't have much to say today, really, I just wanted you to see a picture of the wall

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com