From back in the day

Below is a link sent by my buddy Sammy, back in University (and I mean way back in the Winters Residence days) I was doing the occasional comic inspired by things me and my crew, "the Abjeerks" said on pub night, here's the link, bear in mind I was doing this over twelve years ago, in a pub surrounded by my pals. Who are still my pals to this day. I'll write more on this later...

http://web.archive.org/web/20030501143040/www.globalserve.net/~ratpack/Abjerks/abjerks.htm

Upcoming Events

Woman with Wings

twelve x twelve inches, acrylic on canvas

$120.00

Man and Woman with Hammers (Dyptych)

each piece eighteen x eighteen inches

dyptych $600.00

Hey there Shoppers, I have some dates for you

First up in for the month of April we will be at the Cameron House (Queen, 1 bl. W of Spadina, building in covered in giant ants, how could you miss it ?) with the Liberty Boot Co. show, "Pop Goes the Cowboy". No date for the Opening but I assume it will be the first Saturday in April, The Cameron Family Singers will be playing, no doubt. If you scroll here you can see, works in progress for the show and there's a link to see the Liberty Boot Co. website which is a great site to zip around on.

For the month of May the mad craft shoppe celebrates it's 4 year Anniversary with a SALE at the Press Club (850 Dundas St.W ) the party will be Saturday May 9th, from 7-10 get there early as work will be leaving in quick fashion, check the Tab, "Fables", "Ladies of the Flowers" "Sets" to see what is available for purchase. Eventually I'll put up a posting of work and the sale prices but that will have to wait a day or two.

Sunday, this Sunday from 4-10 I'll be slinging ale at the Cloak and Dagger come by to see Banjo Frank and his Bluegrass Troopers, (I just made that name up, except for the Banjo Frank part) , it will be a party

I don't know what's up with the link to my email, but if you need to contact me it's still
madcraftshoppe@live.com but clicking on it won't get you far.

all the best,
A.S Hahn

Flight, commissioned project

Top "The Blessing at Kittyhawk"

bottom "The Offering"

each piece twenty four x twenty four inches

acrylic on canvas, from the series "Flight"

Here are the last two pieces for the commissioned series "Flight", it has been a great pleasure for me working on this series, as I'm sure I've mentioned before flying and its many aspects features very prominently in my work particularly in the "Fables" series. These four pieces use a good bit of the "language" I used in Fables, the masked figures and red airplanes have been featured in my work since probably 1997, the giant women of "The New Dress" and "The Tea Party" (as seen above) from Fables occurs again, the above image startles and surprised me as a concept, incredibly happy with the surreal element of the piece.

Originally I'd intended the four pieces to have a continued narrative, I am very happy that I changed my mind, after much sketching and deliberating and discussion, and just stayed with the concept of "Flight" as the unifying idea behind the pieces.

All four are framed in walnut stained "Floating" frames that look quite sharp. The next step will be hanging the work in the client's house, which we are going to do together to pick the best location (s) in the residence.

A.S Hahn

Lost Man, Found Dog #4

Lost Man, Found Dog #4 ,

from the continuing series "Small Towns"

Twenty Four x Twenty Four inches

four hundred dollars

I haven't posted a Small Town in a quite a while, people ask if I still do them, the answer is yes, commission one from me today, but first buy this one, they look great in pairs.

madcraftshoppe@live.com

A.S Hahn

promise to fix this link this week, contact me via your provider.

Mad Craft Shoppe visits Hawaii...

We are everywhere baby, everywhere but getting around to fixing the email link, so contact us through your provider. Many thanks to Tyson for sending theses photos along.

More to come this week, but I will also be taking the job of Sunday bartender at the Cloak and Dagger, which I have promptly changed the position to "Celebrity Bartender". Once we're on our feet we will inform you of all kinds of Sunday Afternoon events, that I will be organizing.

all the best,

A.S Hahn

Liberty Boot Project, Cont'd.

Top are the Sunflower's done in a beige tone that I quite like will probably do a pretty straight ahead cowgirl theme for them.

The style below are called "Butterfly '06" and they are incredible to behold, for the image, since the boot will be displayed beside it, I decided to do a different take and have the "monarch fairy" perched on the boot, this piece is coming along but doing all that plotting on the lettering to give it a Grateful Dead vibe is going to be exhausting.

The show will be hung at the Cameron House on the Twenty Eighth of March, I think, here's a link to the Liberty Boot Company, don't be alarmed when the music player starts, to turn it off click the red button the amp.

http://www.libertybootco.com/default.aspx

have to get back at it,

A.S Hahn

I haven't fixed my link yet, so email me through your provider for the time being

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Second Piece for "Flight- commissioned project"

A Message

twenty four x twenty four inches

acrylic on canvas

commission

This is the second finished piece, many folks sent in comments as to how emotional they found this work while it was in development. I agree, as a man who spends quite a bit of time in the pubs I know that sometimes my girlfriends would get quite angry or feel ignored when I was out with the lads. This woman chose to exit on a stairway of birds. That's what I pick up from the image.

A.S Hahn

Lots to come this weekend...and Gateway Drugs

Mission to the Moon

twenty four x twenty four inches

acrylic on canvas

from the commissioned series, "Flight"

Also, added to the links section is a gateway to "the alphabet shoppe" my blogsite for kids art for all ages. Keep dropping in over the weekend, there will be all kinds of things to see.

Also we've just created the "Any How Town" blog site, (See Links) which is the online graphic novel and other comics created by none other than (see below).

A.S.Hahn

Commission Project

A long time ago, (Sat, July 19,08) I started to post prelim sketches for a series of four commissions, now so many months later I've begun to do the work, here are the block ins for three of the four pieces, expect these images to keep popping up here as the work progresses hopefully to be finished in the next two weeks if I just put my head down, stay out of the pubs and work diligently and don't make too many missteps. Each image is based around the theme of flight, there will be flocks of birds and airplanes, Icarus wings and all sorts of things.

Above you can see the images are progressing nicely, these shots are from a couple of days ago. I hope to have "the Ground Crew" painting finished for tomorrow, it's a favourite, the new working title "Mission to the Moon" ever since doing "Last of the Airmen" for the series "Silver" I just can't get the concept of the jet pack out of my head. I was asked why I chose "Flight" as a them for these pieces, the answer would involve a quick survey of the work I've done in the "Fables" series, which is predominently about flight, escape, travel. It doesn't carry as much into "Silver" which was a very grounded show. (More to come)

A.S Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

The Theatre Project

Here are the rough block in and sketches for a new series about the Theatre, from the top there is the block in for "The Read Through","The Set Designer" "The Costume Designer", ""The Playwright", "The Critics" and "The Lighting Designer.

At the bottom is my prelim sketch for "The Playwright" and the image that inspired me to start the series, Guy de Pene DuBois' "Cafe du Dome" a wonderful and deceptively simple work. I'd been considering doing some Theatre based work for many years but didn't have an "in" to the series, even after working in Theatre for over seven years as a Scenic Artist and having several plays produced in Toronto, Vancouver and Picton and a great working relationship with the Blyth Festival as both.

I left the business due to a lack of work and money and the ridiculously long gestation periods of play development, but love the business dearly, attend often and contribute to fundraising auctions in Toronto regularly.

I think alot of these chosen images appeal to me for the simple reason that as collaborative a project as theatre is, the creators and designers spend much of their time alone and then bring work to the group. I may after the initial twelve look at other aspects of Theatre, but starting with these "departments" which are those that I am most intimate is the best way to start this particular project.

I do want to add, "The One Woman Show", "The Collective Creation" and several others, but I think it would be wise to get through these first. I should commit to adding anecdotes to each piece as it gets completed since I've been very deliquent with that aspect of blogging, I think it will be easier to tell stories about this work than about work from "Silver" which was personal, but also, I believe rather self explanatory and that was it's strength.

This will be a series of Twelve pieces, each one is 16 x 20 inches, acrylic on canvas when they are finished I will definitely have a showing.

A.S.H

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Apparently we're having some probs receiving email if you click the link, please contact me via your email provider until I've fixed this problem.

The Four Seasons, works from Silver at Kahawa

Top Spring {Work in Progress}

Fall {complete}, Winter {complete} , Four Sketches

each piece is eighteen x eighteen inches

acrylic on canvas

four hundred dollars each, full set for Twelve Hundred

For the month of January work from "Silver" {see tabs} will be hanging at Kahawa Coffee House on College Street, just East of Bathurst North side, three doors over from the Cloak and Dagger. Also we'll be showing the above "Four Seasons" series, which I've always wanted to do, and will probably do more of, so here's the first "Four Seasons" based loosely around Chinese Propaganda poses, yet also containing familiar "mad craft shoppe" symbols. When "Spring" and "Summer" are finished expect to see them here.

madcraftshoppe@live.com

A.S Hahn

Have a Happy Holiday, see you for more news in '09.

The Liberty Boot Company

Top :Sketches for "Killaz" Style boots, unfinished

Bottom: "Matchbox Rooster" boot and block in

My man Tony Benattar and I have been collaborating on and off for a couple of years on shows at the Cameron House, this year's show "POP GOES THE COWBOY" which goes up at the end of March through the month of April {Opening Dates to be Announced in the New Year} will feature Ten {count'em} Ten large scale drawings of Liberty Boots as seen through the eyes of the mad craft shoppe . As always check his website, "The Liberty Boot Company" to see the styles and come here to watch the work in progress.

madcraftshoppe@live.com

A.S Hahn

Other Announcements , visit here for new T Shirt Designs coming straight from my head and printed by "Hardboiled" in the heart of Kensington Market. Should be available for purchase from them early March and my second brand new exclusive "mad craft shoppe " shirt (first run SOLD OUT} which you can purchase from me via this site.

Custom Water Towers

The Who, Water Tower

eighteen x eighteen inches

acrylic on canvas

(commission)

Water Tower Sketch

Water Towers remain as popular as ever, everyone just loves them and we are fielding inquiries as to personalized pieces, whether it be bands {see above, Rock N Roll } or peronal messages {You Are My Sunshine} so if you'd like to lay claim to some real estate contact me here to discuss a commission. I quite like the high contrast between the white tower and the mod symbol.

madcraftshoppe@live.com

A.S Hahn

Seven Crowns Tattoo

We here at the Shoppe are proud to announce the Opening of Rev. Matt Ellis and George Brown's new Tattoo Studio, "Seven Crown's Tattoo" located at 2499 Yonge Str. Suite #3, contact them at 416-322-7696. Two of the best our city has to offer, Matt is one of my dearest pals and heck, I'll even brave the snow to go hang out with him today.

MOST DYNAMIC cont'd

I love the moon, dark {pig}, King {pig}

twelve x twelve inche, acrylic on canvas

one hundred dollars each

We continue our mad march to Christmas, with three more images for the series MOST DYNAMIC, we are going to switch over for a little while and do some kids letters. They will grace the walls at Kahawa for the month of January.

Let's get in touch, madcraftshoppe@live.com

A.S Hahn

MOST DYNAMIC the series

"We Salute You Sky Pig, The World Salutes You"

"Ultimate Show Down Mailman vs. Wolfman"

each piece is twelve x twelve inches

acrylic on canvas

one hundred dollars each

Leading up to Christmas I am painting one piece a day to publish at this site. Here are two to get us started, there may be more publised today to give me a head start, so I won't have to do this again until the 5th of Dec. each piece is available for the Most Dynamic price of One Hundred Dollars, I can't believe it either, that truly is Most Dynamic!

madcraftshoppe@live.com

A.S Hahn

Last Days of Silver at the Cameron House

King of Birds

SOLD

Our Mother of Guitars

twenty x twenty inches

acrylic on canvas

four hunded dollars each

The show "Silver" comes down on Sat am, so the last day to see the work at the Cameron House is this Friday. If you would like to meet me to discuss a piece, contact me here madcraftshoppe@live.com to arrange a time. I promise to write all the notes and impressions of the work sometime soon, I just can't get into this, I'd rather be out living than blogging.

A.S Hahn