The Angel of Carpenters

The Angel of Carpenters,

12 x 24 inches, acrylic on canvas

$400.00

I completed this piece last night, sometime after midnight, I'd been working off and on with it for a couple of weeks, people ask how I paint so fast, the answer is that I don't, I usually have about eight or nine concepts, block ins, backgrounds, sketches etc. that I'm working on all at once, smaller things have a better chance of getting finished first, so if you finish three and post them on the day they are done people tend to imagine you did all three in one day, this simply is not true. A good way to track this (not that anyone cares) would be to follow some of the process shots I post here and then see when they pop up as finished, to make this easier for you folks at home I have recently deleted several of the process shot entries.

Actually I did that because I'm pretty damn sure those paintings were crap and I would just destroy them anyway, I destroy alot of my work, it doesn't upset me in the least, I keep the ones that are good, I'll keep them for two years or so, I'll even negotiate the price, but I refuse to be one of those painters with a house full of old work, if it isn't a success I'll kill it off or donate it to a theatre auction.

I'm not worried about, The Angel of Carpenters, it will sell, probably by the end of the week. That's not bragging, but what do I know, I've been awake for twenty hours.

A.S Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Email works, contact me to purchase/order. I have no idea who reads this thing anyways.

Oh yes, if you read do this and are also on facebook feel free to join my group, "The mad craft alphabet shoppe" and you can just look at the pictures and not have to be distracted by all this naughty text.

Canadian/ Colombian Girl and some tiny red airplanes

Three Red Airplanes,

acrylic on canvas, 22,5 x 1o inches

three 6 x6 canvases in reclaimed wood frame

$100.00

Canadian / Colombian Girl, 12 x 12 inches, acrylic on canvas, commission

from the ongoing series, "The Canadian Girl Project"

Good Morning Shoppers it's 4:30 am and I'm wide awake. Let me tell you something, if you don't know me personally, for the past four years I've been a morning person, I will gladly and happily get up at 7 am if it means having more hours of good light during the day to paint and go for my daily walks. The night life holds little interest to me, I've been out and done that, I'd rather be working or going to the Theatre, or catching a band in the early evening, that's just how I am, no fighting it.

So I should be thrilled to be awake at this hour, correct ? Wrong , what accompanies getting up early is going to bed early and that hasn't happened yet, not without a couple of (failed) attempts. Tonight, I failed "sleeping", that has got to be bad news.

Recently there have been a couple of changes in my life that have skewed my schedule, personal things that I won't get into here (go to my links section and read the blog, "Adventures in Schnooville" if you want real emotional honesty) my problems are like that game you played during the obstacle course on Play Day in Public School where you'd put your fore head on a baseball bat and spin around in a circle and then have to run in a straight line, but imagine that there is a phrase written on the ground that I read as I'm spinning, I'll let you guess what that is. I had no other choice but to change something, it made me look like an a** to someone but better now than later when it will really hurt or worse, it remains a situation that drags on and does not change. I'll take my lumps and be referred to as a bad person, it's not the first time that's happened (ask anyone) , this was the right thing to do, no amount of talking would change it, like I said before, that's the way I am, no fightin' it.

Anyways, the above image of red airplanes would be great for a kid's room, (I am now playing interior decorator and telling you where to put things in order to speed Sales along - on that note, the long"Small Towns" would look great beside a dining room table above the sideboard or whatever that piece of furniture is called where stuff for the table is kept) and the new "Canadian Girl" was a commission from a friend for his daughter's first birthday, she is Can/ombian, I love the primary colours of the Colombian Flag they really pop and I think it will be great for the child's room, I also imagine this is an image that will stay with her as she grows up, I'm sure of it - and that makes me very happy. Please don't make me explain "commissions" again.

A.S. Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

The Woman Who Slept 1-4

The Woman who Slept 1-4

12 x 12 inches, acrylic on canvas

$140.00 each/ set of four $500.00

Notes to come, but I have got to get back to work.

A.S.Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Small Towns, the march to myopia

Small Town, Red Roof /Yellow Roof

2 @ 18 x 18 inches, acrylic on canvas

$400.00 each/ diptych $700.00

Small Towns, Cobblestones,

2 @ 12 x24 inches, acrylic on canvas

$700.00

from the series,"Small Towns"

Small Towns, Blue Roof

2 @ 12 x24 inches, acrylic on canvas

$700.00

from the series,"Small Towns"

To really see, with clarity, the colours involved in each piece, I encourage you to click on the image.

These are an incredible amount of work, no scenic artist tricks, every mark hand applied and every colour hand mixed, nothing from straight out the tube.

A.S.Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

The Man Who Loved/ The Woman Who Loved

The Woman Who Loved Her Piano III, 20 x 20 inches, acrylic on canvas

$400.00

The Woman Who Loved the Classics, 16 x20 inches, acrylic on canvas

$250.00

Will Repost the "Piano" piece after a few more touch ups, that shot was taken "wet" so it's got too much bounce

A.S.Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Small Towns

Small Town (after Seurat)

2 @ 16x20 inches, acrylic on canvas $800.00

from the series, "Small Towns"

To see the work and colours involved in the image, please click on the photo.

I will add some updates and thoughts here in a couple of days but I have three more Small Towns that I would like to get posted before midweek, they take a long time and you can go a little cross eyed while working on them.

A.S 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

The Girl Who Lived...or How I learned to stop worrying and paint anyways

The Girl Who Lived in A Chicken,

The Girl Who Lived in A Robot's Head

10 x 10 inch canvas, in reclaimed wood frame, acrylic on canvas

$120.00 each

from the series, "The Girl Who Lived..."

This is how I cheer myself up.

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Commissions

Top is the finished image, bottom was a process shot

This was a great collaborative piece to do for a client who wanted something specific but also as filtered through my style/subject matter. To contact me about commissions contact me at the address below which may not immediately work so (sorry to keep saying this) copy and paste the address with your email provider and I'll get back to you. This is a great time of year, things get a little crazy around Christmas, upcoming show, higher volume of commissions etc. so talk to me now.

If you're in Toronto I hope your pets survived the stress of the air show.

madcraftshoppe@live.com

A.S.Hahn

New Styles for the Alphabet Shoppe

Here are two new variations on the quilted letters, let's called the one of the left, "Night Quilt" and the one on the right "Spring Quilt" as always letters are sixty dollars each and three for one hundred and fifty available by contacting me here, also go to the links area to click yourself on over to the alphabet shoppe. And believe me, now would be a great time to do it!

A.S.Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Small Towns, Ice and Blue

Small Town, blue roof

24 x 24 inches, acrylic on canvas

$400.00

from the series, "Small Towns"

The icy texture of the ground really appeals to me, it informed the more "rough" looking treatment that I gave the piece as opposed to the more "clean" appeal of the others in the series. These remind me more of roughly built ice fishing huts. I also like the unfinished house that is just the rough-in.

A.S.Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Small Towns in the Fall

Small Towns in the Fall (diptych)

Two 20 x 2o inch canvases, acrylic on canvas

SOLD.

This was a ton of work and turned out beautifully.

A.S.Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Fancy Wagons, the return

Fancy Wagons

Two pieces, twenty x twenty inches each, acrylic on canvas

$350.00 ea / Diptych $600.00

A couple of fancy wagons that I did while working on some new Small Towns, stay tuned for more work.

A.S.Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

The Man Who Loved/ The Woman Who Loved

The Woman Who Loved Writing

12 x 24 inches, acrylic on canvas

$300.00

from the series, "The Man Who Loved/ The Woman Who Loved"

The first piece in the series involving, "writng" depicted a man who is leaping into the air, perhaps celebrating by throwing the finished piece into the air and being celebratory, he may have come to a realization what he is working on isn't working and is tossing it to be carried off by the winds or maybe he is trying to grab the initial beginnings of an idea out of the air. With this piece I wanted to keep those many possibilities alive, are the birds in service of the author ? Are they plucking the papers away from her ? Perhaps they represent that chaos in the mind when ideas compete.

A.S Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

I Just can't stop painting this kid.

top, The Boy Who Loved the Water III, The Boy Who Loved the Water II

12 x 12 inches, acyrlic on canvas

$140.00

I am still strangely fixated on this figure in the water, I think of my nephews at our cottage, myself spending my young summers in Muskoka and Hastings. I have powerful associations with the water, from almost drowning while sailing to the fact I swim beneath it more comfortably than above. I can smell that life jacket, I wore one identical to it when I was that age, with a chubby little belly, pushing against the too tight ropes. I see my brother and I leaving the water to get shelter in the boathouse before a storm hits.

I'd like you to tell me what you see.

A.S.Hahn
madcraftshoppe@live.com

Canadian Girl

Canadian Girl

12 x12 inches, acrylic on canvas

commission

I would like to thank T.Pelletier for sending this to me via Fb, these are her thoughts on,"What is a Canadian Girl?".

"A Canadian Girl is proud to be vulnerable.For if there is one single thing she feels certain about,it is the certaintly of uncertainty.

A Canadian Girl seeks comfort in change.For she knows to stay stagnant would deny her of her independance.

A Canadian Girl is a dreamer.For she understands the nature of her restlessness.

A Canadian Girl wanders.For she has learned that taking risks satisfies her wonderous yearnings.

A Canadian Girl reaches out.For it is in her nature to nurture.

A Canadian Girl politely declines her label.For a branding would undermine her integrity.

A Canadian Girl picks up a 'Timmies' on her way over.For she knew that you were a 'double double' the first day you met.

A Canadian Girl will replace her bedhead with her multi coloured toque.For she'd prefer to share a pint and a smile than time in the mirror.

A Canadian Girl knows that carpets will get dirty...and will also get you down a snowy hillside.For she is playfully realistic.

A Canadian Girl will grasp a paintbrush in one hand and a hammer in the other.For her multi-culturalism has lead to great multi-tasking.

A Canadian Girl appreciates the 'little' things.For it is her sensitivity which breeds her insightfulness.

This woman loves her country and all within it .

For growing up a Canadian Girl...She is Free."

To commission a Canadian Girl of your own, contact me here,

A.S.Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Four People with Hammers

Four People with Hammers

series of four, 12 x16 inches ea. acrylic on canvas

$250.00 each, set of four $800.00

I had originally thought of doing a "Four Seasons" piece, something that I've been struggling with for some time, I believe one of the "process" labels goes to an entry where I was designing a "Four Seasons" series, anyways, it never succeeds. Instead I thought just doing some tone work with linking clouds would be enough and of course to give everyone a hammer.

I think as a foursome they look incredible together either in a line, or perhaps hung two above, two below.

A.S.Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

The Man Who Loved...vertical

The Man Who Loved Writing

12 x 24 inches, acrylic on canvas

$300.00

from the series, "The Man/ The Woman Who Loved"

When I was buying the loads and loads of 12 x 12's I also purchased other variant 12 x sizes (16, 24 etc.) I had planned on using them for horizontal triptychs, of course that still will happen but I thought I would, for a little while at least move into a more vertical format and see what I could do with that. Friends have asked me to design a 12 x 36 or 18 x 36 piece for their house and I hadn't come up with anything, working in this format should help with that conundrum (we hope).

A.S.H

madcraftshoppe@live.com

The Woman Who loved....

The Woman Who Loved Her Piano II

12 x 12 inches, acrylic on canvas

SOLD

available by contacting me

madcraftshoppe@live.com

enjoy the weather,

A.S.Hahn

News, Announcements, links etc.

We are currently exhibiting some work at Fleur de Lis Interior Design which is located at 294 Eglinton West, near Avenue road, if the name is familiar it is the firm owned by Peter Lunney and Eric McClelland whose work and advice frequently appear on City Line.

Here is a link to their site

http://www.fleurdelis.ca/

Here's a link to a "view it.ca" site that features one of my murals as a selling point to rent the apartment, who knew. Thanks to Sarah Uyede for the link

http://www.viewit.ca/vwExpandView.aspx?ViT=54694

A.S Hahn

more to come

The Man Who Loved...cont'd

The Boy Who Loved Airplanes

12 x 12 inches, acrylic on canvas

$140.00

It's been a marathon day in the studio, actually the entire weekend has been wonderful. Lots of work coming quickly and feeling great as I lay it in, the being said I do have to tweak the head on this guy a little bit, but no big deal. There is also a second, "Man Who Loved Guitars" that I thought I could finish but his suit and pose was driving me to distraction and a very complicated 12 x 36 with many figures that is going to take some time. Grey suits, summer weight seem to be on my mind, it was one thing I wanted to buy for myself this summer, a nice weight summer suit, with beige shoes, but that money has since been allocated to other purchases, and this summer has been the dogs breakfast, so maybe next year.

I've been taking my breaks and going through a recent purchase which collects all of Norman Rockwell's covers for the Saturday Evening Post and looking through his sketches, photos of his second studio and getting into his work, not for the subject but I do dress my figures in 30's - 4o's styled clothes for the most part. Of course I gasp at the detail in the work, but consisitently remind myself that the average size of his work was around 48 x 36 inches, and he had lots of room to paint every dint and scuff on a leather shoe, where the average size of a man's head in my paintings is 1 inch. So maybe I'm asking for some sympathy after these long days.

Tuesday, I'll have some more news and info about where you can see some work in Toronto.

enjoy the storm,

A.S.H

madcraftshoppe@live.com

The Man Who Loved/ The Woman Who Loved

The Boy Who Loved the Water,

The Woman Who Loved Her Piano,

The Man Who Loved Guitars SOLD

each image is 12 x 12 inches, acrylic on canvas

$140.00

This titles for this series occurred to me awhile ago, prior to the Desolation Row project, it doesn't take much to get me started when I want to paint, I do get stuck sometimes but when I ran into the concept of "The Man who loved...." or "The Woman who loved..." I just started writing down titles, I was sitting on the wonderful back patio at the Press Club surrounded by grape vines and a pear tree and I thought, "I love this...I love these grape vines..." and that was all it took.

I may be posting one or two (perhaps three) by the end of the day, I began working on this last week and then each day noodle around and let the images come out, I did do a prelim for the Guitar series but after that it was just research to find the right guitar.

If you've been familiar with my work since I began this blog you'll recognize the boy in the lifejacket as he was part of my visual vocabulary about four years ago and featured prominently in several paintings, I thought I'd bring him back to participate in these paintings.

I'll be adding a couple more links this week, keep an eye out for them, great blog sites to follow with your morning coffee.

best,
A.S.H
madcraftshoppe@live.com

The Wolves, The Sun, Words Pt.II & III

The Wolves

from the tritych, "The Sun, The Moon and the Wolves"

each piece 12 x 12 inches, acrylic on canvas

$160.00 each / $400.00 for the Triptych

info in the previous post.

A.S.Hahn

Words.

The Moon, from the Tryptych, "The Sun, The Moon and The Wolves"

acrylic on canvas, 12 x 12 inches

$140.00 each. Tryptych $400.00

Taking a short break from the "Desolation Row" series to explore some other recent thoughts. As always I return to my Theatrical background - over the years as a scenic artist I painted many back drops and scrims, I always loved the more artificial aspects of the Theatre, large props, backdrops, heightened costume so I thought I'd spend some time here indulging that love, most contemporary Theatre I did was just "brown wash" work, I probably made new wood look like old more times than I care to count - it's what most strongly identified to the audience that it was a Canadian project - it was brown, usually involved a secret from the past and there was a joke every three lines of dialogue or so, Daniel McIvor wrote a short piece crucyfying this mode, though I forget what the piece was called.

Recently Curry's had a huge sale, spend $50.00 get $10.00 off, I cleaned out the Queen location and the Dundas location of their 12 x 12 canvases as it's my favourite size, (see top photo) this is where they reside. I posted a photo on Fbook and was contacted by a friend in Vancouver who said to write her name on the back of the 10 th and the 18 th canvases and when I got to them I would mail them to her. This, I think is a great way to do business, so feel free to request a number. It also led to a new extension, which is popular on some blogs that illustrators frequent called, "Illustration Friday" where a word is given and then people illustrate and post to the blog. I don't participate as I have never been one to join anything, this sometimes is a disadvantage, but I prefer just managing my own blogs. If you would like a word illustrated, similar to the above image you may contact me here with the word, it will be painted in a different alphabet, but it will be our secret. Each piece will be $140.00, triptychs $400.00

enjoy your long weekend,

A.S.Hahn

as alwasy copy this email address into your email message, as I still can't get it to work, balls.

madcraftshoppe@live.com

50 Posts in 50 Days, #30, A Field Story Pt.II The Trial

A Field Story, Pt.II The Trial

series of six 12 x 12 inch canvases, acrylic

$700.00

I'd been wanting to do another "Field Story" series, not only was the response to the first piece immediate and overwhelmingly positive (sold the day I finished it also) I very much enjoyed the concept. A month or so ago I tried to do another, but realized I had no idea what it was about and scrapped the plans, after recently spending some time hanging around in a law firm the idea came quite quickly, take the last field story (see tags) and try to advance what had happened, vague as that is.

The first series implies that there was a murder of some kind, a sinister incident that took place in the country, observed by one character, who was titled "The Witness", there was an investigation of some kind, and now "The Witness" occupies the top panel of the new series as, "The Accused".

This idea appeals to me greatly to do an almost episodically linked series of works, so now I am eager to begin the next "chapter" of the series. Stay tuned.

A.S.Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

50 Posts in 50 Days #25-30, A Field Story Pt.II, "The Trial

The Deliberaion, the Argument, Justice, The Accused, The Press, The Judge

from the series, A Field Story Pt.II "The Trial

each image 12 x 12 inches, acrylic on canvas

set of six

$700.00

info to come.

A.S.Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com