So one of my top favourites from the "Lady with an Axe" series sold, so I brought over these two Deep Sea Divers (ON SALE!) and here's the pricing again. Thursday, April 07, 2011
The Press Club, April 7th 2011
So one of my top favourites from the "Lady with an Axe" series sold, so I brought over these two Deep Sea Divers (ON SALE!) and here's the pricing again. Storm Troopers! (keeping the mood light today)
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
Sea Mine (s), Be Mine, Kiss Me
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
The Press Club, April 5th 2011
Woman with Two Axes (short hair) $180.00, Fox/ Crow $40.00 each, Man with Hammer $180.00, Woman with Two Axes (blonde hair) $180.00, Fox with Fiddle $180.00, Mariachi with Maracas $80.00, Woman with Two Axes $140.00, Woman with an Axe $140.00, A Cup of Crows $140.00, A Quiet Place$ 140.oo Cape Breton Tartan (Canadian Girl)
cheers,
A.Shay Hahn
madcraftshoppe@live.com
follow on twitter @madcraftshoppe
facebook Andrew Shay Hahn (the mad craft shoppe)
Friday, April 01, 2011
For Beams and Struts,Artist Feature. Attn: TJ Dawe
This is cribbed from notes written today where I am trying to introduce myself and my work for a small feature on the great and mighty group site, "beams and struts" I have been asked by Mr.TJ Dawe to do so. I will attempt to do this without lapsing into Third Person or referring to myself as "the Artist" or "Failed Puppeteer turned Painter". There will be many corrections.Andrew "Shay" Hahn
When I look back through all the notes scribbled daily in sketchbooks or conversations I've had about my work, I've settled on the fact that my approach to painting is that of a diarist. My mood dictates what I'm going to do, I know that my sense of humour figures prominently in my work, that I enjoy the absurd, the juxtaposition of objects and working in a series, over time these elements have become where I start when I sit down to draw and hopefully I end up with a few pages of sketches that I can take to the easel to try.
I strongly believe that the only rules for my work are that there are no rules. Every idea is a good idea, no matter how strange (Deep Sea Diver musicians, Cowboys riding chickens, Women who turn into bouquets of flowers etc.) and is worth attempting, as long as the composition and technical work is sound.
I have a very simple structure, I take two things and put them together in a composition, more often than not, they are two things that are possible, presented in a unique way, a woman sleeping in a tree, a woman holding an axe, it is the presentation that makes it mine, anyone can choose to represent these things, that they are practical, mundane, but shown in the medium of painting through my eye, that's my style in a nutshell.
I try to avoid identity, I like to try to reach for the universal, removing the identity of the figure has been a great success to demonstrate this, the viewer can insert themselves into the image this way. If I render a face, a distinct kind of clothing (as opposed to the neutral black, white and brown clothes that I use as a uniform for my figures) it distracts from the simplicity of the image. The simple image, the "impact" picture is what I'm looking for, you have to see it and get what's going on, if it gets muddled along the way it's time to start over. This has been the dominant element of my "style" or "visual language" for the past two or three years, it's what I am known for.
People note that I'm pretty prolific, I post a finished piece or work in progress almost every two days, but this is all I do, it's my only job. I paint nine hours a day, five days a week, so I hope that I would be called, "prolific", otherwise I'm just wasting a hell of a lot of time. It's my favourite thing to do, it always has been, since I was five years old, painting has been my constant, I was lucky to find it early, I'm still chasing it down to this day.
A.S.Hahn
(Hey, TJ anything else ?)
Last Weekend at the Cameron House, where to next ?
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Tonight's Sketches, Last Day at the Wilson 96
Here's a treat of some sketchbook pages for April hope you enjoy the window into me head, and now the repostTuesday, March 29, 2011
The April Grid Diaries 4/75
Eeyore, The April Grid Diaries, 3/75
The April Grid Diaries 2/75
The Six Million Dollar Man, April Grid Diaries 1/75
Monday, March 28, 2011
Globe and Mail Mention
Currently on the easel. "Hahn’s creamy paintings of axe-wielding, storm-swept ladies are as Canadian as a hangover cure (but far more appealing)."
Thanks R.M Vaughan for the G&M mention of the show at the Wilson 96. Sometimes it pays to google yourself. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/rm-vaughan/geoffrey-pugens-vigilante-women/article1956675/print/
The Plan, Where To Find Me, March 27- April 3rd.
Here's the first grid of 25 8x10 canvases, there are hopefully going to be 3 grids of 25 for a total of 75 paintings to be completed by May First 2011. Cuba was a nice break and I found the work of a few artists really inspiring but I didn't draw or sketch a single thing while I was there, hell I only took about 23 photos and to come back to NO SALES was a huge drag.
Yes, things were looking dire and on top of it all ( I don't edit my blog in case you notice tenses flying all over) the only freaking paintings that were selling this month were the Skeletal Mariachi, which are fun but aren't really that challenging, I have at least 30 better paintings hanging all over this city that you can invest in , but people's wallets were speaking ($80.00 each, how can you go wrong) and I think also people just think these little 8x10 pieces are groovy.
So why fight it, let's just be groovy for awhile, things just started up again in me, I wrote the words, Six Million Dollar Man in the same sketchbook that I'd been staring blankly at and did six pages of notes and sketches. I'm happiest when I treat my work as a diary, I just paint whatever, whenever, no real planning, if I want to paint the Six Million Dollar Man, I will. So "the April Grid Diaries" are what we're doing, they may be hung as they are completed at the Press Club in April, they may be framed, maybe not, just keep coming back and having a look, I want to do about two of them a day.
Where To Find MeOnline You can find me on Twitter by clicking that "Follow Me" thing over there on the left, it will direct you right back to this blog in a nifty little loop. You can find me on Facebook at the group, The Mad Craft Shoppe and you can find me on Tumblr at "the mad craft shoppe" or "mad craft shoppe" I can't remember which. I am available for commissioned work, from TShirts and Band Posters (see the label "pub life sketches" or "TShirt Designs) or commisions (see label "commissions"). You can check out the link to my crazy letters for kids, "the alphabet shoppe" in the links section (it's where the top photo of this post comes from) or my ongoing series of childrens books / dioaramas / graphic novels / amusement park for mice over at the link "Any How Town" which needs a huge update.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Saturday In The City, The Chicken Pickers at the Cameron House
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Mariachi Accordion!
Well, it's a hell of a day outside ain't it ?
A.Shay Hahn
New Mariachi! at the Cameron House until April 2nd
The show at the Cameron House comes down on the 2nd of April (you can scroll down to see what's there) here's a new skeletal Mariachi that I'll be hanging there today, along with a friend who I will post shortly. I also have work at the Wilson 96 (615 College Str.) until the end of March (scroll down to see a bunch of that stuff also).
If you grabbed a business card of mine, please send me an email, it would be great to see that people are using them.
A.Shay Hahn
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Lady with Two Axes (short hair)
We're on a bit of a run with the Axe Series, I have a couple more that I'll finish this week and then get back to the long neglected, "Tom Waits Project" expect some more writing about that and an announcement. I also have three more Jug Band Devils on the go that I'll post soon. Paintings are at the Wilson 96 and at the Cameron House until the end of the month.
A.S.Hahn
Friday, March 18, 2011
Lady with Two Axes, The True Romantics
Lady with Two Axes Thursday, March 17, 2011
Irish Flags ONE DAY SALE!

Happy St. Patrick's Day
A.Shay Hahn
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
The Wilson 96, Friday 6-8pm Meet me
The Wilson 96, The Cameron House until the end of March

Monday, March 14, 2011
Old Havana
Old Havana is great, it's a crumbling beauty for sure. I really enjoyed the city, it's not overcrowded and you can get around on foot really quickly. Here are some things you should know.If you are young or even look young, you will have people UP YOUR ASS all the time, "Hey, where you from ?" means, "I am going to get close to you and annoy you." I had to just keep walking so I wouldn't freak out on anyone, that's why I look like this in these photos (see above). If you are old or look old, you won't get hassled as much. I've never enjoyed being rude as much as I enjoyed being rude in Old Havana.
You can also walk around and not be hassled, folks mainly approach you outside your hotel, but after you are clear, you're alright to head out without being bothered.
The National Gallery is a great way to kill an hour and a half, really enjoyed alot of the work I saw there, next trip I'll check theInternarional Collection, which is a separate building, I just wanted to see some Cuban art that wasn't a painting of an old wrinkly guy holding a cigar or Che Guevara or Castro.
If you see some musicians playing STOP and check them out, it is impossible to find a bad live band in Old Havana, stop and check out every band you see. I don't know about buying cd's, the live sound of Old Havana is probably hard to capture in a studio.
The air in Old Havana is polluted, it's not horrible, but you may not be used to poor air quality so don't exert yourself too much, take breaks from walking, especially from walking in the sun after breathing the air. Yes, we love taking pictures of the old cars, but it comes at a price.
You can totally crash the mini bar in a Cuban Hotel, it's that cheap, you can also buy beer in vending machines.
I would go back to Cuba next year for a vacation, no problem. It was great.
A.Shay Hahn
Super Club Breezes, Jibacoa, Cuba
Get an "Ocean View" room, this means you have a patch of green to walk out on and don't face another building, can't reccomend this enough, but you can't have room 1208, that's my room.
Cubans have yet to master Italian cooking or get close to figuring it out, we reserved at one of the restaurants at our hotel and ate possibly the worst meal we both have ever had, seriously, I'd rather eat the food prepared on "Just Like Mom" than ever touch Italian food at this resort.
Bring a travel coffee mug, the big silver kind, for your drinks, it will keep them cold in the sun, everyone there was doing it, the drinks you are served are the size of the old orange juices you'd get for breakfast at McDonalds.
The food at the buffet is REALLY GOOD you do not have to put salt on it, I don't know what's up with people and salt. I watched a guy salt his food for a minute and he was eating sausages. You don't have to do it.
Bring home lots of booze and coffee for your friends, there really is not much to buy in Cuba and it's cheap.
Make your peace with Papaya, Pineapple, Guava and fibrous Oranges, you will be eating alot of them and no other fruit. I ate five whole pineapples in a week and was awarded a pineapple for my efforts.
If you don't want to mingle, you don't have to, most couples just kept to themselves and read and swam and had drinks, there is no pressure.
All in all, we really enjoyed it, next post OLD HAVANA!
p.s Our inflight movie on Sun Wing air on the way over was "Secretariat" which, near as I can tell is about a woman who abandons her family to go talk to a horse. It was crazy stupid.
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
The Wilson 96,the Chairs By Day
Only about three more small things to finish painting before I am officially on vacation, of course there are three hundred non painting related things to do before I leave on said vacation.
A.Shay Hahn
The Wilson 96,The Chairs At Night,Cowbell Restaurant

The Wilson 96, Mariachi and The Music of Tom Waits
I've had this long frame kicking around for a couple of years and could never decide on a triptych to put in it, upon realizing that Toronto has an insatiable appetite for paintings of Skeletal Mariachi I knew what I had to do. I also had this washboard Devil all on his lonesome and figured the two of them could use a friend. Hanging this today at the Wilson.
If you love the music of Tom Waits, be sure to try and catch this at the Theatre Centre http://www.theatrecentre.org/showdetails.php?id=104 I'm sure it's going to be incredible, I won't be able to go so I hope someone out there reads this and goes to check it out.
best,
A.Shay Hahn
madcraftshoppe@live.com
Monday, February 28, 2011
March, the Cameron House, the Wilson 96, the Vacation
I have been extended for the month of March at the Cameron House (408 Queen West) , so you have lots of time to head down and see what's there. I will also be showing work at the Wilson 96 on College n(615 College) in the month of March and will post photos soon of what is going to be there. I will not have work at the Press Club this month, but will post the name of the artist showing there and any links about them I can find.
The shoppe will be closed for a week at the start of March and I will get back in touch to answer any queries later in the month, if you are interested in buying a piece of course you can buy directly from the bar staff at either venue. Some fun things at the Wilson 96: Tuesday night Trivia is awesome! If you're a fan of trivia bring a team or join one when you're there, that usually starts around 7:30, Samantha Martin and the Haggard play on Thursday nights and are a great roots/rock/blues band, you have got to hear Samantha sing, it's a soulful, throaty howl that reminds us how few people can actually sing Rock n' Roll. http://www.myspace.com/samanthamartinmusicsite there's the link to her MySpace site.
You can join the fb group, "The Wilson 96" to find out about more events at the Wilson and here's a link to the Cameron House site to find out who is playing there in March, http://www.thecameron.com/
A.Shay Hahn
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Saturday at the Cameron House, Little Jimmy's Chicken Pickers!
Friday, February 25, 2011
Hang on St.Christopher, 4 days left at the Cameron House
Woman with Two Axes
Fringe Season Three, Woman with Hammers
I can't wait, I'm supposed to wait but I can't, I've just watched the first Two Seasons of Fringe and really enjoyed the show, Planetary meets a more amusing X-Files, what's not to love ? I never enjoyed the X-Files it was a long standing disagreement that I had with the entire York University Fine Arts Department, my argument was simple, "How effective are two agents that catch every disease that they investigate, get their asses handed to them in a first fight AND can rarely explain the unexplainable?!". Anyways Fringe is much better, there's alot more punching on this show, and I like that.
Trying to finish about eight pieces before I go on vacation, I've got about four days to do it, and I suppose I'll have to watch the Oscars too, when really, The Social Network is the best film of the year, period, and the more I hear people discuss the Oscars the less interested I am in them. The Vanity Fair Hollywood issue is out and I do enjoy reading that, if you've never read it in the past they've done great articles on the making of the Graduate, how the mafia was involved with the Godfather, bisexual turmoil on the set of Rebel without a Cause etc. great old Hollywood stuff, it used to be more known for the Annie Leibowitz star photo portfolio but it's been a few years since anything new or relevant has been done with V.F and celebrity photography.
Anyways, it's 6:48 Am and there's work to be done.
Cameron House comes down March First, check it out,
A.Shay Hahn
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Mariachi! Five Days left at the Cameron House
Here are two more Mariachi who are hanging at the Cameron House, if you go down today I believe you can see Chris Coole and John Showman playing, they are both incredible musicians from respective acts, New Country Rehab, Foggy Hogtown Boys, The Creeking Tree String Quartet, Crazy Strings etc. if they are there it's not to be missed. Last day to see the show at the Cameron House is the 28th.
A.Shay Hahn
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Cameron House, final week
Untitled Thursday, February 17, 2011
Today at the Cameron House
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Skeletal Mountie Madness!

It's Mariachi and Devilish madness at the Cameron House, I can't seem to keep them on the walls or paint them fast enough, commissions for them keep coming in which I am very happy about but I need a break for them to finish an important commission.
Thursday come to the Cameron House to hear Ron Leary play. Wednesday you can see Josh Cockerill play in the front room from 6-8pm here's a link to Josh's myspace page
http://www.myspace.com/joshuacockerill
Friday, February 11, 2011
Banjo Commission, Cameron House bands

Thursday, February 10, 2011
Global Commission
Here is the 2nd block in for a commission of a Globe piece, there are too others (see label "Come On Pilgrim"). I was really very happy to be asked to do this. The piece is 30 x30 inches and I rarely get to work this large. I'll have another photo posted tomorrow so you can follow it's development. Figure placement took awhile to get right, hopefully it will meet with approval, I tend to work all over the place when I paint, it helps me tie the tones of the piece in, and when working this large, I find it very helpful. It should be more difficult, but it isn't.A.Shay Hahn
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
The Red Devil Jug Band

Tuesday, February 08, 2011
The Firewatcher
Is it Firewatcher or Fire Watcher ? Send me a message and let me know, hard at work a great commission to finish this week and some half finished little things that I've been working on since December.
You can currently see my work at the Cameron House, 408 Queen Street West Toronto and at the Press Club 850 Dundas West, and guess what ? They are within walking distance of each other, to see what is on display at each venue please scroll down if you hate words and love pictures feel free to join my facebook group, "the madcraftshoppe".
cheers,back to work
A.Shay Hahn
























