I loved this Giambattista Valli dress on Lily Collins who was one of the few attendees to the Met Gala to go with the theme of the night: Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons.
The Art of Lawren Harris
Lawren S. Harris Lake Superior circa 1923 oil on canvas 111.8 x 126.9 cm The Thomson Collection at the Art Gallery of Ontario © 2016 Estate of Lawren S. Harris
Lawren S. Harris Untitled (Mountains Near Jasper) circa 1934-1940 oil on canvas 127.8 x 152.6 cm Collection of the Mendel Art Gallery, Gift of the Mendel Family, 1965 © 2016 Estate of Lawren S. Harris
Lawren S. Harris Isolation Peak, Rocky Mountains 1930 oil on canvas 106.7 x 127 cm Hart House Permanent Collection, University of Toronto. Purchased by the Art Committee with income from the Harold and Murray Wrong Memorial Fund, 1946 © 2016 Estate of Lawren S. Harris
Nothing says Canadian art and Canadian landscapes to me like the Group of Seven. Their work and especially the work of Lawren Harris has been an inspiration since my art school days.
The Idea of North: The Paintings of Lawren Harris comes to Toronto via the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles where it debuted last year and went on to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Its intent was to introduce the American audience to his work, as he, and the Group of Seven, are relatively unknown in the States. The show was co-curated by actor/writer/comedian/musician/art collector Steve Martin, Andrew Hunter, the AGO’s Fredrik S. Eaton Curator of Canadian Art, and Cynthia Burlingham, Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Hammer Museum.
Over 70 works by Harris are featured in this expanded exhibit and are divided into three sections: The Ward – Harris’ early paintings of Toronto, The Idealized North – his northern landscapes and The New City which explores the legacy of his northern landscapes.
For the media preview, we were treated to a short conversation between Andrew Hunter and Steve Martin and got a glimpse into how the exhibit all came together. A long-time collector, Martin said he was flipping through an art catalogue and a Lawren Harris painting caught his eye and he’s been a fan ever since.
Seeing the collected work of Lawren Harris was awe-inspiring. The iconic paintings of The Idealized North made me want to take up oil painting and go on an adventure into the northern wilderness to paint landscapes en plein air.
The Idea of North: The Paintings of Lawren Harris runs from July 1 to September 18 at the AGO.
Make Art That Sells Bootcamp
Here is my latest assignment for MATS Bootcamp: a tarot card of the Hierophant. I wasn’t really into this assignment at first but after some research, I found different subjects to use. I was torn between Odin and Dumbledore. I still may do a Dumbledore in a Harry Potter deck in the future…
Make Art That Sells A
Here is another special assignment with Uppercase magazine for my MATS A self-paced class. This was done for the editorial market. We were supposed to illustrate our ideal wardrobe. Mine is definitely a comfy sweatshirt but also a DESIGNER sweatshirt (ha! – it’s Victoria by Victoria Beckham). It was so great to see everyone’s interpretation of the assignment.
Drawing Coco Rocha
I had the amazing opportunity to meet and sketch Coco Rocha when she came to Toronto to launch her FW 2017 collection of CO+CO.
(!!!!! O.M.G. !!!!!)
We illustrated Coco and another model wearing her Spring collection which is available now. The pieces are ‘sporty chic’ comfortable, everyday wear. Coco and her husband James Conran designed the collection together and James even designed the surface prints. Such a talented duo!
It was also my first opportunity to sketch on an iPad pro with the Apple Pencil using Procreate. Amazing, amazing products event and all I can say is Wow! did that really happen?!
Make Art That Sells B
Here’s some recent artwork from my MATS B classes that I’ve been taking over the last couple of month. I still have a few more assignments to go but that will be another blog post. The image above is from a special assignment for Uppercase magazine. How amazing is that?! Some lucky students will get to be in the magazine with their work featured.
A card I designed for the paper market
Graphics and patterns for the Baby Apparel market. I uploaded some of the patterns to Spoonflower here.
Some icons and borders for the Scrapbooking market
MATS Bootcamp
Here is my second assignment for Make Art That Sells Bootcamp. What a fun assignment: Lumberjacks as Christmas ornaments! You can see all the submissions for the assignment here.
And of course, I totally had fun looking at the eye candy for reference. I followed this board on Pinterest because it was just perfect.
MATS Bootcamp
Here’s my first assignment from Bootcamp. What a fun project to work on! Colouring books are all the rage these days and I think the 1920s style takes it to a whole other level.
You can check out the gallery here to see the amazing artwork that my classmates have produced for this assignment.
Also, you can download my cover art here to colour in yourself.
Oscars 2016
I finally have the time to upload some illustrations I did for the Oscars. I think Cate Blanchett was my “best-dressed” in Armani Privé. She always looks elegant no matter what she’s wearing.
