Maybe she's born with it?

Here's some unused art I did recently for a promo for rising star Maya Chilton. She's got some great new stuff coming out, and she's sure to make a big splash before long! Don't miss her show this Friday with KC Roberts at the Revival, featuring some of the heaviest musicians Toronto has to offer!

CCBB Redux

Here's the latest poster for Toronto's own Composers Collective Big Band. Be sure to check them out June 2 at the Rex Hotel on Queen Street!

A Night at the Museum

Here are a couple of drawings from the old sketchbook:


I spent yesterday wandering around the ROM sketching their statue collection.

Trying out a few new pen nibs and brushes.


Seinfeld reruns! What's the deal with airline food?

Please Mr. Music, will you play?

Here are a few recent pieces I've done. January is music month!

First up: A poster for local jazz ensemble, The Composers Collective Big Band. They're playing at the Rex Hotel on the 23rd, and are well worth seeing! The band lineup is subject to change as the show approaches, so I'll change the poster accordingly.


Next: a demo CD design for the Holiday Brass, a classical quintet that plays at events over the holiday season (I suppose I'm a little late in posting this)




And finally, the finished version of the Humber Recording Studios logo.

Mic check one two

Here are a few logo concepts for Humber College's new recording studio. The client wanted to basically keep the college logo, but still say "recording industry". The consensus seems to be that the middle one is the way to go.

Last week's new arrival, this week's work in progress

ANOTHER UPDATE: Ok, so maybe a *little* more work couldn't hurt. Here's where I'm at as of this morning!


UPDATE: The work continues, I think maybe another day of work should finish it off nicely. Oh, and don't tell Judy! James wants her to be surprised.


I guess it's been a full week since I posted! Don't worry, I've been toiling away on new work, but these ones will take a bit longer to finish. In the meantime, here's a painting I'm working on of my brand spanking new niece, Lillian. If your reading this, James, make room on your wall! Hopefully it'll be done and dry by this weekend.

I switched to oils this week, and I'm pretty happy with the way it's turning out so far. Looks like the next few pieces I do will be a mix of acrylics and oils. Stay tuned!

(sorry about the crappy cellphone pic, I promise I'll get a respectable scan of it once it's done!)

One for the ladies

Here's a painting I did this week as a gift for my friends Victoria and Laura. Kind of a warm-up before I move on to some bigger, more involved paintings. Acrylics on board, 12x24.

It's a poor substitute for a Luck Dragon

I was totally going for a "Neverending Story" meets "Shadow of the Colossus" thing here, but now that I look at it, I realize that I'm really just channeling Rey Ortega. I guess after sitting next to a guy for a year, he's bound to rub off on ya! Go check his stuff out, he's a beast!

Acorn Attack!

Another couple paintings from the ol' sketchbook. First, a horse! Girls like horses, right?
Next: They shouldn't have placed the nuclear power plant so close to those oak trees...
(the colours kind of got mutilated in the scanner)
General Takahashi gasped in horror as the missiles had no effect... fists clenched, he stepped forward to the radio. "God forgive me", he thought to himself, as he solemnly whispered the words he had hoped never to speak again:

"Summon Squirrelzilla"...

Acrylics: The Return

Back to using acrylic, and not a moment too soon! Today: Gay C3PO, and a Tasmanian devil. I suspect that if they were drawn this way in the cartoons, Bugs Bunny would have been a lot more intimidated.
I swear, one of these days I'll start drawing backgrounds...

Chet Baker squared

Scientists in Montreux, Switzerland have proven, through the use of modern computing techniques and advanced particle simulations, that it is a statistical impossibility to be as awesome as Chet Baker.

Added bonus: Some guys I saw at the Rex last night. Sly Juhas on drums, John Meyer (?) on bass. Still plugging away at using gouache, with mixed results.

Book Cover

Did I really never post this?


It's the cover art for a forthcoming saxophone method book. The client (local saxophone legend Charlie Finlay) wanted it very clean and diagram-ish, and intimidating! Accuracy, thankfully, was not a prerequisite.