New Urban Series

I've begun a new series inspired by the city. Looking back on work in the past, I've always been drawn to the urban structure, urban decay, and the magical colours, textures, and visual density that occurs when years of people's marks and influence change the look of various thing around us.

Vancouver is a city with an unquestionable grittiness (quite a contrast to the bright, happy pictures we often see). The crumbling buildings and decay of the Downtown East Side (where my studio is) is a wealth of visual inspiration.

I've wanted to focus on urban decay and the city for some time. I started these pieces on wood panel and so far they are capturing a really awesome amount of attention. I'm really stoked to see this series start to develop.

These objects (like phonebooths) that sit idle and often unused..and collect years of writing, marks, stickers, etc. are a testament to the motion and activity around them. They sit there, collecting memories and watching out at the city that passes them by, slowly disappearing...

Yet they speak to the ever changing world of technology, social norms, behaviour and so forth.

Fascinating? They are to me :)

New Body of Abstract Works

I've admittedly not posted on here for a little while. I post consistently to my facebook page, www.facebook.com/jonshawpaintings. My excuse shall be that I've been too busy preparing a whole new series of abstract paintings :)

Previously I've shown some in - progress shots of them, but here are a selection of the complete ones/ones that are nearing completion.

These are being created for an annual open studios tour here in Vancouver called the Eastside Culture Crawl. It's a really great event where the general public gets to experience hundreds of artists and their studios. I like it because it shows a whole new set of people artwork they may not otherwise experience, and seems to do so in a very fun and unpretentious way (the way I prefer to see and present art).

Here are a few sneak peek images of what I'll be showing. I have some animal works to exhibit too, although I'm using this opportunity to exhibit the new direction of the abstract works.

New Abstract, New Direction!

My latest endeavour is the exploration into abstract. I am still using the same style as before, however now I get to focus on texture, form, colour, spatial relationships, and spontaneity. Everything that I learn here is going to apply to my other work in the future. In other words, this new series is incredibly fresh and fun but also beneficial for my artistic development. So stoked!

Strix Nebulosa - Latest Piece

Right now I'm in the middle of the Harmony Arts fest, a two-weekend show in West Vancouver. It's really busy but really fun!

One of the most recent pieces I made is also the most popular, it seems! It is a 24" x 24" owl painting. Below I am posting in progress shots from various stages of its completion - since I love showing the process!

I put more focus than usual onto the subtle colour layers towards the end. I did this in an attempt to really saturate my colours, educate myself on glazing, and push towards a more complex/sophisticated image. At the end, I think the result was achieved and I am very pleased with the end product.

Phoenicopterus Roseus 2

I just final-documented this new piece. I dig it.

16" x 16"
Ink and acrylic on canvas
2012

Owls, Parrots and Sushi Galore!

I'm developing a subseries of parrots lately. I like them because the colours are so bright and varied, so it really allows a lot of artistic play.

The owl piece below is also in progress but coming along nicely. I'm liking the green/red scheme but I think it needs a bit more highlight colour variation.

The sushi is a new batch. Previously I had done 100 of them, I just wrapped up a fresh batch of 10 more. I want to get another 15 done this week in time for my show this weekend (Harmony Arts at Ambleside Park in West Vancouver)

Working On My Parrot

Here's one of my several parrot pieces currently on the go. This one is 24" x 24", which is one of my favorite sizes to work. It's perfect for being small enough to carry around town to work on remotely, and large enough that I can still get expressive with the paint and line work.

This piece is fun because it is using different colours right now. Not sure where they will go yet but I'm always excited to see how these things pan out! (I like to work spontaneously)

Working on an Owl

Hey. This new piece is a 24" x 24" owl piece. My girlfriend and I are collaborating on it and I'm pretty stoked on the progress so far. This picture's colours are way off (its not anywhere near that yellow..) but next time I'll take a picture in better light, so that my phone won't through the colours way off :)

This pic is really just to show the ink work anyways, so disregard radioactive yellow :)

Working on a Pink Flamingo

One thing I dig the most about my city is that I live so close to several beaches. In the nice weather, I head down to the water after work hours to work on a painting. Last night I worked on two - I'm getting close to finishing the flamingo piece below (I love this subject, it's the second time I've done a piece about one. I don't know if its the colours, or the shapes in the face, but its so much fun!) and I'm starting a slightly larger parrot piece (24" x 24"). Both of these are going to be ready for my next show, which is in just a couple of weeks at Ambelside Park here in Vancouver (Harmony Arts Festival).

Some Painting In The Sun

I live in a pretty decent apartment in my neighborhood in Vancouver. Decent...in that it's old and cool and has character and is near the beach. I don't particularly care for "nice" places or condos - I want to feel some weight to the beams and sense that there is a history there.

One thing this means, however, is that my pad has no balcony. In the nice weather, I set up my gear and paint/draw on the lawn out front.

Last night after work I jammed on some new sushi pieces (fresh batch of 10 started) and worked on a smaller 16" x 16" flamingo. Two progress shots of him are also below. 

Third Annual Whistler Paint Off

 Last weekend I participated in the 3rd Annual Whistler Paint Off competition. This event was a lot of fun - 7 of us set up outdoors in the main village square in Whistler for two 5-hour sessions, over the course of two days. We each had the same sized canvas and got to put together a single painting that the public voted on. Public vote determined the winner. Below is the step by step progress of my peacock painting. At the very bottom is a photo I'm very proud to be in - I was fortunate enough to win first and got an award presented by two great costumed ladies.

A Couple Of New Pieces

I'm currently working on some new works for my next show, which will be happening in early August. The show is called Harmony Arts, and it will be in Ambelside Park in West Vancouver.

One subseries I am working on is a collection of parrots. After I made my 100 sushi paintings, I became very involved with colour combination/experimentations. I'm taking that approach and applying it to some larger pieces, and since the natural colours available with this subject are so bold, bright and fun to interpret, I figured it would be a great reason to create this subseries.

In addition my giraffe piece is really coming together. The image below is from two days ago at the studio, and it has since been reworked further (newer image coming asap). Yesterday I worked on it at Greek Day here in Vancouver, to an incredibly amazing and responsive audience. I was out on the street drawing on it for five hours and it is now 75% complete.

My Weekend of Work

 This weekend was productive indeed. I wrapped up a commission piece of three crows, progressed nicely on my giraffes, and worked away on two new parrot studies. Aside from the crow piece, which has now been shipped to its new home in the UK, I am creating the rest of these works for an upcoming show in August in West Vancouver called Harmony Arts. I am planning to integrate some new textures and collage elements too!

This Sunday the Blim Market will be at Car Free Day on Main Street! I will be there with my good friend Sean showing, selling and making new art for the afternoon!! The market is located at Main and 17th and should be good times!!

New Parrot Piece on the go!

After a bit of a well-deserved hiatus (I was quite burned out after the 100 sushi paintings and exhibition) I have started some new work. I am taking what I learned about colour combinations on the sushi project and applying it to a series of parrot pieces. Some other new work is on the go too, so expect images of those very shortly. For this first parrot I'm liking where it's at so far. I'm going to texturize the beak to give it some good depth.

I have just wrapped up my sushi project. Currently 100 panels are on exhibition at the Roundhouse Community Centre in Yaletown, Vancouver. The opening reception is tonight and I can't wait! Here are the rest of the pictures below. There's lots in total now posted, so happy viewing!