Post Grad Life

I've been in school without breaks since Kindergarden and living my life for the first time without it has allowed me to realize a few things about myself. Namely that I am not a productive person. I need a deadline or a reason to make something and I get very little satisfaction out of producing something solely for myself. Instilling passion and drive into your everyday life is a noble pursuit and I think with time and maturation I'll hopefully get there. So if you have a project in mind and think I'd be a good fit, feel free to contact me, I'd love to hear it!

That being said I haven't totally been sitting on my bum. I've done a few drawings for friends, recently designed a friends record, I'm in the midst of painting and designing another friends record, had an old painting that I spent a long time touching up in a show (above), making and designing mixes for friends (above) and just spending a lot of time with my great friends who I'd probably go crazy without.

The future hopefully holds a collaborative project I'm really excited about. A road trip through the good ol' USA, and fingers crossed, teaching english in Japan starting in the summer.

I hope everyone who drops by here occasionally is doing well and is finding satisfaction in whatever pursuit they're after. It's hard and confusing figuring out what you really want out of life and I'm really struggling with that at the moment. I think that you end up learning a lot about yourself though, and end up having much more to say and offer other people. All the best everyone!

Somewhere On Your Stolen Bike

This is a painting I did in the spring for the Romance of the Wheel show.

Nobrow 6: The Double

So this was a really exciting opportunity. Nobrow, which is based in England, publishes incredibly beautiful books, contacted me to be a part of their most recent issue. It was kind of awkward timing because I was out of the city all summer and working pretty demanding hours so I had to do this on my down time on the computer. I had to pick up my Dad's tablet from home and work on it in the maintenance shop at night.

It's a different process than I'm used to because they needed a specific colour scheme and the colour separations for their printing technique. It was a fun challenge and it was fantastic to be a part of!

You can preorder it here. It's twice the size of their previous editions with one side dedicated to sequential stories and the other for the two page spread illustrations.

Time in Muskoka

Hey people who read or look at stuff here, I just wanted to share a few things that've happened the past while. The wonderful folks at Squidface and the Meddler did another interview with me about my thesis work. You can check it here! A neat publishing company called Fiddleback did a feature about Blood Meridian covers and included my stab at it as well.

Also just heard from 3x3 that I received Gold for my Black Bart and George Gordon paintings and a Distinguished Merit for Ed Gein! Congratulations to Jennifer Phelan and Anjo Chiang for their awards, such talented ladies! You can check the full list over student winners here.

It's been an exciting year and I'm looking forward to the future and a few opportunities that have popped up recently. It's going to be a little quiet here for a while because I'm out of the city for the next 2 months working in Muskoka but things'll pick up again soon after. Thanks to everyone for the support and enjoy your summers!

Romance of the Wheel!

Here's all the info and a wonderful poster drawn and designed by Jessie Durham and Dmitry Bondarenko WHO TOTALLY RULE. Myself and a ton of others will have work in it so come on and see it!

Aileen Wuornos

Born into an unstable home Aileen was abandoned by her mother as a child and raised for a time by her grandparents. From an early age she became sexual active with multiple partners and at 15 was thrown out of her grandparents house. She lived in the woods and supported herself through prostitution. She later hitchhiked to Florida and it was there that she murdered 7 men whom she claimed had sexually assaulted her while working as a prostitute.

The Kray Twins

Growing up together in London’s East End, Ronnie and Reggie were one of the most violent organized crime leaders during the 1950’s. As teenagers they were relatively successful lightweight boxers but became more known and feared for their violence outside the ring. They rose through London’s underground and became prominent nightclub owners. They were huge fixtures in the night life there and were affiliated with many celebrities at the time, most notably Frank Sinatra.

Andrea Yates

Suffering from postpartum depression and dementia Yates lived for a time in a small trailer with her 5 children and husband. They were devoutly religious and “would seek to have as many babies as nature allowed.” The pressure of their growing family proved to be too much for Andrea and after multiple failed suicide attempts she drowned her 5 children in their tub.

Ed Gein

Raised and sheltered by his religiously fanatic mother, he was teased for his effeminate demeanor. Ed went on to dig up the bodies of women at the local graveyard and later murdered two women. When the police raided his home they discovered one of the most horrific crime scenes any have witnessed with skin stretched over furniture, skull bowls, a body suit stitched from skin and many other body parts used in disgusting ways. He was the influence for many horror movies such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Psycho, and Buffalo Bill’s character in Silence of the Lambs.

Phil Spector

A famous music producer throughout the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, Phil is most famous for his recording technique called the “wall of sound”. Suffering from intense bouts of paranoia he was known for violent mood swings and famously pulled a gun on The Ramones. Spector later shot and killed his girlfriend and appeared in many courtrooms with an assortment of ridiculous wigs.

George Gordon

A drillmaster and eventual brigadier general for the Confederate army. He became the first nation wide Grand Master of the Klu Klux Klan.

John Torrio

One of the head mob bosses and booze smugglers during prohibition era American. John Torrio immigrated from Italy when he was a child with his mother after the death of his father. Raised in New York City he helped build the criminal empire known as the Chicago Outfit and mentored its successor, Al Capone.