Objects of Little Importance new series is going to be in Berlin

Art Gaucin was a really great experience for me and the reception to the Objects paintings was very good. Numerous painting sold, as well as some new commissions.

After being in Spain for Art Gaucin, I toured Europe with my performance act Trauma Novelle and our last stop was in Berlin, Germany. It also happened that I had an Objects commission in Berlin for Tom Vogt (a famous voice actor in Germany). This gave me a chance to buy some beautiful Shmincke German watercolors and start the Objects paintings in Berlin.

I have no date set for a Berlin show but there are many paintings to finish before then.

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Objects of Little Importance at ART GAUCIN

The new series of paintings from Gaucin will be shown as part of ART GAUCIN, May 26th - June 4th. I will be there and there will be new books for sale as well.

Many of the other artists showing art subjects in the new paintings as well. Lots of great work and lovely people.

Looking forward to this first edition of Objects in Europe!

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Spain Trip 2 Gaucin

November - December 2022

Coming back after about a year to finish the paintings for the Gaucin portion of the ongoing Objects series. This is basically my first series while “on the road” and it has been a great learning experience. It takes basically around 2 days of pretty dedicated work to start and finish a painting. The set up, the actual visit to the studio and then the painting itself. I had 7 paintings to complete on this trip. I was in somewhat of a hurry as I was being joined shortly by my Trauma Novelle partner in crime, David Look (more on Trauma Novelle later). I was armed with all my usual equipment and while in NYC (I was there before coming to Spain) I purchased some highly recommended Japanese watercolours at The Drawing Center gift shop in Soho. Pictured somewhere below.

I stayed at the same place as last time which was great and really I felt like no time has passed and I just got to work. It was a little slow at first. I was rusty and also got sick after being in freezing New York. The brushes I had, started to wear down very quickly for some reason and I had to be careful not to destroy them completely before I was done all the paintings. As I was working on the Objects stuff, I would paint a landscape painting daily to continue the series I started last year. It was basically the view from my front door at different times of the day. This was somewhat inspired by Monet’s cathedral paintings but much more immediate. The series in its entirety can be viewed here.

After about 10 days on my own, David showed up from New York to stay at the villa. Our plan was to hang out, work on stuff, eat, drink and rehearse our performance project Trauma Novelle. And, we did all that. Many meal, many bottles of wine and much rehearsing. Oh I almost forgot to mention Trauma Novelle got invited to perform at the opening party for Art Gaucin in late May at the house of Raffaela and Urs. Of course that is super exciting news and we are thrilled.

On our second last Saturday, we were invited or rather told about an open mic that was going to take place at the restaurant next to the gas station on the entrance to Gaucin, loving referred to as The Gassy. Not only did we decide to go, but we decided to throw our towel in with the locals and perform It was one of the funnest and most exciting performances we've ever done and we’ve had some good ones. Watch the highlites here.

The trip was a huge success, the paintings are now done and I am working hard on trying to organize the show, hopefully during Art Gaucin in late May and early June. We will be in Gaucin performing with Trauma Novelle on May 26th 2023, so see you there.

Shout out to Tim Dillon and Cold Fusion channels for keeping me constant company. And, to my old friend Nina for helping me with the project in Gaicin.

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Spain Trip 1 November - October 2021

In November of 2021 I took a 3-week trip to Southern Spain to begin work on the second group of paintings and a new book for the Objects of Little Importance project. This was a very important step for numerous reasons. It was the first international trip taken since the beginning of the pandemic and even more importantly it was my first time introducing the project to a completely new group of artists, in a foreign country, as opposed to the Vancouver edition that was conducted over a long period of time and mostly with people that I knew well or at least somewhat.

My trip was scheduled to be around three weeks long and in my best estimate I thought I could do around ten paintings in that time. The paintings usually take around 5-7 hours each, however there is a lot of time involved in arranging the visits to people’s homes and studios, as well as actually spending time with each subject. My friend Nina who lives in Spain was crucial to the introductions and arranging visits with most of the subjects and I owe her a debt of gratitude.

The first few days were spent getting settled in and getting over jet lag. I also began by doing a few small landscape paintings to get acquainted with the local light and just to “re learn” how to look at everything in detail again. It’s been a while since I did one of these paintings. By day six I went to visit my first subject, Anna, a painter as well as a life-long art collector. It all came back rather quick. The act of picking and arranging random objects and then painting them in the style that I have developed over time for this series. I worked hard and if I wasn’t meeting and visiting studios and homes I was painting (with an incredible view I might add… see below).

Next up was Joseba Sanchez a supremely gifted painter, then Sebastian, a metal artist. Followed by husband-and-wife artists, Ana and Juan Antonio. It was such an amazing day visiting their beautiful home and studios. Lovely people. After that I visited the studio of Jim Rattenbury, an absolutely extraordinary sculptor and painter, followed by Ira.

By this point my time in Gaucin was coming close to the end and I knew I would have to come back to finish the series (I need a minimum of fifteen paintings before I feel I can do a show or a book). I decided to do one more painting before leaving. That happened to be poet, writer and an extortionary human named Francisco. It was truly a magical visit with him in his medieval house in the village. A huge bonus was, it turns out he regularly holds local high quality art show in his house. This was like an unforeseen gift, since the mandate of the project is to always try and hold the final exhibit in a house or studio of one of the participants (if at all possible).

I was truly inspired and moved by the warm and very positive reaction the project received from everyone I met and/or worked with as well as the incredible beauty of Spain and I cannot wait to be back to finish the project as well as launch the show and book.

Below is just a tiny fraction of the images from my beautiful experience in Southern Spain.

The completed paintings will be posted on the website and Instagram not in any sequential order.

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Objects Next Stop - The Málaga province in Southern Spain

and why not… This is my first foray into doing an “Objects” project post pandemic travel restrictions, so why not combine it with a much needed vacation.

Very excited to travel to this beautiful part of the world and meet and work with creatives and collectors who live here. I will be covering the whole province of Málaga, which includes the city of Málaga in Andalusia.

Stay tuned for updates by following Objects on instagram.

Objects of Little Importance Pop Up Shop at Nineteen Ten Home

We are thrilled to be doing an in-store pop up installation at Nineteen Ten Home in Vancouver. The official launch is June 24, 2021, 5-7 pm and it will run until July 26, 2021.

All the “Objects” painting from the Vancouver edition will be available framed in several sizes. Each print is signed and limited to an edition of 10 plus artist proofs.

The hardcover edition of the book as well as our greeting cards are also available.

NineteenTen.ca

4366 Main St.

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Objects of Little Importance at VAG book store

It is extremely gratifying to have our first Objects book (Vancouver edition) carried by the premiere art book store in the city located at The Vancouver Art Gallery.

Go buy art books! They are cool to have laying around in your house!

Objects book at VAG store online

October 1, 2020

This project started slowly in my house in Echo Park in Los Angeles in December of 2019. After coming back to Vancouver in early 2020, I decided to start doing these paintings with people I knew and whose work I liked and admired. It was never meant as a comprehensive cross section of creatives in any particular place, just as six objects from a person’s home, chosen at random by me, which do not fully define a person. The idea of this project is to visit different places all over the world, meet some interesting people doing interesting things, hang out with them, visit their homes or studios, look through their objects, chose six and paint them.

The first series of these paintings was completed in Vancouver and for now I stopped at fifteen. These will be compiled in a the first hardcover artist edition book that will be available at the opening exhibition of Objets de peu d’Importance, to be held fittingly enough in the house of one of the participants. The idea is to release an edition with each completed group of painting in each new city.

Below is a photograph from when I was working on the very last painting in the Vancouver series with objects belonging to Zac David. Note, that prior to finishing the painting I was toying with the idea of painting an air freshner in the right top corner (which Zac collects) but it just wasn’t working so I went with the surgical grade pliers instead. I can say with certainty, and I find it somewhat poetic that the very last object I had to paint was the most difficult one of the whole series so far.

Stay tuned for more and I will announce the next city as soon as possible.

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October 19, 2020

We finally have our dates for the opening of the very first Objects show in Vancouver (more details to come). The book proofs and the framed paintings are starting to come together nicely.

I want to share the original Objects painting that I did in a house I was renting in Echo Park in LA. This house belonged to my good friend Nic and I have been visiting or staying at that house for almost 20 years now. The objects that I painted were very much tied to the history and my memories I have of that place. For instance, the mask in the painting has sat on the mantle on top of the fire place for as long as I can remember and would always remind me of that place. Last December, I was sitting having a coffee in the backyard and for no particular reason I decided to paint objects that would always remind me of the place. Nothing fancy or glamorous, but sort of everyday objects that were right there and would always remind one of a certain place or time. I had some watercolours and a pad of Holbein paper that I purchased the day before at an art shop in Los Feliz. Six objects painted in a fairly crude yet recognizable style in about 20 minutes. This became my template for all the subsequent paintings in this series. The style has gotten a bit more refined and I spend considerably more then 20 minutes on each piece, yet the paper size, the amount of objects and the ideas developed in that first painting remain as the blue print for this project.

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November 10, 2020

It’s time!

We just wrapped the the Vancouver opening a day ago and it was really a blast. We really couldn’t have asked for a warmer and a more positive response. Many books and a number of pieces sold the first weekend which was fantastic, but more importantly, everyone who came had a great time (at least thats what their texts say:). I was once again humbled and pleasantly reminded how many great people I have in my life and the importance of staying engaged and connected to them while we are here and have these moments together. They are not forever. They are for now!

Doing this projected was in part, a great excuse in reconnecting and visiting with people whom I both like and admire. A very welcome and not initially anticipated outcome.

The opening was held over a weekend, with 4 separate viewings for groups of around 10-12 people. It was mostly for all who participated in the project and close friends. We will be doing media viewings, as well as viewings for other guests and the general public in the coming weeks. Of course pandemic permitting.

*Special mega thanks to Suzy Sabla and David Look who were absolutely integral and a vital part of our little team that put this all together.

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