Inspiration: miniatures from the flea market ... Today, I found this miniature cast iron stove. I was told by the man I bought it from that those who bought a full size stove, could buy or were given one of these.

Also, I found these miniature bottled ships that I want to incorporate into some new portraits, a sort of nautical theme maybe?


I love Cursive Design. Designer Sarah Fox, who lives and works in Chicago, designs jewelry and home accessories that focus on intricate details and natural forms. Her inspiration derives from the juxtaposition of unusual materials and the unique moments in nature. I especially like her jewelry - how she combines beads, chain and crochet into one. You can see some of her creations below ...




Happy Autumn!!! Some of my autumn inspired art ...

Inspiration: thrift store finds ... Yesterday I visited a couple thrift shops in Cochrane. I love finding old frames and photographs in thrift and antique shops. I found these old frames to add to my collection. When I get around to it, I'll to do a grouping of these on a wall. ... And I was especially happy to find myself some hand knitted mittens for winter.

Inspiration: prop styling ... I want to involve myself more in prop and craft styling ... I LOVE setting up still-lifes, so I am going to play around with this subject and keep at it until I get some nice compositions. Here are some pictures of my first attempts ...

Inspiration: Little Leo ... My little lad is huge inspiration for me ... I'm about to paint these letters to hang in his room, but thought to photograph them first with some of his toys ... just for fun!

What a whirlwind trip to Toronto!!! It went by so quickly, I guess vacations always do ... I visited lots of little galleries in Toronto, but I really enjoyed the exhibits at the Royal Ontario Museum ... Here are some of my favourite things I spotted at the ROM ...

Miniature room including silverware

Wallpaper from different eras

Displays of vegetation

Stairwell displays leaving the Museum

Art Nouveau flower vase

Nelson Mandela Doll

And what a way to end a vacation - the day before we flew home to Calgary, I received an email from The Daily Undertaker wanting to interview me and feature my artwork (series: Vanitas and Vanitas 2) ... I'll post the link to the article on my blog once it's posted ...

My first week in Toronto has been fun, spending some time checking out the city, shops and galleries ...

I checked out a show featuring Saskatchewan artists at the York Quay (Harbourfront) Centre, here is the show's write up ...

COMBINE situates the works of 18 artists from Saskatchewan throughout York Quay Centre. The title joins two iconic references - the image of the prairie farming machine and the assemblages first created by Robert Rauschenberg - to provide a hint as to where the artists are from and what they are up to. Participating artists were selected for their mutual understanding of how the amalgamation of disparate objects and images can create new stories and meanings.

Here are some photographs I took at the show ...

At the harbourfront I was impressed by this wave boardwalk for children to play on ...

Another show I briefly saw was Christina Leslie's photographic series (MISSED) PERCEIVED at the Gladstone Hotel. It showcases multiple portraits and deals with satirical representations, for example the portraits reference the sambo character and representations of othering in media and popular culture. Leslie juxtaposes the sitters actual portrait with their 'caricatures'. Here are some photographs I took at the show ...

Some more fun finds on Queen West + Ossington ...

Inspiration: seeing things a little differently...

How a circle composition may look better than a square composition ... Here are some images I have worked on over the last little while, and inspired by Marco Suarez, I decided to change the frame from square to circle to see how it would alter the composition ... I like it.





Knack Studios make incredible furniture, they refurbish old pieces by dramatically resurfacing furniture and adding unique hardware ... Here are some samples of their work ...

{via Design *Sponge}

Here is another furniture refurbishing project done by sticks and bricks. They sanded an old table down, hammered in 'the summer day' poem by Mary Oliver, rubbed black paint in and gave it a coat of furniture wax ... The finished table is shown below.

{via Design *Sponge}

Tied Up Memories make wonderful and eclectic pieces. She describes her style as romantic, shabby and vintage ... one is shown below.

The style reminds me of these old brooch bouquets by Fantasy Floral Designs. Some of their brooch bouquets ...

{via sweet jessie}

But it's hard to beat real flowers, especially when they are this stunning ...

{via Style Me Pretty}

Inspiration: lollipops, a sketch from 2001 and old floral wallpaper. I worked on some new illustrations, this time throwing a lollipop into the mix and I ended up with a funny pattern ...

I finished planting the garden yesterday ... here are some shots ... this year we mostly planted in pots and containers ...





The best antique shopping is in Saskatoon, SK. I found these random pictures I had taken years ago and had long forgotten about them ... I love displays in antique stores - mix matched, random and cluttered ...