ROB CROXFORD BOOK CLUB - PART 1

Hello friends! I was recently introduced to a book, and in my continuing effort to model myself after Oprah, I would like to suggest it to you. But first, I need to give you a little background.

You see, I was visiting a dear friend and her gorgeous baby girl in Winnipeg for a week. The baby, who is just over a year old is CUTE AS A SPOTTED PUPPY (she might even be CUTER than even that)! Anyways, after my visit was over, the poor baby was inconsolable. She would cry all the time, because of this new emptiness in her life. She, like most who have prolonged exposure to my **sparkling personality, felt sad to have me gone. Oh the sadness. How would she fill the void left by my presence? HOW? What can possibly take my place? A few days later, an answer came. BAM! Just like that, there was a book. And although this book can never replace me, it serves as a constant reminder of me for the sweet baby. 

I feel that this book speaks directly to me, and in fact, I am ALMOST sure it is directly about me!! This deep and powerful biographical book about my true life story....is moving and original.

Let me share some of it with you.

"RAINBOW ROB

Packed with wacky characters, funny rhymes and lots to touch and feel."

Now, I am sure the author knew me well enough to know that although I have lots of wacky friends, and although I am partial to a bit of every-day rhyme, I DO NOT LIKE THE IMPLICATION OF THE "lots to touch and feel".

It makes me sound fat. Or slutty.

Despite this, I ventured forward. You know that you cannot judge a book by its cover.

Do you see the parallels? It is obvious, no? Part of me is upset to have my life splayed out as entertainment for small children. The other part feels that if the pain of my life can help guide a young mind, than I have fulfilled my purpose in life.

This is as far in the book as I am. I will share more in a later post! I know it will be hard to wait, but all good things come.........etcetera.

**sparkling personality is purely subjective, and may or may not be accurate for all persons.

SNEAK PEAK AT "ARCADE"

"OK OK....stop badgering me!!" is what I would like to be saying to all the commenters and readers, alas.....Despite this, I thought, as a token of good faith, I could give you a little glimpse into what I have been doing for the last few months!!!

I have been working like a mad scientist, in nearly complete isolation, on a brand new show of work. I mention this in almost every blog, but here are the deet's (yes, I HATE that word 'deets') "ARCADE", a solo exhibition of mixed media work, is only a few weeks away, and I am putting the finishing touches on the last few pieces!! Exciting! 
(although usually, when you have to add the word 'exciting' into the sentence - it may NOT be!)
Any-who........here are some more details:
* It will be 18 works in total. 
* As usual, there is a little 'soft-sell' political messages in some of the works.
* There are 5 light up pieces. Blinking and twinkling - they are the show-stoppers! 
* Three pieces are not mixed media, but are S-U-P-E-R! 
* One of the canvases is 36" x 48", a clip of which can be found in the invite 
   (and it is  nothing short of 'WHAM-O BLAM-O!) 
* There are also 8 small 9" x 12" assemblages (a.k.a. uber-affordable)  


Anyways, here is the teaser........a little collage of some of the new works:

TEAL-ISHOUS!!!

Hello friends. Well, as you know, I am busily finishing my big September exhibition, "Arcade". But, since I am not posting pictures from this show ahead of time, I was looking for something to talk about - so I am gonna talk to you about my favourite colour range.....
teal green-seafoam-cyan-teal blue.
According to wikipedia, teal is a medium blue-green color. It is named after the common teal, a member of the duck family, whose eyes are surrounded by the color.
other interesting things about teal? Well, 
* The post-2004 redesigned version of the United States $100 bill features teal as its primary background color
*In Windows 95 teal is the default background color - but then WHO THE HECK STILL USES A PC, HUH?
*The Intercessors of the Lamb, a Roman Catholic lay ecclesial movement, wears as its habit a teal scapular, which symbolizes the community's role as intercessors between heaven (blue) and earth (green).
*In the bandana code of the gay leather subculture, wearing a teal bandana means that one's sexual fetish is.....OKAY OKAY _ THAT IS ENOUGH FROM WIKIPEDIA!!!!


For me, I use it so much that my friends call it "Rob Blue".  For me it all began at a tender age, when friends of the family bought this microscope for me. I think everyone was hoping I would become a doctor or a marine biologist or maybe even a mad scientist. Sadly, the thing I like the best about it was the colour. And to this day, I still love it! Here are some examples in my real life and why I love it so much:

You can make it more modern by pairing it with beige.

It has a lovely retro feel, that works well with most neutrals - in this case a yummy brown!





























I like to pair it with butter yellow and fire-engine red. I love this tea towel - SUPER CUTE.














Recently I bought this tealicious leather swivel chair from Ethel (my favourite store for mid-century modern)

These teal kitchen canisters were a terrific find!





























I love vintage globes....ESPECIALLY this yummy teal one!
I love to decorate with teal. Even when it is just a splash, like in this painting by Diana Pakkala:

The truth is, I love the colour so much that it can be found in more than 50% of my artwork. Here are a couple of my fav's:

AFTERNOON COOKING  - SOLD

BALANCE - SOLD

HEALTHY MIND -  SOLD

COUNTDOWN,  AVAILABLE

SPACE STORIES - AVAILABLE

DECEIVED - SOLD

DECOMPOSE - SOLD

PLANE AND SPECIAL - AVAILABLE!!

CANADIAN ART FOUNDATION GALLERY HOP HOP HOP

Ok, so as you can see it has been A LONG TIME since I have posted anything. Here's the thing. I have been under the gun to get my latest show together. "Arcade" is less than a month away, and I am still getting the work done....I know what you are thinking - "way to leave it to the last minute, Rob".
Well, I can hardly hear you when you speak to me in that tone! Any-who.....so, things are going along swimmingly, and I am right on track for the big exhibition. I thought I would give you a few more details about the show.
The show opens for 'previews' at Gallery 129 Ossington from September 1st to 8th, and then the opening night is on Thursday September 9th from 7-10. We are doing this so that those of you cottagers have a last-ditch pre-school-start vacation on the Labour Day weekend! 
You're welcome! ;-)
Now, for this show, I am hoping to go all out - decorating the walls with an extra-interesting pattern to 'jazz up' the overall look of the show. I want to capture the excitement of an actual arcade. We will see how this concept translates on site!

As an extra bonus, on the 25th of September, there is an event running in the gallery district
"The Canadian Art Gallery Hop". You can have the chance to tour different gallery areas with key critics, curators and collectors—insiders who will introduce you to the artists and dealers who make the art scene tick. For more details, check out their site!

So, if you can't make it out to the opening night on Thursday the 9th of September, try to catch the tour!!


As an exciting bonus, I am being interviewed by Trish Boon who is leading the Canadian Art Foundation's Art Hop through Gallery 129 during my upcoming exhibition. I am meeting her for coffee to give her the skinny - the 411 - the scoop on all things "ARCADE"  and then if I am interesting enough, I will be featured on her blog in September! F-U-N. Having just spent an hour reading on her blog, I was really taken with how in-depth she gets. It was interesting to NOT read just a regurgitation of an artist statement!


So, that is all the news fit to tell! I will have more to say very soon! Just you wait for more!!

INVITE FOR "ARCADE"

Hey all......I have all the details you need to know about my upcoming exhibition. 
As I keep mentioning, I am not showing you the new work until the show opens.
Here is the deal, there is a preview week BEFORE the opening night, just come by the Gallery at 129 Ossington from September 1st-8th! They will be open:
Wednesday to Saturday 12-6 pm or by appointment
As a teaser, I will be showing parts of the artwork in the weeks leading up to the show!
I hope you keep coming back to check it out!!
Until then this invite gives you a little idea of what the show is like......and it has 2 pieces "Arcade" and "Space Voyage" in the design. I hope you like them!
TTFN!