THE 'WEEN

Hello friends and spoooooooky persons.....
Yes, it is Halloween! And I thought you might like to see how I spent my day today....
No. I was not creating art. BOO.
I however WAS creating a scary mood for the youngsters.
(and by youngsters - I mean me - and maybe my neighbours!)
When I was a hip downtown Toronto renter, I was ALWAYS out on Halloween night.
Getting drunk and making fun of the people who had to give out candy to children.
That's right.....No kids. No tacky decorations. No CANDY!
But then tragedy struck.
I moved to the suburbs, and it seems that I have caught some kind of illness.
The worst symptom is a compulsive need to decorating one's house for special occasions.....
There is no known cure. It just WORSENS each year!
At first it was a a sting of lights at Christmas, and now.....well.....I give you.....

The 'Ween 2012 (insert sinister laugh here)

Yes. A chite pumpkin!!! Notice my little bird....in the skeleton hand.....
it is all about the details, no?

My sister and Dad made this little guy.....
Notice the CREEEEEEEPY pumpkin is all wart-y and such?

I am usually pretty happy with my carving skills....but this one is kinda.....meh....

My lighting technician changing the pumpkin light!

It is supposed to be a Zombie.........(with a strobe light in it)!!!

The overall house.....BLURRY - but you get the point?!?

Spooooooooky lighting.

A ghoul and some Zombie hands in the upstairs windows!

The scariest picture yet.....look at the creepy man in the doorway....
CREEEEEEEEPY!!

 There you go.
How I wasted spent my day!

VINTAGE TTC STREETCAR!!!!

Hey y'all!!!
I keep getting the criticism that I don't show enough of my own work (which I have decided to take as a complement)! So, in my effort to appease everyone, I bring you todays post.
NEW WORK!!
This is the piece: (as always, you can click to see it larger)

"The Streetcar Experience",  30"x 24", Acrylic on Board 

For those of you who are not Torontonians, let me break it down for you. (word)
The streetcar is ICONIC for Toronto. It seems to have a great resonance among the city people.
It especially seems to resonate with those who do not have to ride it daily. ;-)
The actual poster within the art is a mash-up of these two Toronto Transit  Commission (aka TTC) streetcars:

Check out transit toronto for more cool vintage trains!

YOU MUST check out Chuckman's Other Collection Blog
for AWESOME Toronto pictures from yesteryear!

The poster is obviously influenced by the 1930-40's style (kinda art deco) poster style:

The logo for the TTC in the bottom right corner is taken from this old paper:

The tiles in the background area also based in actual tile from 2 subway stops.

I took the UNION station sign - but thought the tile was BOH-RING.....so I borrowed the tile shape and colour scheme that is slightly more like OSGOODE-y:

i love the title of my poster - I find funny - "There's nothing like the streetcar experience"
If you have taken the Dundas streetcar late at night.....or the Bathurst car....well...ANYTIME.....then you get the joke. It can be a bit of an education in crazy-person 101!!
The poster also features the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, and the Imperial Room bar (now a meeting venue) in the lobby. The logo on the matchbook is directly from a menu from the 1960's. I got the defence from the AH-MAH-ZING blog of 'Chuckman Toronto Nostalgia' - CHECK IT OUT HERE:

So there you go. All about this new work!
I really love doing this almost 'trompe l'oeil' mixed media looking style with the faux paper and tape corners, the shine of the tiles, etc.....
I am REALLY pleased with this one.
You can see it live......but not until next year at The Artist Project 2012!
What do you think?
LOVE IT?
(Yup. Shamelessly fishing for positive complements!)

WW32: CHEESE(CAKE), HANDBAGS AND SPACE TRAVEL??!

1. The Cheesecake Factory. I LOVE me some cheesecake. LOVE IT. They have food at T.C.F. - with horribly American portions. Two can eat ONE meal....that is how large they are. But the cheesecake (also perfect size for sharing) is to die for!!!! I have to highly recommend the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake. I WOULD DIVORCE MY HUSBAND JUST TO MARRY IT!!! (Sorry Husband!)

O        M        G    

2.)  I know this seems like a rich man's waste of money...but the architecture is super....and I LOVE that it is a 'green building'....here you go (article taken from Design Boom - check out their blog!!):

Here are some images of the completed 'Spaceport America' by internationally-recognized firm foster + partners in new Mexico, USA.
The first commercial space terminal in the world, the new 11,148 m2 facility will offer opportunities for tourists to travel into space. a dedication ceremony for the 'virgin galactic gateway to space' was recently held to celebrate the milestone event. 

3.) Ok, this one is for Christina. These are super cool creations! (I found this artist on Notcot.org) For the launch of the 'My Monogram' service on Small Leather Goods, Louis Vuitton asked British Artist Billie Achilleos to work on four animals made of Louis Vuitton leather goods. Billie masterfully transformed wallets, bags and belts into a menagerie of animals! Check out the awesomeness:

http://blog.billieachilleos.co.uk/

Oh, and here is Bio:
"I graduated from Wimbledon College for Art in 2007 with a BA in Technical Arts and Special Effects. Since then I’ve had my fingers in many pies – Opera, Theatre, Film, Window Display, Advertising….I thrive on variety.
No job too small, or too weird. Or too big. Or too hard. (And no budget too large.)  contact me via email at – hireme@billieachilleos.co.uk"

 Also check out this video of the making of her works:

4.) Many years ago, I had a theory that you should be able to talk about 3 things like an expert. 3 things that you felt confident about discussing. One of mine was cheese. Yes. Cheese. Another thing I thought I knew a LOT about was fonts. Yesterday, I was rocked to the core when I realized I know very little about cheese AND fonts. This game gives you a name...and it could be a font name or a cheese name: 

Test your knowledge in this amusing game! BTW Leafield is a cheese name. (Thanks Dale for this one!) 

5.) Finally...I enjoyed the new Fitz and the Tantrums' song. Don't now them? Read this post! 

   
YOU CAN DOWNLOAD IT FOR FREE ON THEIR SITE!!!


So, there you go!!
I hope you enjoyed this weeks post.
Next Wednesday, I am doing a special post Halloween post!!
OOOOOOH SPOOOOOOKY!

GOING WITH THE 'FLO & CREEP OF THE WEEK

Hello friends.
Well, if you are a Facebook friend of mine - or like my page on facebook, or even follow me on Twitter.... (and if you do not - what the heck is wrong with you) then you know I was just in beautiful Buffalo.
Or as I like to call it, The 'Flo - actually I was calling it The 'Buff...but there was a huge backlash!
I gotta admit, a little cross-boarder shopping is a GREAT way to spend a couple of days.
So, I am gonna show you a couple quick pics from my weekend....
AND as a bonus, I am gonna do my Creep of the Week - Buffalo Style!
(breaded and covered in sauce)
Here we go:

I am not sure Native American people are big celebrators of Thanksgiving.
I could be wrong. 

WOW! This was in our hotel bedside table.
That is what you get for staying at Osmond Inns?!

FEEEEEVER!!!!!

We went to all the CLASSIEST stores.

I HATE bad murals - especially this kind that you can find at EVERY Greek restaurant, from here to Athens.

I find this RIDICULOUS! I don't know which is most disturbing:
Bride of Frankenstein or Dirty Hippie!?? 

Yes, I am wearing them RIGHT NOW!!
JEALOUS MUCH????

I LOVE THIS...but it is a sell out,  n'est pas?

Slutty Zombie is the new Slutty Nurse Costume.

I have a couple more pics - but I will share them later.

I want to share this AWESOME Creep of the Week:

The New York Central Terminal in Buffalo, New York, was a key railroad station from 1929 to 1979. The 17-story Art Deco style station was designed by architects Fellheimer & Wagner for the New York Central Railroad. After years of abandonment, it is in derelict condition, but is now owned by the non-profit preservation group Central Terminal Restoration Corporation. 


(**remember some images can zoom - just click on the images to enlarge them!)

 Check out these pics and more at: THIS LINK

Hope you enjoyed today's post!!!!
See you on WEDNESDAY!!!