ROB CROXFORD NOW AT SIENNA GALLERY!!!!

New gallery representation!!! YAY!
If you are in the Ottawa area, you want to check out Sienna Gallery:

Located in the rapidly growing town of Rockland, Sienna Gallery comes as a much-needed service and a location for artists in the Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec area to showcase their art. Sienna Gallery is a new gallery, but backed by 24 years of experience. 

I met owner Karen Charlebois at The Ottawa Art Expo last year, and she is lovely! She says in her bio "I love surrounding myself with beautiful things." and guess what....

I AM ONE OF THOSE BEAUTIFUL THINGS.....or rather my artwork is......take a look at my work in her space:

I look forward to a great relationship with Karen and Sienna Gallery!
Go check out their other artists and give her a little 'like' on the Facebook page!

Have a great week y'all!!!!

CHANGING GEAR

Hey All.
As I mentioned the other day (via twitter and facebook) I had a meeting out in Port Credit.
What is in Port Credit, you ask...other than me yesterday??
I took some photos on my way there on the Go:

Yes....I am a master photographer!! (and yes, that is my thumb)

I like that metal like structure in the middle (and my iphone strap in the top left) 

Doesn't this look like a vintage photo (with my iphone case strap)

LOOK!!! NO STRAP IN THE PICTURE......shame about the window reflection

SERIOUSLY...pay no attention to the upper left

I arrived in the P.C. an hour early for my meeting.

So I had a fancy coffee and walked down to the water edge.

I was gonna go for a dip....but it was too GD cold.

Out in the P.C. (Port Credit) 

And in the distance.......HOME! (in the foreground DAMN STRAP!)

LOVE LOVE LOVE this font. The guy at the door thought I was a bit shady though!

The icy waters/trees. Cool huh?

This is the gallery......and as you can see, my work is in the window.
And as you can see, I am living in Jane Seymour's shadow - literally - the shadow from her name is right
across my painting.

So then I went of rmy meeting at the gallery.

This is the ad from the gallery.

So....short story long, it was a good meeting.

AND HERE IS THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT...

I am going to be doing an exhibition in Port Credit!

Auto Fixation: A show all about cars. (or all that I know about cars - which is surprisingly little)

June 9-20th, 2011

Opening Night: June 9th.

BAM!

I bet you're wondering why a show about cars. 

No. I do not even have a car. 

My dad is a mechanic, so I have never been too interested in them. Sad for him, true....

BUT I do paint them fairly frequently in my Urban Series and even in the Tin Toy Series. 

I,  in fact, really enjoy painting the reflections of metal things. 

Yes, like a crow, I am attracted to shinny objects.

So I thought I would theme a whole show about cars. 

I will keep you all posted as the show comes together.

It will be a fun adventure, and a great challenge for me!

What do you think of the idea?
LOVE IT??

NEW FOR T.I.F.F.

Ok, so I bet you think that since my show "Arcade" was up that I have the time to sit back, eat some cake, and take a well earned rest! Well....not so much. I have 5 commissioned pieces that I am working on. I know, FIVE is a lot at once. But never one to rest on my laurels.....(I am not sure what laurels are - I like to think it is a nicer was of saying 'ass'.) I am back to work, hi ho. If you are a regular blog reader, (and if you aren't.....why the hell not?) you will remember the piece I am working on about Port Burwell. So that is one. Today I thought I would let you see my latest piece. I have painted it specifically for one of my galleries, Liss Gallery. Liss is located in Yorkville, and in fact, is right across from the Four Seasons Hotel. As many of you know, the Toronto International Film Festival is on right now, and the Yorkville area has become a hubbub of celebrity comings and goings. Case in point, I was delivering this painting yesterday, and ran into (almost literally) into Zach Braff. If you are wondering if I tried to get him interested in my painting, the answer is no. Why? Because it is tacky, and I am not impressed by celebrity! Ok, truthfully, it was because I did not think of it! DUH! Anyways.....so I have been working like a crazy man trying to get this piece done, so that it could be up for T.I.F.F. and sold to George Clooney. Here is the painting in my studio (below). As you can see, it is one of my Tin Toy robot paintings. I used a bunch of colours that I don't normally use. In this painting, there are lots of greens, and I am not normally a green guy. Especially not an 'acid green' guy. I am, on the other hand, more of a teal kind of guy. I also used some reds to offset the teals and acid greensrecycled. This painting is almost entirely made from recycled and repurposed materials. There is a bunch of wood and wood strips. There is also a LOT of metal on this piece, and a tonne of rivets. I MUST ADMIT I DO LOVE ME SOME RIVETING!! Who'd a thought!? There is also a fun little button, a gauge and a reflector on it.  The picture taken in my studio (below) was when I was almost done.

After I saw this JPG I went back in and did a bit of work. See if you can spot the differences. I often take a picture when I think I am done and look at it on the computer - to see if it IS done, or whether it needs a little more 'fussing'. I am super pleased with the final product!

Come out to Liss Gallery and see it in person!
IT IS FAB!!
Don't 'cha think?

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!

HE WORKS HARD FOR THE MONEY......

Ok, so by now, you are probably figuring out that I am less and less frequent of a blogger. Here is the skinny. I am working my days doing some faux in a home here in T.O. It is a full time gig this week, and by the time I get home at night and make dinner and do my emailing and 2-3 hours of painting, I just do NOT have the blogging time. It is making me blogging nuts! However, next week, I will be back 'adder. So in the meantime, I will show you some of my photos from the 'Cleve! Enjoy! Oh, also, I have changed my reaction comments, as I guess "true dat" is just not a great enough reaction......Maybe these new ones will compel y'all to comment!!!

First is Sue and Jacquie at Pennello Gallery who are just FABULOUS! There are a few inside the gallery, and then some I took out and about!

IN THE RAW....

Ok, so while I am away this weekend, The Riverdale Art Walk is on. This is an all art weekend, and is a great place to find some new art!! I have participated several times in the past, showing my art in Jimmie Simpson Park. This year, I am exhibiting at Ethel Mid-Century Modern. I am a huge fan of the furniture and the accessories at this fabulous store. I have 12 pieces showing all this weekend. They range from $500 up, and are a little cross section of my current work! Check out their blog:
http://ethel20thcenturyliving.blogspot.com/2010/06/ironic-art.html

and check them out this weekend as part of the R.A.W. at 1091 Queen St. E. (at Pape)!!!!

SOPA GALLERY "U-8" OPENING

These are some photos from the group exhibition "U-8"

at Sopa Gallery, in Kelowna B.C. looks like it was a great event - and I hope I can go next year!

You can check them out at www.sopafinearts.com