MOVE OVER DOROTHY...........

Hello!!!
Okay, so I am a little behind in my blogging.
(insert best 13 year old girl voice here)
...um.....blogging.....is like....hard....
So I am busy busy busy getting work done for

The One of a Kind Show

In the last post, I claimed I would be done over a hundred new pieces.......
Well....its been a week....a week of 12 hour days mostly...including Sunday.....
....and so far I have a LOT done!!

So, you know this piece:

(which is long since sold)

Well I was doing that same idiom again. 

As I do!

"Goody Two Shoes" seems to be a popular piece, so I started a new version......I was painting them red, with a polka dot pattern when it HIT ME......

BAM!

THEY LOOK KINDA LIKE THE RUBY SLIPPERS!!

(If you don't know the ruby slippers - you are so reading the wrong blog right now!)

The Wizard of Oz is a huge favourite of mine.....and i have never really done anything related to it.....UNTIL NOW.....so with Oz in mind, I went to work!

Let me show you my first 4 completed paintings.

Each is different and yet similar....

"Goody Two Shoes", 6" x 6", Acrylic on Wood.

and...this one:

"Goody Two Shoes....also", 6" x 6", Acrylic on Wood.

Do you love these???

AND DID I MENTION THEY ARE ONLY 50 BONES!!

Yes...for $50.....you cannot go wrong!!!!!!

Not only do they describe an idiom in pictures, it is also kinda fitting for Dorothy. 

Am I right?? (Yes, admittedly, I was more on the side of the Wicked Witch)

So then I thought I would do a few larger......

"Goody Two Shoes", 9" x 6", Acrylic on Wood.

AND...

"Goody Two Shoes", 6" x 6", Acrylic on Wood.

So these bigger guys, are only $100!!!
COME ONE!!
Now, with these in my head, I think I may dive into design for some companion pieces.
YA! More Oz inspired creations.....
WHAT DO YOU THINK????
Here are a couple options (yes they are PUN driven)....
The first three are sure fits.....the rest.......hmmmm......

TOTO = Top Dog

FLYING MONKEYS =  Monkey Business

COWARDLY LION = Scaredy Cat

LOLLYPOP GUILD = Sucker Punch???

WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST = every witch way
                                                              witching hour
                                                              green with envy

GLINDA = witch is witch
                    good grief
                    good riddance
                    good to go
                    good old days
                    for good measure

TIN MAN = accident prone ( axe-i-dent prone)
                     get the axe
                     con-tin-gent
                     to be conTINued
                     TINker around
                     Tinsel town
                   
SCARECROW = Bird Brain
                             Brain trust
                             Brain Teaser
                             All brawn - no brains

OKAY GUYS.............WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK??
I'd love your input on a few of these - or maybe you have a BETTER idea??
Or maybe you HATE all of this???
Sure......I'd like to hear from the haters too!!!
Comment - or EMAIL me!
Thanks guys......now I gotta get back to work!

 
               

REBOOTED for the ONE OF A KIND!

Good day friends!
Now.....I know you HATE the idea of Christmas when it is barely October.....but.....
My biggest show of the year is QUICKLY approaching:

The One of a Kind Show!!!!
YOU will want to check out some of the over ONE HUNDRED new pieces I hope to have ready for this big show! I know what you are thinking.....
"THAT'S CRAZY BANANA PANTS, ROB!!"
I know......but this show is ELEVEN glorious days.....so I need a LOT of stock!
Especially of my Mixed Message Series works - THESE are my biggest sellers!
So, here are 3 brand new 9" x 6" ORIGINAL pieces - yes, they are variations on the same word - but  as you can see, they are entirely different from each other.....

This big heel version is pretty cool - it also has some cool bits and bobs on it:

"Reboot"

.....for the person that likes that old blueprint look:

"Reboot"

....and finally for the person who enjoys a good wellie.......

"Reboots"

"Why do so many reboot pieces?"

.....the truth is, each time I do one....it sells! IMMEDIATELY!

Honestly most of this series does NOT last long, bit this one is especially popular......and c'mob for $100 you CAN'T get much in the fine art world....

Also, let's face it, I am a big nerd, and my peeps are AWESOME!!!!!

There you go!

Think about these guys for the special nerd in YOUR life this Christmas!

;-)

HAMILTON'S GORE PARK.......BY ROB CROXFORD

Good holiday Monday!
YES, I am working today - so is the life of the artist.....insert your sympathy here.....
So, here is my new painting.....it will be on exhibition at the Queen & Jackson Art and Craft Market:

80 QUEEN STREET SOUTH, HAMILTON, ONTARIO. JUNE 13-14, 2015, 

11:00AM-6:00PM

So to be prepared for this show, I just finished my latest painting. 

It is the FIRST time I haven't done a Toronto 'landmark' in my "Sign of the Times" Series.

And I am really happy with it.

I took this existing poster as my original inspiration:

...BUT this is what I came up with.....

"Gore Park", 36" x 24", Acrylic on Board, 

So, the centre of the painting is the Gore Park fountain, which is originally from the 1870's.

STUNNING!

Yes.....some artistic liberties about the park area.....but not THAT many!

YES....this painting is available for purchase NOW!

For those of you who would like a giclèe of this piece......

I will have limited edition giclèes (both 16"x20" and 8"x10") that will be available in a few weeks!!! If you are interested in pre-ordering a giclèe, just email me!

See you in Hamilton in a few weeks!!

(I hope to have other Hamilton piece ready for then!! FINGERS CROSSED)

FRIDAY - LET'S DRINK!!!

HOWDY!
If you are a regular reader........you will know that I am in the thick of:
The Artist Project
(you can read more about that big show HERE!)
But here are the deets one last time:

The Artist Project, Better Living Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto

Tonight (20th) from 11am to 8pm
Saturday (21st) from 11am to 8pm
Sunday (22nd) from 11am to 6pm

See me in BOOTH #502

Also.....I wanna share the last NEW NEW painting I will be showing:

"Drink Like a Fish", 12" x 12", Acrylic on Wood

I LOVE THIS ONE!

Come out and see it in person!

There's nothing like the real thing!!!!!

Have a great weekend -- I hope to see you!

TORONTO STREETCARS - "KING OF THE ROAD"!

Good Wednesday!
But NOT a "Wonderful Wednesday".
Sorry!
If you are a regular reader you will have noticed a lack of #WonderfulWednesday posts since I have been back. The truth is, it is super time consuming creating a post about 5 things that are interesting enough to me to promote and blog about (those posts take me about 4 hours to craft)!
I am still playing catch-up from being away for 3 months.
So you will have to wait for another 2 weeks for #WW to return! :-(
So to apologize......I give you this piece:

"King of the Road", 40" x 30", Acrylic on canvas

BLAM!
So this piece is just me playing with theme of repetition.
For you streetcar nerds.....you'll notice it is mostly the Canadian Light Rail Vehicle (CLRV) -- The one us non-streetcar-nerds probably know the best - and see the most often! There is also a Presidents' Conference Committee Car (the retro one) that is my fave! But there is also a Bombardier Transportation Flexity Outlook (the brand new vehicles rolling out over the next few years).
I had troubles deciding what quote to use. Eventually I decided on "KING OF THE ROAD".
Although, I was almost gonna use "HATERS GONNA HATE".....

So this piece will be exhibited for the very first time starting TOMORROW at The Artist Project:

READ MORE ABOUT The Artist Project....read more about that big show HERE!
Also this "King of the Road" will be available (in 2 weeks) as a giclèe.
It will be available as a 16" x 20" print and a 8" x 10" print.
It will also eventually be available as a postcard.
STAY TUNED FOR THAT ANNOUNCEMENT!

HOLIDAY!

Yes….today I am taking a little time away in Ottawa…
You just wait…...when I get back, I will tell you all about my experience in the nation's capital!
sadly, this means I won't have a Wonderful Wednesday post for you…...
SORRRRRRRY!
But to make that up to you….I want to show you these adorable little original paintings…..of course, they may already be sold……
;-)

"Beefcake", 8" x 6", Acrylic on Board

I love this idiom.
I also love this cake imagery - I keep painting it….because it is wonderful!!!!!
I added a little beefcake in the background on this one….YOU'RE WELCOME!!!!
(This piece is only $100!!!!)

"Fair and Square", 8" x 6", Acrylic on Board

 Very circus-y and cute. I LOVE IT!!!
Also $100.
Finally….

"Goody Two Shoes", 6" x 6", Acrylic on Board

This one is also NEW NEW NEW…..and it is $50……
What do you think?
Do you think I should make LARGER versions of these ones?
Or are they perfect as smalls???
Ok….that's it for now….but since there is no WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY to look forward to…
I want to leave you with this……font humour…….you're welcome……

OTTAWA - a new painting!

Good Friday, friends!!!!
As you know (of you are a loyal reader - and hey…why wouldn't you be??) I have been working on new works for The Ottawa Art Expo

The Ottawa Art Expo opens with the Gala on Friday Oct 24th, then runs from
SATURDAY OCTOBER 25 and SUNDAY OCTOBER 26 from 10 am to 5pm

It all happens at the ST. ELIAS CENTRE at 750 Ridgewood Avenue, Ottawa

(Free Parking and Admission)

Well….here it is….the centrepiece of my booth. It is one of my 'Sign of the Times' paintings.
I wanted it to be about Ottawa, in the same way that my Toronto neighbourhood paintings are about my city. But I have to admit I really struggled with it at first.
You see, my work is very authentic to me.
What I mean, is I ONLY paint things that are part of my world, that affect me, that interest me and that I LOVE. But, I haven't been to Ottawa in 30 years, (see the photos HERE of my last trip) so I honestly know NOTHING about the city. YIKES!
So I started by asking a client (THANKS MARY) about the city, then I hit the Book of Face to get my 'friends' takes on the city. Then I hunkered down and did some research and some drawings.
What I found was that I couldn't just sum up the whole city with one piece.
DUH.
So I went with the obvious…..

"Ottawa", Acrylic on Canvas, 36" x 24"

Yes, I know it may seem a little overdone, but the focus of my piece is the Parliament buildings.

They are iconic, and beautiful and worth celebrating! I just thought they would be fun to paint, but I wanted something else in the composition. Something that 'softened' the architecture a bit…so I added the tulips. For those of you who are as ignorant as me…..get hip to this bit of Canadian history….

The Canadian Tulip Festival is a tulip festival, held annually in May in Ottawa. The festival is the world's largest tulip festival, displaying over one million tulips!

Why?? 

Well, in 1945, the Dutch royal family sent 100,000 tulip bulbs to Ottawa in gratitude for Canadians having sheltered Princess Juliana and her daughters for the preceding three years during Second World War. The most noteworthy event during their time in Canada was the birth in 1943 of Princess Margriet to Princess Juliana at the Ottawa Civic Hospital. The maternity ward was declared to be officially a temporary part of international territory, so that she would be born in no country and would inherit only her Dutch citizenship from her mother. In 1946, Juliana sent another 20,500 bulbs requesting that a display be created for the hospital, and promised to send 10,000 more bulbs each year.

CRAZY story, huh? And there are LOADS of interesting little historical facts about the area!

The more I researched the more I was consistently discovering fascinating bits of history - that I had no idea about…..let's face it -- I am not exactly book smart! ;-)

So that was the reason that I put the tagline 'who says history is dull' on the bottom!

It summed up my feelings about how cool all the Canadian history in Ottawa is!

Initially my painting was going to be fairly mono-chromatic - like it was an antique……but after I realized that dull can also refer to colour - I decided to eject a LOT of colour into the piece.
I also added some Canadian geese!

At the end I gave it some 'aging' which as you know, is my FAVOURITE part!

The results are pretty great, I think!!

What do you think?

Yes….I will eventually be creating prints of this…..but for now, let's enjoy this original composition!

Well Ottawans and former Ottawans? 

What say you?

(You know I am actually only looking for compliments here, right? ;-)