You're in oil country

Tickets for troops, is happening this saturday nights hockey night in Canada. It is military appreciation night and season ticket holders gave up their tickets to military member. it will be a sea of green. It will be cool to be there. The Rexall Place will be packed. We will be at the late game starts at 8pm and the Edmonton Oilers are playing the Chicago Blackhawks.

slide show

I added a slide show application so we will see how that works out on my blog page. I am updating my photo album as well. Here is three new painting of my oil refinery series. I like em.

Pinks smoke

Here are two paintings I did yesterday. The apple blossom is meditative and the other one is part of the body of work "Canadian Issue." I am not sure if i should shade the area around the guy so it is not so highly contrasted, or keep it so intense. I like it, never thought pink would fit in that painting but it looks pretty cool.

Windy Days

We had a wind storm yesterday and it was a whole new experience to cold wind. I am from the eastcoast so if there is a wind storm and it is chilly out with blowing snow. That wind is going right into your bones. Eastcoast wind is wet and chilling, where you shiver. The wind here was fierce and blew over the farm fields surrounding the base. It was intense shaking the house and I felt the roof shingles creaking. The lids on the recycling bins in the parking lot across the way bent right in half. But the wind was not as cold as out east, it was not chilling and crappy. But I hear it gets really cold out here, so we are in for it. I had a meeting with the base commander yesterday about being an artist in residence and it was short and I got good feedback. But things here are going to take a lot more time, care in wording, and paperwork. Hopefully in January I will be able to get access to there photo, Nyalas, TOW and EME equipment. Here are 4 new painting.

new red bamboo painting 8 x16

Just working on my my holiday line. Tonight we are going to a semi-formal meet and greet dinner at the officers mess. This will be fun. Still have a sensetive stomache from the flu so I don't think I will be drinking. Oh well. I will be posting the pic of the paintings as I finish them. All of the holiday painting are for sale so if you like one just let me know. Mostly they will be bamboo, sea turtles and apple blossoms. Well got get ready.

artillery painting

Trevor who is in the infantry was like "Man, why you make the artillery painting so cool?" I thought that was pretty funny. Finally met some people on base and hopefully I will be able to finish this body of work. I am starting from scratch all over agian moving to a new base making new contacts, presenting proposals. It is going to take some time but I am up for it. I also am looking into some galleries to carry my work and I am on the waiting list for a table at the Old Strathcona market. I decided to get a job on base and at least make some money. I will be working in the kitchen, I am shocked at how much I will be getting paid. It makes me a little giddy and fuzzy inside. Still getting over the stomach flu, yucky. I started a book club on base which will start up in a week. I hope to meet new people and friends. I was not that successful in Oromocto, so isolating there. I have a good feeling about this place so keeping positive. Thats it for now hope you like the new piece it think it is a break through in my style.

New work

Here are some of the paintings I have worked on this week. I have 7 more ready to work on and about 15 blank canvases. I am working on applying for different festivals in the area at this time. I am also looking in to any openings for submissions for group shows.

LONG TIME

Sorry for the delay in keeping up with my Blog. It has been a life changing experience to move out to Edmonton. We moved in alright and got unpacked and now it is feeling like home. Trevor went away to Wainright for two weeks which is 2 1/2 hours south of here. He just got back on Nov 1st. Here are some pic of the new sectional (with pull out couch) we got at the Brick. and the view of the gym from my house. Which I am not going to Today because I have the stomache flue and I feel like ass. I am trying to figure out what I can eat that won't grose me out when it comes up. So far its lots of herbal teas and cereal. I have been looking at Galleries to sell my art in and I am just painting mostly turtles, bamboo and apple blossoms. In time I will start on the military painting but right now I would like to get established in the city and have a place that will showcase my work permanently.

last night in a hotel

We are finally moving into our new place tomorrow after staying in hotels for over 3 weeks. we hope to have internet installed and all that jazz in the next two weeks. So if I have yet to respond to anyone's emails it is because it is a pain in the ass to find a computer. Everthing will be up and running and back to buisness in two weeks at the latest. My new number incase anyone need to call me for question is 780-405-2110

september

Trevor was finishing up his Phase four officers training in CFB Gagetown and was soon to be permanently posted. He got posted to Edmonton with the 3 PPCLI. He asked me to marry him and I said yes, we decided to get married in Halifax and after only three weeks we had an awsome wedding. two days after the wedding our house was packed up and we drove to edmonton. we have been in a hotel since looking to find a place to live. We will be moving in to our new home in a week. blah. so much has happened in a month. we have slept in 20 different places so far. and I have driven in 7 different provinces....we have yet to check out a museum but we have seen all the malls.... looking for job and everybody is hiring...we bought a sectional sofa from the brick. That all for now, from the new army wife.

so much has happened

Well here goes, a long overdue update and so much has happened. the summer went well in Toronto, I took care of my sisters kids for part of each week and then worked selling my art on the street. here are some pics of the last few weeks of that. I started doing paintings with sea turtles and apple blossom trees.

Still in Toronto

I have not been able to go online for weeks. I am so busy. sorry for not keeping everyone posted on what is going on. I am still selling on fri-sun on queen st and during the week I am hanging out with my nieces and nephew.I will be here till then last week of september then i am back to oromocto.

Hot Days

I am on the street everyday now on Queen near Soho St. The heat is killer. I am usually there from noon till 8pm. I am getting a lot of great responses from the people on the street, so I am having a great time. I am pretty tanned and not eating too much but it is only for another month. There is a guy who stacks rocks on the street as a busker and they are really cool, I might draw on the side walk with chalk around his work as a collaborative perfomance in August.

latest pics

here are some of the new pieces i have finished.

warm july

I feel like I have brought the maritime weather to Toronto. It is not that hot here but not to worry apparently this week will be a hot one. I am very tanned now from being in the sun for 8 hour four days a week. I am doing some pretty cool new paintings and I should have some pics of them up this week. Sorry I haven't been writing to much on my blog. I am having serious separation anxiety from my computer that is in NB and I officially hate PC, I miss my Mac. I am thinking about buying a mac book they are so cute, i think that might go under a toy purchase. but i need it right about now, I hate going to a PC Internet place to write on my blog. It just feels wrong. I gave some of my art to go up for auction at a function at the Drake Hotel and that was pretty cool, it was for an interpretive dance group. I was interviewed by the daily gleaner in Fredericton and you can Google that and read the article online, I was interviewed by the CBC Radio this week about my body of work "Canadian Issue" it was the Fredericton CBC radio, I have no idea if that was aired or when. so far thats whats going on, thanks to everyones support out there you guys are my rock.

new gallery

Well I have been in Toronto for a week now. The bike ride home with all my gear is getting better. It takes me about an hour to get home from work. I live in the Annex and I sell on Queen and Spadina so it is a slow incline home. Twice I have made in home just before a crazy rain storm arrived. Just peddeling like crazy, too funny. I am have a great time selling, meeting some really cool people and getting in the groove of making some cool paintings while working. So far I have painted 6 canvases on the street. I would love to share them with you but I am not sure how to do that. I'll figure that out this week. I have a gallery that i sell my originals at and an agent. check out Norman Felix gallery at www.normanfelix.com

We stopped in Morin Height for Canada day and had an awesome time, fireworks and all. I Just arrived this week in toronto and I have been selling on Queen and Spadian for two days. It has been great, I am not to keen on how dirty I get by the end of the day, I am black all over. Today it rained for most of the day and it gave me a good 9 hours of work in to prepare for next week. Should I indulge you all in the bylaw chaos of Toronto. hmm that would be a very long rant, make a comment on my blog about what you think. Okay here goes, Basically there is no licence for a peddler. you can get a busker licence 88 bucks but its donation only by passer byes, you can't get a venders licence cause there are none and there hasn't been for 5 years. You can get a portraiture licence 500 bucks but you can't sell any art except what you draw of someone and the images you dispay can only be examples of portraits you have done. you also need 2 million dollars in insurance before you even can apply for the licence and get approved about 600 bucks. So my question is where is the peddler licence. So the people at the main office say i cannot have a portrait licence and the bylaw guys on the street say go back and get it and lie and say you are doing portraits. WTF??? SO I am doing it all basially by the end of it I will have several licences, this is nutts. I brought the cat and he is great, no problems on the drive or the move, I love my kitty. Oh yeah so cool I sold (got a donation for) one of my favorite painting this week, my Dead Kitty. I loved that piece. I got a new cell number if anyone cares 416-889-3175.

Packing for Toronto

A few years back I bought a computer, I saved for a while and after the Xmas expo I made enought to get me an emac. 14inch and it weights 55 pounds exact. Now at that time i did not think I was going to be moving about or yadadada. well here I am on my way to Toronto and I am not going to bring my computer. I am going to go with a stock of prints and stuff on disc and thats it. I hope to buy a mac book up there. Well thats the goal. So far I have over 400 images to take with me. I am already going through bouts of sadness on leaving my beast behind. Oh as you can see Here are some images I did this week. I did not have time to finish the other paintings. I also think the M777 and the chopper one need more work I think I will go to a finer level of detail. I started two new stores on line with my product and we will see how that goes. you can check em out on the side over here. My skate board sold for $135 at the auction. Pretty cool. I don't really want to go to Toronto, I like it here, slow paced relaxed. humph poop.

proskates blog

proskatesblog
Click this link to check out their blog. It shows all the entries into the Skate Auction and some really cool stuff was done to some of the boards. oh and you can see mine too.

35 DOWN 7 TO GO

Holy cow did it rain yesterday. Down poured and thunder and lightning, it was like three different storm. I went for a run later in the day and got caught in a sheet of rain. Fearing for the life of my ipod. Thinking I don't want to ruin two ipods in one year. I sprinted home with my ipod in my pants. I got home soaked but I save the ipod ...phew. Finished the Howitzer and yesterday I preped 7 canvases to finish of the body. I should have 42 in the collection. I am now working on the LAV III, LEOPARD, GRIFFIN, air born, anti air craft tank thingy, M777 and some more Howitzers. The auction yeaterday apparently went well, I didn't go to it. It is a long drive from Oromocto to Halifax and I was not in the mood to be travelling for that period of time. I would of had to take a 6 hours bus ride there. Yuck 12 hours on a bus no thanks. Apparently my deck was up to $120. So will see how much it fetches. What else, oh yeah we taught the cat to tap the door knob when he wants to go out. I went to CTAPC on base and I was able to look at some of there better files and photo which is were I got the material for the last 7 paintings. They offered to photograph my painting professionally so I can have it on a digital file. I squeeked with joy. Well I need to go through the proper paperwork to do it but how fricked cool is that. I am going to the base museum this coming week to see what they have there and if we can work on a show. fingers crossed.

105MM HOWITZER (in progress)

This is my work in progress it is the largest canvas in the entire series. It is four feet by two feet. I like the brown in the back ground. I am using a mix of Gold green and Hookers green. I am also seeing if I can get my work on a poster website. I registerd at art.com and I am waiting to see if they like my art enough to sell it. You can have a free gallery and have 50 images for sale. I looked at some of the artist work and I think I will be able to sell on their Artist Rising section. Well will see. I was going over my stock of prints and images I have and they are way over 50 ways.... way way over 100 so if i do good I may just pay more to add more images. its like $50.00 a years. Gosh but I am so cheep, what to do what to do?? I have had my bombgurl book sent to a lot of pubishers and it has been refused. Even thougth she is very popular. Fingers crossed on all this lot. So I finally bit the bullet and went to drivers Ed and I drove on a highway and in Oromocto for the first time this week. I liked it, I was really nervous but I liked it. When does the sounds of artillery fire and gun fire from the base blend into the background?

Halifax Skatepark Coalition

Doors Crash Open on Friday, June 22 at 6:30pm. Art on Skateboards! What a great idea! Each year the work just gets better and better. Come out on Friday and enjoy the silent auction as well as the LIVE AUCTION that will get underway at around 7:30-8pm.

This event coincides with the Grand Opening of the Halifax Skatepark at the Commons on Sat, June 23. Then come back to finalize your silent bidding wars on great decks- turned- works- of art on Sunday, June 24. All bids end at 4pm!! Check www.argylefa.tk, Pro Skates and www.halifaxskateparks.org for more details and previews of decks soon!

CH 124 Seaking

This was the largest in the series and the most difficult. The size of the painting is 2feet by 3feet. I had some accidents that were fixable but indicative of the characteristics of the Seaking. I found myself walking away from the painting and completed five other one and then finally resigned myself to finish it. I like the color, under other circumstances sea foam geen would be tacky, but here I think it is fitting.

Pro Skates Art Auction

Along with the series I am working on, "Canadian Issue" I also participated in the Pro-skates Art Auction. This auction will be held at the Arglye Fine Arts Gallery on Lower Water Street, Halifax NS. Local artist paint on a skate deck and the paintings are auctioned off to Fundraise for themaintenance and constuction of the new local skatepark. The live auction will be FRIDAY JUNE 22 AT 6PM, and you can continue to bid on some of the boards on the 23 and 24th. This is the deck I have done for the auction. It is one of my favorite images I have done in the series I call it ARC. Last year I did the AH64A APACHE. If you can make it to the auction it will be a blast. And my birthday is the 25 so bidding on the deck would be awsome. I will be 33 this year. Here is a pic of last years auction.

Canadian Issue- A remarkable endeavour

I was in the Oromocto Post Gazette this weekend. A very good article. Hopefully it will generate enought buzz to get the paintings a place to be exhibited or go on tour. I tried to find the article on line of it but to no avail.

portrait

I am never comfortable with doing portrait. I took this contract on to shake off that uneasyness. But, I can't shake the feeling of "are they going to hate it?" This one was super hard a lot of emotions of different types were felt, RAGE was one. There is always that problem with contracts. The person that wants the painting has an idea in their head and well the out come will never be that image they think of. The background and the guy on the right was from one photo and the two guys on the left are from another. I am struggling with adding more detail to the face then there will be an inbalance in the detail on the face and the rest of the paintigns loose lines. I like the way it looks, there is a softness to it. OH well keep yah posted on the out come.

Ch146 Griffon

These paintings were a blast I love the color. Again Cudo's to Gold Green, love that color. I am working on a contract a portrait of some guys serving in Afganistan I am excited about how it is going to turn out. So far I have done 34 painting in the series and some days I feel that I am almost finished and then most of the rest of the time I feel I have just scratched the surface and I have only just begun. Tonight is date night and we are going to see the movie Knocked Up and mexican food. I can't wait to see the movie.

Oromocto mall craft show

This past week end I did the Oromocto craft show from Thursday to Sunday. I did pretty good. I raffled off a painting to help pay for the rental of the table. That helped a lot in the end. It was a very slow weekend but I got a lot of good responses from the people about the paintings done thus far for the Canadian Issue body of work. The only thing that drove me near to insanity was the music playing in the mall. Country music over and over all day long for twelve hour for four days. This week I am working on the Seaking painting aka thorn in my side, a Griffin painting, a commision and a LAV III. Trevor started his Phase 4 couse this week so I will be home alone working my way to finish this body of work. I am sending Bombgurl out to many publishers and well, will see what happens with that.

Toronto

Here I am on the streets of Toronto last week. I set up usually infront of or next to Mis De Meaner between Soho st and Spadina. It was a great week I did really good and I miss working and interacting with people terribly, aside from the kookie people and their life stories I had to endure. We left our cat in Morin Heights at my parents house duing our time in Toronto. My parents have 3 acres on the simon river, it is very woodsy. The cat was in heaven, every tree was climbed. On our drive back to Oromocto he cried for the first two hours and then sulked. Today he is back to his old self and he seems very happy to be home. When we were at my parents I decided to sell at the large Prevost market. This was a loss and a bad idea I did not make one sale. The people did not know what I was selling, no clue. We resigned ourselves to the fact that this was not the place for selling art , in betwen underwear 3 for 10 bucks and 5 buck cell phone leather cases?????? Trevor and I decided to people watch and we lost count of the freshly cut mullets. We finally got bored and went home to eat guacamole and salsa and drink Corona.

On my way to Toronto

I am leaving for Toronto this weekend. I have a complete stock and I am going to be on Queen and Spadina for next week, weather permitting. here are some of the bamboo paintings I have available and I will have a whole new sleak look. Here is a picture of the painting I did for my brother. He got me and Ipod for xmas and the deal was to do a painting for him. So one of the subject matters was Dirty Harry, 44 magnum 29 special. I hope he likes it. I hope he doesn't see this blog before he see he painting.

.50 Cal

So I set up a new blog, It is just on the right, where it says links it says Bombgurl website. I am trying to find a pubisher for the book I wrote s few years ago. knock on wood. Here is the latest painting, I truely love the color, it just keeps getting better and better. I am working on the CH-124 SEAKING the background color is making me giddy already. It is seafoam green fading into white. Yes, quite the lame color but it is a Seaking, and it flies over the ocean. Quite fitting, hahaha

sig sauer 9mm

I just finshed this one today as well. The cat loves to chase crows and it is pretty funny to watch him jump 7 feet into the air after a crow then almost get killed by them nose diving over him. I think he rolled in crap cause he smells like ass so I gotta go give him a bath. Stinky kitty. I just finished the book "Great and Terrible Beauty" by Libba Bray and I am now reading Rebel Angel the part two of the trilogy. Oh they are a good read. and I just finished Inkheart, next book is Inkspell. by Cornelia Funke check out www.Imdb.com the movie data base website and check out the cast for the upcoming movie of the book Inkheart. She also wrote the book The thief Lord whick is a great movie as well. Now she was the producer in The Thief lord and the rendition from the book is exact, and the casting was impressive. She is also the producer on this movie Inkheart and i think it is going to be exciting. Bendan Fraser plays Mo. I am just giddy. Not like the terrible disappoinment of Eargon ( what the hell was that) nothing like the book whick would have been an awsome epic movie if it was rendered exact.

sniper .50cal

Your not allowed to let your cats out in this community. I find that is a form of torcher. We live in a rural very grassy fun area with lots of trees to climb and squirrrels to chase. I trained the cat and it does not leave the yard. It took over a month, of having it on a leash then a harness and a rope tied to the clothes line. Now he goes out a stays in the yard. I only let him out for a bit and I am always with him and he never goes out after the sun goes down. I have a string and he chases me around the outside of the house until he plops down exhausted. I also only let him out right before I feed him so he is hungry and will want to come in when I shake a jar of food. I worry cause cats can eventually get stubborn, you can only play fetch with them for so ling the they don't listen.
Here is my latest painting. it is the snipers .50 caliber rifle. I love the colors.
Here is something I do to remind me of Korea I make Bulgogi pizza
I love to cook,
I am not sure if you make you own pizza dough or buy the dough. I make my dough
you get fondu beef 5 bucks worth(you can get at every grocery story, its hard to find so ask the meat guy) its usually frozen
go to a korean grocery and buy a small bottle of Bulgogi BEEF (not pork) maranade sause.
OK maranade the fondu beef
to add a bit of taste to the maranade
two cloves of garlic minced
one small onion minced
if you have some sesame oil and soy sause add 1 tbl spoon of each with 1 teaspoon of brown sugar
if you dont have sesame oil don't add the soy sause without it
maranade for 2hours or make sure the meat is thawed
cook it up in a frying pan, let it simmer till the sause reduces. (don't want the pizza soggy)
add it on top of the pizza dough
add mushrooms if you like
mozarella cheeze and diced Jalapinos if you dare (all over)
cook in the oven for 12-15 minutes at 425 degress
yummy

30 hours of Hail

Oh my gosh the weather sucks we have had 30 hour of freezing rain, hail and fat wet snow. I have yet to see the sun in days. I am on my way to halifax for the last time in a while. Trevor is going to a funeral for one of the boy that died in Afganistan and I am picking up supplies and going to meetings. In the past two weeks or so I have done eight paintings, here are some pics of them. The walls here are getting pretty full and I have more work to do to finish the body of work. Last week I was able to view a lot of the infantry schools photo archive. Thanks you guys for all the help. I also was able to take pics of the LAV and the 50 Cal rifel. Oh my gosh that gun is heavy. Did you know the gun with its three parts weighs 148 pound this does not include the tripod. Can you imagin carrying one part of that gun for 5 KM. You would have to be a big guy. Thats like carrying a keg plus all your gear. I am currently working on the Sig Sauer 9mm pistol P223. It going alright, it will be done today. next two weeks I am doing the 50 Cal rifle, the 50 Cal sniper, the LAV, the leopard, Nyala and three artillery pieces. That should finish up the body of work. I still would like to do at least 50 more pieces. I have to get new paint brushes cause all mine have been worn down. Well back to work.