The Naked Silo

Selections from Sketchbook #18 (2000-2001). This composition, rife with Klimt motif theft, ended up as a not-so-great sunflower painting. Close-up study for the Klimt thing. Inspired by Squeeze . Aisha featured in the first sketch for a painting for which I eventually used Kim (who was also my co-worker on Prime Business). The fiery hair was there from the beginning. Another model switch-up: here Kellie (my co-worker from  The Shopping Channel ) appears before being replaced (no hard feelings!) by Ashley for the final painting . I don't think I've painted Kellie (yet!) but I still have all the photos we took when she modelled as the lead for my first comic (a Shopping Channel spoof)  Bargain Betty  (1995). This sketch of her is based on one of those photos.

Turn it up The guitar I can't hear The guitar –TMBG, "The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)" My scheduled stop for 33 on 33 today was Highway 19 (here's my up-to-date Map of Progress ), but I didn't find anything interesting in the vicinity so I went down the road a bit to this hydro station because I love the aesthetic of these things. This gate swings out. It was pouring rain this morning when I left home, so I was prepared for a day of painting inside the van, but it stopped by the time I arrived so I set up outside and got going. My other plan for the day was having my old friend, singer/songwriter Jeff Jones , come out from Toronto and play some of his original songs while I painted: a getaway from the city for him and some company and entertainment for me. He said he'd be at my location around 11AM, but by then I was very nearly finished my painting for the day (with only about an hour's or so work left to do on it). When he arrived w...

36" x 36", oil on canvas, private collection Matt recorded a lot of material and the 19 songs on this CD were, according to the liner notes, "discovered from a vast array of sources including old cassette tapes in Matt's collection, videos of live shows, live recordings and radio programs." Pretty much the same group that put together Matthew Osborne in 2004 worked on this, and I was also asked to join in again, providing the cover painting (based on a photo by Selene MacLeod) and layout & design work. Entitled Blues Compilation 1990 – 2004 I added that info digitally (in the negative space to the left of his head) using the same typeface as Matt's name (which I painted directly onto the canvas). Here I present the cover unadorned with additional text. My idea for this one was "the blues: in winter" which meant using a subtle, almost monochromatic palette of colours and painting Matt as sort of a ghost, this being another posthumous ...