Shambhala, Baby! (PART I)

A few weeks ago I was asked to do a mural for the 2008 Shambhala Music Festival, and if you haven’t heard about this 15 000 person, week-long party then you should really check out their site. It’s a Canadian Burning Man. If you don’t know what Burning Man is, there is no help for you.

The awesome staff at Shambhala gave me a blank 8’x 8’ wooden canvas to do with what I would. That’s a lot of space to fill, and a little overwhelming, so I thought “What does Shambhala mean to me?” Having gone to the 2007 festival, I had a fresh recollection of the fiesta; killer DJs from across the country, crazy crowds dancing from dawn ‘til dawn and dawn again, costumes, body paint, nudity, and an overall freeing zest for life. Easy. lol

Without further ado, here’s the progression from rough sketch to finished product. My only hope is that you might feel 1/100^th of the excitement Shambhala brings to everyone who walks onto her ranch and through her forests.

Click on the above pics to see the various stages of the piece.

Hours and days later, the beast is finally finished and ready to find its place in the woods amongst the pumpin’ beats, screams, and lights!

Preview for PART II:

After the show, I’ll be sure to post people’s reactions and get some great shots of the mural partyin’ away at the festival. Peace, om, and all that jazz. - j

Life in Nelson

So I promised myself I would post once every two weeks this summer, but clearly that goal is a little out of reach at the moment. In an attempt to make regular posts a habit, regardless of my fears of the work being seen, here are some random life drawings from open classes in Nelson. Now, when I presented the idea of three minute gestures to this group they looked at me like I had three heads; so these are 10 - 30 minutes. At least I got a chance to try some rendering.


Also, I took a baseball to my right thumb a couple of weeks ago ending a stellar season. (Anyone who knows me well knows the previous sentence is loaded with sarcasm.) Not wanting to give up drawing, I started drawing with my left hand. I've wanted to develop my ambidextrus abilities for a while and activate the creative side of my brain, so below is a caricature that came out of this new lefty freedom.

The Golf Retiree

This guy is the result of sitting in a Nelson pub during the UFC fight. Confused? Well, I was less than enthused about watching the match, so I started sketching. (Yeah, real cool. Be the chick in the bar with a book out. Hot.) Many silhouettes later, I developed this old man playing golf.

I thought, "Migod, what would it feel like to retire and hate golf? What would you do with yourself?!" He's wondering the same thing.


p.s. This is my first, albeit timid, attempt at digital painting. Hope to take bigger risks with future pieces. :)

Me, a commissioned artist? Wha?

Here in Nelson, someone asked me to do a sketch of friends of hers for their wedding gift. You know, something that is going to be on these strangers' walls for the next 50 years. Yeah, no biggie. *gulp*

After much hesitation, I finally decided to give it a go; but on my terms. I didn't want to do a typical pencil sketch because they're so common and ultimately boring and flat. I messed around with some pen and ink and ended up with this graphic-ish image. It's supposed to feel like the explosion of a first kiss. I hope Mr. and Mrs. Random like it.

pen, brush, and ink on watercolour paper 8 x 10

takin' a stab at watercolour

This is the same painting

taken first with a camera (right) and second with a scanner (below).

I think the actual painting falls somewhere between the two.

But here you have it, my first full watercolour painting!

(I usually hate flower paintings, and would never have tried this, but it was actually harder than I thought.)