Saturday, April 14, 2012

Three in the Head, Two in the Back

OK - ready for a crazy coincidence? As many of you know, I've been working for several years now on a graphic novel about the life of Canadian scientist Gerald Bull.

Well, Passionfool - a terrific local theatre company, is putting on the play "Three in the Head, Two in the Back" based on Bull's life. When I found out about it way back in January - I approached the artistic directors and showed them my work to date on the project.


The result? They'll be using my artwork as backdrops for the set! I also created an original piece just for the production.

They specifically asked for a portrait of Bull as a young man in his happier days. In my view, Bull only really came fully alive when he met his wife Mimi, so the portrait had to be with her on their wedding day. Here it is.

A description of the production:
"Jason Sherman’s celebrated and fast paced thriller about a man brought down by his own illusions and the treachery of Governments.

Inspired by the real life murder of Canadian weapons scientist Gerald Bull, THREE IN THE BACK, TWO IN THE HEAD grapples with the elusive nature of truth as the action of the play shifts across conflicting versions of the past.

Winner of the 1994 Governor General’s Award for Drama."

Seeing the Play

I've only read the screenplay and have never seen a live production. I also haven't seen what my artwork looks like blown up in the sets. I'm a bit nervous, but I'm really looking forward to it! If you're in the London area, I encourage you to check it out.

For the official opening night - Friday, April 20th, everyone in the audience will get a free copy of "The Paris Guns", the mini-comic of the first chapter of my Bull book.

The play runs from April 19th - May 5th, at The ARTS Project.

>> For full information, check out Passionfool's website.

Thursday, April 05, 2012

The Art of Social Media Seminar


This session at The ARTS Project will cover the basics of getting started in social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Flickr, Linked In, Soundcloud, etc), with the artist and small business owner in mind. Presented by Melissa Cheater (Lunch Break Media), Robin Honey (Honey Design), and me!

I'll be covering of the perspective of my experience as an artist using social media - benefits, challenges, etc along with some case studies, practical examples, tips and tricks.

Seminar Information
FREE to ARTS Project members. $25 at the door for non-members (basically that means if you buy a 1-year ARTS Project membership, you get in for free).

Takes place Wednesday, April 11th from 5:30 - 7:00 PM
>> See the website for full information.

The London Free Press' James Reaney wrote an article about the seminar in Saturday's paper.
You can check it out here: "Social Media's been 'tweet" for London Arts Organizers".

Sunday, April 01, 2012

UpwithArt - Supporting the Unity Project

UpwithArt is a great event to support the Unity Project for Relief of Homelessness in London. It's a fundraiser where you can bid on works from renowned, emerging, and Unity Project artists. It's going to be a really fun evening and I can't say enough good things about the Unity Project - they are a simply fantastic organization that has a huge impact on our local community.

Plus the artist roster is just stellar including Kelly Wallace, Jamelie Hassan, Larry Towell, Jason McLean, Jaime Q Ron Benner, Wyn Geleynse, Billy Bert Young, Marc Bell, Kim Moodie and me!

I did an original piece for the show - it's bigger and more colourful than my usual work. It's inspired by a photo that Rosie took recently on Isla Mujeres, Mexico. When faced with something like this - where I want to do something gorgeous that'll appeal to a wide audience so that'll sell and make some money for the cause, I tend to fall back on advice from Jack Chambers that my uncle John passed on to me.

"When in doubt, paint flowers. Everyone always likes flowers." 

So that's what I did. Here's my piece below. It's in oil pastels, is 22.5 x 16.5 and is fully framed by the good folks at Strand Fine Arts. Bidding starts at $75.00.



Most of the bidding will take place in person at the event. So come out, have fun, support a good cause and pick up some great artwork at some affordable prices! To see all the work, bid online, and to buy your tickets, go here: www.upwithart.ca.

Recent Coverage
I was asked to be the artist representative for the show,and because of this ended up doing a bunch of media interviews. Here's a few that also give some good background on the show as well as the Unity Project.
>> Up with Art for Unity - London Community News
>> UpwithArt Ups the Ante to Combat Homelessness - Metro
>> Unity Through Art - The Londoner