The Re-invention

If you haven't heard yet, I (Curtis) have re-invented myself for MOvember. Because this is the third year participating, I decided that a new persona might be a good gimmick to rake in some donations, so I became Mr. Bristles. Every day I wear a bowtie and a V-neck sweater to work, and I even changed up my hair-do to complement my petite moustache. Going in to the barberette, I brought a sketch of what I imagined I might look like post haircut. Here's my sketch:


I think she did a great job of making my dream-do come true, but you can be the judge. Visit my MOvember page and see for yourself!

www.mobro.co/mrbristles

ps. I especially needed a new gimmick to compete with last year's trading card promotion (2 of 4 pictured below).

Black Sheep Diner

Hey Winnipeg

I invite you to join me for the closing of my "Old Folk" Art Show this Friday November 18th 5-7pm at the Black Sheep Diner

COME AND BUY A BOWL OF CHILI!!!!
EAT SOME CORNBREAD!!

Sincerely. Come.

Devon

watercolour + ink

getting back to my sketchbook and off the tablet= nice, nice feeling.

happy halloween!

colouring for adults

two more illustrations to complete before this weekend ends but an outside contribution deadline extended (and looming) had me drawing madly this afternoon. so, here's the deal: the university radio station is in need of fundraising annually....so a genius plan of getting local artists to draw for a colouring book is hatched. MORE ON THIS LATER!!! i don't want to give too much away but the book will be available for purchase in the new year (full credit for this project inspiration + coordination goes to our fellow creative crafter buddy jenny henkelman.) but here you go, you can see my page. so many lines to fill in with colour!! devon xo

inspired

Curtis here...I was inspired by one of Devon's drawing assignments at the newspaper this week. She was charged with drawing "angry sports fans in the style of John Kricfalusi". I love John K.'s drawing style...and our senses of humour mesh about 70% of the time too. Anyways,here's what I sketched out at the coffee table:

Sure Devon's is better, but I think mine has a certain charm. Keep in mind that my kid was stealing all of my watercolour pencils as I was drawing it, hence some of the strange colour decisions.

departure

hey. hey. well, i have been a little overloaded lately and finding it challenging to post new stuff, even though there actually IS new stuff which is a nice feeling! also- most illustration work was been sports related the last two weeks...not my comfort zone, but great practice. This recent illustration is for an article discussing the new rule for no head contact in junior hockey. i made the ref a young boy and simplified everything down to gestural strokes on most of the body so the head signal and helmet area are highlighted as most visually important.

fake address, fake phone number

in the interest of sharing my invitation design, i had to make sure i wasn't broadcasting our personal info to the world...

so yes, this party invite marks a milestone for me as a mom!
My very first baby turned TWO today.

We are having a party this weekend coming up so naturally I had to hand-draw the invite. We printed them up on super glossy cardstock and kept them black and white. I am pretty happy with how it turned out.

we are delivering them to all of our pals around the neighborhood this week and hoping everyone can make it.

our party strategy, which may turn out to be CRAZYMAKING, is to carry all of our instruments (including full drum kit) to host a toddler style jam in the giant field across the street.

my big little bro

i adore my brothers and i cherish our visits. recently, my youngest brother gord, made a detour from his trip west and joined me for some quality time, some toddler shenanigans and to meet his newest nephew.

i was determined to make sure gord left with some of my hand-printed clothing of his choice but i haven't been printing in awhile so it was slim-pickins!

so, i was digging through our bin of printed clothing, trying to find something for gord to wear to Australia (among other places). i really wanted something to work so i pretty much suggested every shirt i came across... the poor guy had to remind me about 20 times:
dev, I am size large. I am pretty sure i am size large.

man, baby brothers sure get big. (mine is well over 6 feet tall!)

i was so, so happy to finally see one of my favorite printed shirts fit him.

i was even happier to see that the photo we took of him modeling it happened to be in front of the original tree drawings that inspired the silkscreen in the first place. i couldn't have planned it better.

i wish i could see my little brother way more than a few days a year but i will take what i can get. at least i have his t-shirt size for future reference- maybe i will be more prepared by next summers dig through the bin!

speed drawing

i promised the paper an illustration this week.

we spent the weekend at the cottage and then we were back late and exhausted sunday night (deadline!!) after some bumper to bumper traffic on the highway (involving an emergency pull-over to feed crying baby in the middle of it all)

i mustered up some creative juices to sit down to the tablet/computer around 9pm and then proceeded to take about an hour to complete my 10 minute drawing.
some nursing, some singing of lullabies, some consoling toddler about bedtime, some rocking baby, some more rocking baby, some drawing while holding baby with other arm...

but SUCCESS! i finished it!

i might even draw again next week!

Duh...

This link makes more sense:

http://www.threadless.com/submission/359134/Illegible_Font_Fan

Sorry, i'm new to the internet. I haven't yet adjusted since the BBSs went down.

Vote for me!

Curtis, the boy of Tijit here, to let you know that I recently submitted a design to Threadless for one of their challenges! This challenge was to create a type tee using three words or less, and you can vote on my design here:

http://threadless.com/sharedesign/359134/Illegible_Font_Fan

There's only 3 days left to vote on my design, so don't delay! ...or delay for two days, then vote!

DA-DAMMA!!

i just got home a few hours ago from dropping off my super awesome, super helpful and amazing mom to catch a flight back to ontario.
rowan calls her DA-DAMMA as his very own version of the title 'gran!'

just wanted to say we love you and miss you, i couldn't have imagined the last two weeks without you.

barefoot + pregnant

So, this is not the most accurate depiction of the state of my body at the moment. but it is close friends, darn close.

the belly that is drawn here is pretty much the one that is attached to my little 5'4'' body right now although the water retention of mid-summer pregnancy has me looking way less emaciated than this little drawing suggests. it's the contrast that i wanted to capture.

i can't describe the shocking size difference that has transpired with this (second) pregnancy...my poor skin is stretched to the MAX. i am still managing to get around pretty well but you know you must be feeling less-than-great when you find yourself thinking: i really hope i go in to labour soon.
labour?! the best option? arrgh.

the "due date" (if you believe in such things) is this week and so hopefully the arrival of this baby will be before august.
after which i am hoping between napping babes and helpful husbands, i might be able to squeeze myself closer to the drawing tablet and get back to making some art!

see you then...

the jets!

the jets are back in winnipeg y'all.
to be honest: i am no hockey fan but it sure is fun drawing hockey players!

last fourfortheday today

last weekend, we found these amazingly water-damaged and strange photos in the alley.

the polaroids, at first glance appear cracked but when you look closer at the emulsion on the inside of the photo it is actually wrinkled and folded like a flower petal.
i didn't even know polaroids could do that!

photos of strangers are so haunting. i wonder what the stories are that go with these images?

anyways. check them out here.

teeth

come have a look at fourfortheday!

some old things.

here is my collection of four things for the day. have a look here.

things made out of wood.

today's post over at fourfortheday

the fourfortheday collection continues!

here's my fourfortheday post for yesterday! check it out over here

four birds

wanna see them?
come over and check out fourfortheday today!

big boy

I am taking a pause from posting art over here so i can channel my photographic/curatorial energies over at fourfortheday.

just thought i would give you all a tiny update in the meantime.

it's been a crazy few days over here with our ever-growing, ever-independent toddler. we had a week of crib-rail jumping shenanigans and general bed-time + sleep craziness. (today started at 4:30am)
so in the interest of safety i am transitioning rowan into a big bed.
i am pretty much not ready for this step at all but with so many other milestones flying by us it's hard to put on the brakes!
rowan is growing up in lots of big ways but it's the subtleties that i have been noticing too:
he has been riding around this little vintage horse and saying "done" at the end of every meal.
sigh.
it's cool. it's just i wish we had a pause button sometimes.

the countdown is on.

yes. that countdown too. (10 weeks left!!)
but what is on my mind particularly today...is a looming deadline.
a fun one but a slightly intimidating one.

so, i will be a guest editor on my amazing friend arden's blog starting monday may 30th. you should go over and check out what folks have been up to so far.
the archives are incredible.
many tough acts to follow (currently, the very talented local artist robert pasternak.)

the blog features wonderful, personal collections of four things every day. check it out here.

Behind (Plexi) Glass

The Platform Gallery, located in the Artspace Building in the Exchange District here in Winnipeg, has a wonderful spot to showcase art.
In the lobby beside the Gallery and across from the Cinematheque ticket booth, you will see a nice substantial area of mounted plexiglass under which has an ever-changing variety of artwork by local artists. Every month, the area is refreshed with new work.

I was lucky enough to be invited to showcase my most recent ink painting portraits of some old folks there. The men are from my memory/imagination (but of course always informed by those I have met probably) and the women were drawn with reference to a hauntingly beautiful collection of photographs that I found in a book called; "The North End" by John Paskievich.
(The milk sniffing lady is on the cover!)

These are large drawings whose size has, so far, been hard to properly document so I have been putting it off- Recently, I got some quick snapshots as they will be coming down on Thursday. (There is some glare/reflection from the glass but you get the general idea.)

It was nice for me to see the series on a wall in a frame. I would love to know what you all think!

(Now I must get back to my ink-pot and giant paper to create some more!)

a moment in time

belly is growing, river is rising! art is percolating!

(note: that tree used to be up off of the edge of our river bank. now the river has swelled all the way up to the walking path- it;s been incredible to witness the winnipeg flooding this spring...)

spring has almost sprung

lately i have been remembering how the changing of the seasons are represented in a nursing home.

window stickies, dollar store banners, accordian-style 3d paper wall decorations, colourful themed napkins at over-the-top themed events and meals, the recreation board colour schemes and the bi-weekly crafts.

and this guy.

this guy whose dementia has rendered him always happy, saying 'yup' and walking circuits around and around the lounge. somehow the nurses got on to this thing where they would put themed headbands on him to spread good cheer as he walked around greeting folks around the home.

i will say here that i am not sure how i feel about this.
and i am not sure how he would feel about this if he was able to respond with anything other than 'yup.'

but thinking back on it, it does give me comfort that the holiday themed head-wear encouraged everyone to acknowledge him passing by, smile back, initiate a conversation about the season/holiday and be just as happy as him for a moment.

four heads

here is my latest (and last) illustration for the manitoban for awhile (as this will be appearing in the last issue of the school year.) the article is about the rather bleak election ahead of us.
the sub heading i was working with for inspiration was "federal election promises little change."

Skedoodle!

Gag Alert redux

Devon, if you can read this, I hope you're having fun in Mexico.

Curtis

monkey business

my latest assignment for the Manitoban.
check out the article (coming soon) about uncertainty in monkeys, a trait previously thought to be present only in we humans.

gag alert.

this one is pretty mushy so don't say i didn't warn you.

so, curtis and i occasionally leave each other love notes hidden for the other person to find in the morning. this all started back in montreal when we would doodle little pictures or write inside jokes on our kitchen chalkboard back and forth.

adorable and hilarious to us but most likely annoying to our anyone that had to live with us.

so because curtis is up and out the door before rowan and i get downstairs (he leaves around 7:20 am. ack!) i usually tuck love notes/drawings in to various stages of his coffee making (the can of coffee beans, the grinder or the bodum) or sometimes on scraps of paper laying beside the stereo (for when he turns on the radio) or scribbled on to bills stuck to the fridge.

i was particularly impressed with myself when i doodled a little devon saying "i love you" directly on the pizza box in the fridge and then put a leftover roast chicken over it so he would have to move it for the big reveal when he went in to pack pizza for his lunch.

then nothing.

no reply curtis-drawing or note.

turns out he ran out of time and saw it only at the last minute. then a couple more days went by with nothing. i assumed the moment had passed.

then to my surprise and delight at lunch today, i saw his pink sharpie love drawing of us on the pizza box.

naturally i had to draw a version of it for my second last drawing of the february series. so this was me yesterday on march 1, getting a kiss from curtis on our "date night"

it's a fair copy but curtis' drawing is actually way better. turns out; the tablet has nothing on the drawing texture of sharpie on pizza box, refrigerated over night.

pizza never tasted so sweet.

good-bye february, you jerk.

march is "in like a lion" here in winnipeg so let us all agree that it'll be out like a lamb.

so, at the risk of curtis seeing this, (who somehow believes that staying at home with your child is one big holiday), i did manage to have an enjoyable breakfast* at the "fresh cafe" with my lovely and adorable friend crys cole yesterday.

and so, this was me in the morning on monday february 28.
rowan and i shared a delicious smoothie, met a new baby friend named ambrose and then played the hell out of the stairs and some restaurant toys and crayons.

yesterday was also a great day because i woke up with a very pregnant belly!

it's been brewing for 18 weeks and 3 days, and was already looking bigger last week, but yesterday morning, whoa. it's here.

so i got to dress it!

i put on a cute new shirt i got with a bunch of anchors on it, my favorite cardigan (buttoned 'just so') and a great pair of very comfortable maternity jeans (thanks donna)

pretty alright.

*(note to curtis: this occurred just after the doctors appointment, filling a prescription and just before cleaning all the dishes, doing more laundry, cleaning the kitchen and sorting a bunch of mine and rowans old clothes and then going grocery shopping. SO THERE!)

night terrors

every once in awhile rowan has these wierd episodes in the night that i can only describe as night terrors.

it really creeps me out to stumble in to his room half asleep and feel around in his crib to pick up his screaming and thrashing body. sometimes i think it is teething related, sometimes i think he is sleeping through the experience totally. parenthood is such a guessing game.

not to give anyone else the heebie jeebies but i will even admit that, in my over-active imagination (fueled by the experience of waking to screams) i have been sure that there is an old lady ghost leaning over him and freaking him out. maybe it's the hag.

i think i probably just need more sleep.

this was me sunday february 27. i altered the original drawing by going back over it with an eraser and taking away parts of my head to elongate everything and make it look even more haunting.

tiny me

this was me yesterday, saturday february 26.

i went for breakfast at stellas with curtis and rowan. then in the afternoon, i attended an amazing artist talk by an inspiring and incredible woman named Barb Hunt.
...then i polished off the day with a very enjoyable evening book club to discuss our recent reading of "Room" by Emma Donaghue (not sure on the spelling of that one).

It was nice to feel like a tiny, somewhat insignificant person, while in a busy restaurant, a packed audience and a group of people i don't often see.

it made me realize that for some reason, spending my days with one small person often makes me feel like i am gigantic and entirely too important most of the time.

laundry machine

i am referring to me of course.
thursday february 24.

sure, it's a boring representation of the day but when you boil 24 reusable diaper inserts on the stove-top, wash and fold three loads of laundry, do a bunch of dishes and then complete a big sort of your mismatched socks in the underwear drawer, there isn't time for much else.

except for watching Perry Mason while you are waiting to put the next load in.
(and that would just be a drawing of me with hearts in my eyes anyways)

pause.

a brief interlude here: to post a new(ish) comic for my series on old folks. this one will be on the Diversions page of the Manitoban next issue.

ever get that feeling?

had a super fun + fast morning looking after my 17 month old boy while babysitting another lovable toddler who is very near and dear to my heart.

let me tell you: those little people are on the move!

we had a dance party to kate bush, pushed every button and turned every nob on the record player, played every instrument, worked on three puzzles, ate some scrambled eggs, some kiwi, some apple, drank some water, chased the pig, played with the beachball, did some stairs, dumped the toy box, played sort the shapes back in to the musical turtle, did a rubber boots fashion show, read the very hungry caterpillar,
sat in the blue chair,
got out of the blue chair,
sat in the blue chair,
got out of the blue chair.

among a few other things.

yakkity yak

thank you to my loving husband and best buddy curtis for posting a pretty version of me last time...here is me, drawn by me. today.

man, what a great day of reconnecting. had a lovely and inspiring chat with one of my dear friends, kerri to start the day. (we were talking fun life plans)

next an epic chat with one of my favorite people, kaija. it was a long one and a good one. we were talking new york, masters degrees and owning farms so we can hang out with other loved friends in the country.

a great facebook type-fest with my dear francophone pal, julien who is in love. always nice to hear about new love.

to top it all off, my mom just got home from Golden BC (kicking horse) where she was visiting my little brother so we had a good long conversation about EVERYTHING. (which we are good at!)

i am wired. can you tell by my drawing?!

A flattering portrait

Hi, Curtis here with my bi-annual post. I decided that I should intervene here because Devon likes drawing unflattering portraits of herself and posting them on the internet...but let's face it, in real life she's easy on the eyes. As part of my Valentine's Day gift to her this year I doctored up a portrait of her to grace the cover of the mix CD I was putting together.

It's a melange of collage and tablet tracing. The skin and hair textures are taken from multiple photos of Jennifer Connelly - the first brunette celebrity that came to mind...because she's pretty.
The premise of the mix CD was bands Devon likes doing covers of songs Devon likes. Here's the track listing, in case you're curious:
01] Wilco - Ingrid Bergman
02] Elliot Smith - These Days
03] Jose Gonzalez - Love Will Tear Us Apart
04] Kakai King - Close to Me
05] CC Walker - Never My Love
06] Wild Nothing - Cloudbusting
07] Schneider TM - The Light 3000
08] Of Montreal - She's My Best Friend
09] Billy Bragg - Jeane
10] James Blake - A Case of You
11] Karen O & The Kids - Worried Shoes
12] Bright Eyes - The Biggest Lie
13] Elliot Smith - Harvest Moon
14] Mates of State - These Days
15] The Killers - Romeo and Juliet

friday night movie

this was me last night, friday february 18 watching a movie with curtis.

we rented one of our favorite movies: House/Hausu which is a film from 1977 from Japan. It's a psychedelic combination of art film meets horror movie. it has been re-released by criterion so it was a good time to re-watch.

man, that movie is crazy. i love it.

i have nothing against eating obscene amounts of popcorn tossed in brewers yeast and pepper either.

yesterday's new do

i rather serious looking drawing of my new do. some dark colour, some copper pieces and some bangs.
a break from bobby pins...for now.

a string of days

ok, the first one starting from the top: that is february 8th.
i somehow forgot to get this one published earlier where it should have gone. anyways, that was a stinky never-ending diaper day. but on the positive side: rowan has added the word: POOP to the list of words he can say.

the next drawing down is february 11th
(you can see, or have already seen, the in-between days, feb 9 + 10, as i have already posted them previously to the blog).
this drawing was the stand-out feeling of that day. the wonderful warm cup of coffee in my hand first thing in the morning and a belly full of cheerios.

next, saturday february 12th.
the manic happiness of skating down the river with cold wind in my face. and to top it off, i got beautiful flowers that day from curtis.

february 13, i drive over to my med-student-friends house (you are the best catherine!) to play: "let's diagnose the odd rash on devons face" which looks even more terrible this week than previous weeks. this drawing is a loosely documented map of where all the bumps were. yuck. go away "perioral dermatitis."

february 14 + 15 are missing (the official gap is closing on the lag though,) ...i promise they are coming soon.

the last drawing, the one at the bottom is wednesday february 16th. this was the day before i got my new haircut. the anticipation of changing my hair for the first time since april. those dotted lines at the bottom are a representation of where things were going if i didn't get in there soon.

my lag in posting

there was such a flurry of catching-up drawing to do once i was a week late in starting my: one-piece-of-art-a-day-for-february project.
now i find my actual posts to be lagging behind and this is kind of throwing me off.

so here is a few at once: these first two were some scribbles that i did to get me going on trying to effectively draw "a mood."
i find it interesting how your image of yourself, your ACTUAL FACE, can be altered by how you feel when you draw it!

i think these two gals say it all.

sleeping-in with a toddler

i slept in. it was blissful.

we have been going through this thing where rowan wakes up in the night and we are both too tired to do anything except cuddle him in to bed with us and go back to sleep. this one night was an epic hour or so of rowan in bed with us crawling on our heads before he finally settled back down.

on the plus side, he slept a bit longer than usual and i (sorry curtis) got to reap the rewards of a rare extra 30 minutes of sleep the next morning.

i tried to make this illustration look as soft and calm as my sleep.

curtis said when he left for work that morning, rowan had his legs up on my chest and we were contorted in to the most comfortable tangle of limbs. he is not drawn in, but you get the idea.

similarly to the last sleeping/in bed drawings, i oriented everything to keep my face straight for the viewer.

loud music and art-making

the relief. the cathartic magic of drawing like crazy while listening to music.

the day after

back in to the world. cold day.

i like how this one worked out.

i know, it looks pretty gruesome and i aged myself about 30 years but i like it as a representation of that particular monday.

eggs and back to bed

my next installment of the daily self portrait.
no matter what, i try and draw one specific image/mood that sums up the day.

this is sunday february 6. waking up feeling better...groggy, sore and still tired...but things are looking up! we actually went out for breakfast that day and i ate my first real food since thursday.

i will admit that i cried a little bit in the car when i thought i would throw up again but then, we got home and i rested for the remainder of the day.
goodbye flu!

sweet gravol sleep

rounding the bend on the flu in this drawing: this is a portrait of me on saturday feb 5, sick and sleeping in bed.

as i drew this one, i left the orientation of my face and shoulders the same as the other drawings in the series and adjusted my sleeping position and bed perspective accordingly.