Bike Rack Shlackin' Flack, Daddy Mac

So for this post I gotta give muchos props to my grand pal, Tamzeo! She emailed me the info of this open-call thinger for all artists in Winnipeg... [cue background info]

The Winnipeg Downtown Biz asked any or all artists to design up to 5 different bike rack designs for one of our famed downtown streets - Broadway. They said they will choose up to 3 different designs and then reproduce them into steel bike racks for placement on Broadway, and perhaps the rest of the city thereafter. They provided templates and asked for simple line drawings. They also asked us to keep "Broadway" in mind for the designs.

What's in it fer moi?

Well, yes, perhaps the chance at having a sketch of mine reproduced in steel and sitting on Broadway appeals to me.... but also the possibility of a $1500 honorarium sounded good to me! Tuition money, mmmm-hmm.

So...who knows if what I thought of is ANYTHING what they want or not, but it was pretty easy [by Sheridan standards] and a grand reward if anything comes of it. Here's the designs I dropped off today.

This one was a general Winnipeg thang: mosquito. [And all the Wpg peeps say AMEN!]

Fishing. It's big in Manitoba. Yep.

Jazz Festivals, often outdoor in the summer on Broadway. Can't wait!

Need I explain this one??

Every good street needs a cartoony-type train engine. 'Sides, there's a flippin' huge train station at the end of Broadway.

A birthday sketch!

Two posts in one day, what is happening to this world?

Tammeramma, my total BFF, turns 28 tomorra.

So, in leu of birthday props, I sketched her.
For the record - she requested the hat and balloon.
Totally!

Painting the town orange

Since this week has been really busy with freelance, and I haven't had time to put towards other shtuff, here's a painting I did last summer for my bro.

He had got his own house, so I wanted to do up somethin' spayshul. I knew he liked NYC and the retro-feel, so here's what I came up with. I tried to match the same green as his walls - it worked out pretty well! Took me stinkin' foreeeeever, but I was happy with it in the end.

2' x 3', acrylic on canvas.

ps - I hated painting all those windows, ugh.

Coloured Clara

Rainy and chilly weather at the lake this weekend meant I was able to spend some time with copious amounts of java [with apple crisp, mmmmm] and my tablet indoors, yay! Here's a couple coloured poses of Clara I worked on.

Until I got distracted with DVD Clue - I will win one game yet, I will!!

Prof Plum with the gold pen in the Conservatory, darnit.

Clara concept

So I had all these intentions since I've been back in the Peg.

I thought, 'Hey, I'm back, I'll have TONS of time to do stuff for myself, paint, draw, write, strum, what have you! I shall do it all!'

Nuh-uh.

Fortunately enough though, I've been going insane with tons of freelance, which I cannot and will not complain about! [Doing fun designs and getting paid? Sign me up! Plus I'd like to return to school in Sept and not have to hitchhike my way there :) ]

BUT, as I always do, I have made many lists. Freelance projects, fun projects, songs to learn on guitar, movies to see, types of cake to eat....it's all there! And I plan to do it all. Or - well, as much as possible. Life always has a way of turning out completely differently than you plan. But as I have been doing thus far, I shall enjoy it all!

On one of my many lists, I wrote that I wanted to further develop my Western characters I created for my last character design assignment at school. I was really happy with how they came out, [I worked my butt off on them!] so I wanted to take them a step further.

I have been working on Clara, my heroine, [she's tomboyish, and she's happy about it], and I hope to get some time at the lake this weekend to work on her. Aaahhhhh....gimme a coffee and my tablet and some tunes and leave me for a good long while. Here's one of the poses I plan to develop further, I really like the feeling of weight in it. She was super fun to draw, I just had to keep it goin'!

A further post, post-weekend.
Happy long!

Caricaturing the kiddies

Friday evening my motha asked me to come and practice my caricaturing skillz at her young girls group, GEMS. Of course I had to jump at the chance! Here's a couple pics from the eve - it was grand fun - the kiddies thought it was great, and I had tons of fun with them! I especially enjoyed when I was answering questions and drawing one of the girls, they all kept insisting that they draw me next.

And they did. So I had to post them for everyone's enjoyment. May I add that I love that in every one, I look like a boy. And in the last one, I look like a boy with wayward eyeballs.

I love kids!!

New Yorkin'

I finally got a quick chance to put up some pics from my most recent trip to NYC with my pops. It was a grand time, as always! We saw Phantom and Stomp....ate lotsa fun food...saw a lot of amazingly interesting peeps...good times!

This pic makes me laugh - it's my Vogue pic. My dad took it accidentally - I was smiling at the people beside me because they were about to walk in front of the camera, but it actually looks like I was doing a big pose. Sometimes the mistake pics are the best!

If you feel led, check out some more pics here:
http://stacey.chomiak.googlepages.com/home

Click on the last link to view some of the pics from our trip.
More sketches to come from the Big Apple!

Hank, now in 3D

I am settling to life back in the Peg, so new artwork is not coming as quickly when I had a bazillion deadlines breathing down my throat! Here's the newest Maya piece I am working on - I was finishing it near the end at school - his fat lip was rather a challenge! I still label it a work in progress - his ears aren't quite right, but it's my first attempt at modeling something other than an inanimate object.

If all goes as planned this summer...hopefully more Maya Madness to come!

[Side note: That is the most frightening still it chose to show in the Preview EVER.]

Serendipitous Server

Here's a quick sketch from my quick jaunt to New York City. My dad flew down to TO and we drove an easy 8-ish hours to the Lincoln Tunnel, where you emerge on the other side in another world. The Big Apple World, that is. I love it! It was my third visit...and each time I love it more.

Almost the most favorite of mine is the people there. The diversity of the people is so incredible, I love it! I wish I could take a week's vacation and just sit and draw the droves of people that walk by the busy BUSY streets. Ah, maybe one day :)

This time though, I convinced my dad to slow down a BIT more so I could at least release a smidge of creative energy. This gem of a lady was a walking caricature! I hope to colour her up and redo the linework, but here's my quick sketch. She's the manager from one of my fav eatery's in Manhattan - Serendipity [from the film of the same name].

I was hardly exaggerating this drawing either!!!
Gotta love peeps :)
More fun and crazy New Yorkian sketches to come.