I’ve set up a new domain and website for posting all my artwork. I needed a centralized place that had a visual impact and an image based navigation system, yet also allowed me to post the artwork’s concept and details. And most importantly, I wanted all that to be RSS trackable, and have comments to boot. The new site is up and running, and I encourage you to view my portfolio at the link above.

So what did I do? I created a whole new blogging platform that allows me to post images of my work and view my portfolio in a chronological timeline. The new site is live now, but I am still working on the final touches (I will be adding a “recent comments” section to the main page soon, so I know when you people show me some love).

This new site will act as a portfolio for all my “marketable” artwork… that includes paintings, illustrations and of course, t-shirts. Please visit the site: http://www.A7is.com and be sure to bookmark it and visit it for all my latest art. This site will remain in place as a general blog with a variety of topics, and will still feature my more conceptual work. As soon as things settle down here, I’ll look into ways to merge the two blogs so the information is centralized in some way. (But first, I have tons of work to catch up on… my mexican client’s new website is a big project, as is my friend Jeff’s portfolio site… plus work for MC’s mom, working on Real with Dave, and shooting the To The Rescue music video)

So please visit the site at http://www.A7is.com and take a look at some of my art. Let me know what you think.

A7

2008 was certainly a year of change for me; Not that any of the previous 5 years have been stale by any means, but 2008 was a year with large-scale scary decisions and accomplishments. How did I fare this year? Let’s find out.

Friends:
This year had far less drama in it than previous years. It was pretty much smooth sailing for the most part. I’m guessing that had a lot to do with moving back to Ottawa and seeing all our old friends on a regular(ish) basis again. I’m still guilty of not communicating enough, but dammit, that’s just how I am, so deal with it people.

Family:
It certainly was interesting living at home (and at the in-laws) for the better part of 6 months. I’d like to say it brought me and my family closer together, but we were already close. I’ll tell ya, the hardest part was living out of a suitcase in a single room for all that time. I do miss “family dinners” (read: ordering out) on Friday or Saturday nights. And oddly enough, I kind of miss the smell of boiled hotdogs every Saturday.

House:
Getting the house was without a doubt one of the biggest events of the year. It really occupied pretty much the entire year, since the initial planning started all the way at the beginning of 2008, starting with the decision to buy, followed by the choice of builder, the model of house, the mortgage, the construction, the possession, and the decorating. Can you believe it? Tartan delivered the home on time! And more importantly, we are home owners again! I LOVE cooking in my custom designed kitchen with my indoor grill. I LOVE my home theatre setup in the basement (and I’ll love it more when the basement is finished). I LOVE my “sanctuary”; my organic earthy bedroom. And I LOVE my iHome setup, working exactly as I envisioned it.

Work:
You would think the house would be the most memorable event of 2008, but surprisingly, it is not. My employment has the honours of taking the top spot of 2008. It was a rocky, scary, hard-fought but exhilarating ride this year. It started off with my with my work at Artez. Just as my contract was about to expire, I was contemplating bringing up a deal with them to do design work as an independent contractor. It turns out the CTO had other plans for me, and a vision for the company’s future. He offered me a full-time position to work as an Interaction Designer. Unfortunately, after the move to Ottawa, the work started drying up. There was less and less work being sent my way, and I knew the inevitable was bound to happen; and it did. I was laid off, but they were still happy with my work, and asked me to continue working for them on a contract basis (which, ironically, I was going to propose doing 4 months earlier). This unfortunate turn of events allowed me to set in motion what would become the foundation of Hotcakes New Media. In November of 2008, Hotcakes New Media was official, and off to a great start. Although having my own company means my income is a little less than stable, it has proven to be successful so far, as I have designed websites for Canadian Tire Jump Start, Relay For Life, Red Nose Day, Better Farming Magazine, and of course, Ottawa’s Premiere Music Studio, Studio MC.

What’s Next:
With all the huge changes from 2008, 2009 is shaping up to be one hell of a good year. I will soon be writing the pilot for my “Hero Complex” mockumentary sitcom, and with any luck, filming it by year end. Hotcakes New Media is destined to become Ottawa’s best New Media company, Studio MC is destined to become Ottawa’s best piano and violin school, the house is destined to become a stunning example of modern design, and who knows… the house might be filled with a child’s laughter (or crying) by year end. 2009 is a big year indeed. Hang on, and enjoy the ride.

A7

But enough about that, and onto my post. As of last month, I am officially a published artist, passing yet another milestone in my career.

The illustration work I created for author Francois Kibwenge El-Esu has been printed and is now in distribution in book stores all over. The author was kind enough to send me a personalized copy of the book, with a written note thanking me for the design. I also have my name printed in the foreward of the book. It is a great feeling to see my work out there in the world.

I have acheived a lot in the past two years. I have had my first gallery show (Ann Homan Art Gallery), my first group exhibit (Nuit Blanche 2007), my first creative job (Interaction Artist), and now my first published illustration.

So what’s next for A7?

A7

Want to help?

Below are four different versions of the tattoo that I’m considering getting. If you would be so kind as to reply to this post and let me know which version you like best, it would be much appreciated.

Version 1: Bold and colourful

Version 2: Light and subtle

Version 3: Vivid and strong

Version 4: Bold and balanced

Thanks for the help folks! I appreciate it!

A7

I know, it has been a while since I’ve posted. It’s hard to find the time to post when I don’t have a place to call “my own” and I’m constantly bouncing from one place to the next. Combine that with work, travelling, new tattoo designs (more on that in a bit), video art planning (more on that in a future post), house planning, and other random things, and it leaves me with no time left to write a decent article. In fact, I should be working right now, so let’s get right down to it shall we? The topic of today’s post? Tattoo designs I’m working on, and why I enjoy designing tattoo art.

Tattoo designs vary greatly in style and purpose. Some people are content picking something off a wall, and others get generic words or symbols that represent something important to them. For some, it’s about tradition or culture; In Samoan society, the tattooing ceremonies for young chiefs, typically conducted at the time of puberty, were part of their ascendance to a leadership role. The permanent marks left by the tattoo artists would forever celebrate their endurance and dedication to cultural traditions.

For me, designing a tattoo (usually fairly tribal in nature) is about the the interplay of lines and negative space into the body. In a way, it symbolizes the weaving of life’s experiences into me. But more importantly, it’s about finding a design that “feels” right for a particular part of a body for a particular person. Although I’m not a spiritual person (at least not in the traditional “catholic” sense), there is a certain spirituality that comes from designing a tattoo. It needs to represent the aura and energy of a person, and flow in such a way as to express the individual’s style and personality. I can’t explain how I design a tattoo; It comes from within, like a “vision” of sorts that I get from knowing the person intimately. That’s why I only design tattoos for myself and people close to me (wife and sister). It’s a long process of drawing, designing, erasing and starting over, in order to get the vision from my head on to paper.

I recently finished a tattoo design for MC. She wanted a music theme, so my challenge was to incorporate a musical element into a design that flows for her and the area she would get it in (upper back). Here’s what it looks like:

I’ve also recently begun working on my half-sleeve style shoulder tattoo. The main reason for this post, aside from the theory and ideas behind how I design tattoos, is to show the work in progress of my tattoo designs and give you a glimpse into the process. Unfortunately, I no longer have the original designs I worked on for the past several years, only the one final design I have settled on. The first image is the completed pencil drawing. From there the image is scanned into the computer, trimmed and cleaned up for contrast, and each element of the tattoo is carefully cut out and re-drawn digitally so I have full control over borders and colors. The second image shows the work in progress (with about 20 hours of work so far, and about another 20 hours to go).

So there you have it. Now you have a bit of an understanding on how I design tattoos, the process I follow, and the work involved. I hope you’ve enjoyed my first design article on this site. I’ll update this post with two more “work in progress” designs as I continue to work on the design over the next couple of weeks.

A7

Edit 1: Here is the latest updatewith the top section done. I’m getting there!

I’ve been toying with an idea for a new video-based artwork for a while now. The work is a database-driven computerized video installation that is set up in multiple locations. In one location, people would enter a “confession booth” and record a story. In another location, a video screen randomly plays stories from the database of recorded confessions. Conceptually, the work is about bridging gaps between technology and human interaction, ideas of removing boundaries in distance, and about the anonymity of technology removing psychological barriers in open discussions.

The work has a strong conceptual base, yet I think it is very accessible. But by simply changing the setting of the work from a gallery space to a wedding reception, the context changes dramatically. In a gallery, we immediately look for meaning and concepts. There is an inherent base of theoretical underpinnings upon which people view the work, and it adds a considerable amount of depth to the piece. If it were installed at a wedding as a way for guests to record well-wishes for the bride and groom that would be immediately displayed on a screen in the dining hall as guest mingle and dinner is served, all those concepts vanish, and the work becomes nothing more than a novelty; A GOOD novelty with great potential, but a simple novelty none-the-less.

At what point does commercial success tarnish an artists reputation? Should a work’s credibility be dictated by the success of similar works with the same technology?

Let me know what you think.

A7

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7doanW8fKw]

The video features my sister Sam singing and performing Overprotected by Britney Spears. It was made as a contest entry to win tickets to a Britney Spears concert. This was my second video production ever, and was created using an old VHS tape camera, and a trial of Premere (version 2 I believe!) on the PC. Looking back at it now, it was actually pretty well done considering the technology I was working with. I just can’t help but laugh at the hilariously cheesy transitions I used. Thankfully, I learned my lesson about transitions by the time I made my third video, so nobody had to endure the horror of bad wipes and transitions ever again.

Historical note:
As mentioned, this was my second video production. My first was a video package for my high school graduating art class for the school’s arts gala. I wish I could find a copy of it; Ironically, that gala video featured me naked (though I wasn’t really naked… we just made it look that way), which later became a recurring theme in my OCAD works.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this little piece of history.

A7

So far, most of my posts have been technology based. I will be writing some art articles (ARTicles?) soon, and I already have some ideas, but I would love to know what you are interested in reading about. This is, after all, an interactive forum, so your input is appreciated. Some of the general topics I have in mind include IxD (Interaction Design), using Apple for home audio, and bridging technology and art.

Here are some future topics I will be writing about:

• Hackintosh – Part 2
• Whole home audio setups – Part 1 (current state and offerings)
• Whole home audio setups – Part 2 (Apple’s role, my setup, how-to)
• How technology has influenced art
• Interaction Design – Designing a home
• Video art – public memory and recollection (work proposal)
• Video and the technological disconnect (how technology creates anonymity and behavioral changes)

So that’s the short list for now. That should keep me busy for almost 4 months, and I’m sure more ideas will come out of this. Do you have a suggestion? Have a topic you think I should write about? Have a technology you think I should investigate? Let me know by leaving a comment on this post.

A7

This video is live footage from the Bloor Nightlight project part of Nuit Blanche 2007, in Toronto. The Window Shopping interactive video-based work was created specifically for the Nuit Blanche show and was featured as part of Dyan Marie’s Bloor Nightlight project to revitalize the Bloor-Landsdowne community. The work was curated by Ann Homan and was subsequently on exhibit at the Ann Homan Gallery.