Some of my recent artwork:



"Symbiosis" 9x12 Graphite and Ink on Arches


"Saviour" 10x14 Graphite and Ink on Arches


"Passenger" 10x13 Graphite and Ink on Arches

Here's some progress of the piece I'm currently working on:




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I keep cycling through feeling very happy with where everything is right now to feeling like a total shambles with far too much to do and not enough time to do it. Part of this is probably due to the very simple fact that my house is a mess right now. I'm sure if I find the couple of hours it'll take to tidy I will feel at least a little better.

Another part of it is that I had planned to really cut down on travelling this year - to work on finally building a base professionally and emotionally here in Vancouver. That was going really well until the summer began. Of course the trips I've taken (1 month in Europe and a week in Phoenix, AZ) have been great but now I feel a little bit stressed about it all.

I'll be travelling for more days than I will be at home between now and the end of the year. When 2011 started I planned to have my artwork portfolio out to a ton of galleries by the end of the summer. Little did I realise that I just couldn't keep up with a 70+ hour work week for more than about 8 months. I also hadn't planned on having two huge trips to Europe in the same year.

I couldn't possibly complain about these opportunities, but I also sort of want to hide under a rock. No doubt, I'd take my art supplies with me!

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My trip to Hell City Phoenix was as fun as ever and this year I even took a little time for myself (I'm learning...) It was wonderful to watch the humming birds flit around and the grackles freaking out about whatever it is they get mad at. They are so funny... like miniature road runners or dinosaurs.

I also got tattooed by the amazing Chloe Vanessa at Off the Map Tattoo in MA:




^^ It's obviously only partially done here and incredibly swollen and a little red. It's a Stellar's Jay (not a blue jay[!])

I've planned out every single tattoo I've had done for a year or so before getting started on them, and this is the only 'spur of the moment' one I've ever gotten. I was admiring Chloe's work at her booth when I noticed she had a sketch out on the table with a note saying "I'd love to tattoo this". The bird was red (and the poppies blue) but I figured the bird looked a lot like the Jays I love spotting every now and then. After talking with her it turns out it was, in fact, a Stellar's Jay; she'd just grabbed whatever coloured pencils had come to hand. And she is also a big bird nerd (as is everyone at their shop) so, it was so wonderful talking with her about these little creatures that I'm constantly obsessing over.

Here's a couple of photos (not mine) of these funny little guys:






They're a western jay that I've seen a couple of times here in Vancouver. They are so beautiful and fun to watch. We don't get blue jays here, but I almost prefer the dark broody look of Stellars Jays.

Most people only know about Blue Jays but if you search around you'll see there's probably well over 40 different Jays across the Americas and a few in Europe and Asia. They're in the Corvidae family (the same as crows, ravens, jackdaws magpies etc.)

Speaking about birds since I came home almost a week ago I've heard a ton of new bird calls, so I think it must be about time to be seeing the few species that stop through here on their migration. I really need to get myself some new binoculars because it's been so difficult to spot them when they're hiding in the dense coniferous trees in my neighbourhood.