My Benjamin Moore Colour Trend Challenge

Testing the Shadow 2117-30 colour for my project 

I couples days ago I was perusing through the Internet looking for some inspiration and learned that the Benjamin Moore's Colour of the year for 2017 is a really rich and deep purple called Shadow 2117-30. I've been into purples lately so, naturally, I was drawn to that particular colour. In colourpsychology.com, purple is said to have a calming effect over the mind and nerves. It can be uplifting, trigger creativity and increase intuition. To me purple also represents balance as it's the combination of the high energy of the colour red and the cool calming energy of the colour blue. Interestingly, when looking into what it means to like the colour purple, a lot of the description fits my personality. At least part of it. 

Inspired by that colour, I decided to create a piece of artwork featuring Shadow. But then I also looked at the entire colour palette for 2017 and saw more interesting colours with eye catching names such as Gentleman's Gray, Sea Star and Stormy Monday. So I decided to upgrade my idea and turn it into a year long art challenge for the upcoming year: Perfect time for a new art challenge! So my art challenge for 2017 is to create art pieces featuring each of the 23 colours of the 2017 trend colour palette. It should be an interesting experience. I already went ahead a couple days ago and bought my first four colour samples : Shadow, Gentleman's Grey, Amulet and Cloud Cover (shown below).

(left to right) Shadow 2117-30, Gentleman's Grey 2062-20, Amulet AF-365, Cloud Cover OC-25

I'm not entirely sure how this is going to go. At first I was just going to use them in a painting but I've decided that these painting will only use the colours from that palette and that they will be used in my cloud painting project.  I've never used them to paint on canvas before so it will be interesting to see what comes out of that idea. 

Wish me luck! 

Dare to Dream

Dare to Dream 

Acrylic on canvas, 9" x 12"

$ 250 - ORIGINAL AVAILABLE

Every single invention that currently exists around us started out as a thought or a dream : The clothes we're wearing, the homes we live in, the places we work at, the countries we live in, the car we're driving, the roads we're taking, the books and magazines we read, the shows and movies we watch, the music we listen to, our electronics, our vacation spots, the Internet, social media, etc. They all started as a thought, an idea or a dream in someone else's mind and we are essentially living in other people's dreams.

Dreams are powerful, especially big dreams. They move us forward. They change the world for the better. Imagine where we would be without people like Martin Luther King, Rosa Park, Valentina Tereshkova, Ganhdi, Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, Oprah and Elon Musk? They dreamed big.  Not only are we living in their dreams, we're also actively working on keeping their dream alive, which is great. The problem is that too often, many of us are so busy living in someone else’s dream that we often forget to create our own dreams too. It's like we forget that we also get to participate if we want to, if we dare to dream just like the ones before us did. 

Dreams are the first crucial step in making big changes. Rather than spending time complaining and commiserating about how things are not the way we want them to be, we should spend more time dreaming about how we would like things to be instead and then start taking action to turn these dreams into reality. But first, we must dare to dream. We can only change something by creating something new that doesn't exist yet, and in order to do that, we need to dream.

All these thoughts inspired the painting above entitled Dare to Dream. As you watch this artistic cloud formation in the the video below, I hope to invite you to slow down for a couple minutes and take some time to think about your own dreams. What do you dream about for yourself? for your family?  for your friends?  for your environment? for  your country?  for our world? Do you even still dream? If not, do you have to courage to start to dream big again ? 

Documented by Rainbow Scontayo

I was recently approached by Alex Gladwell, founder of Rainbow Scontayo to be featured in a short documentary. It's a video production company specializing in personal documentaries. Like many artists, he also has personal projects he runs on the side and one of his current projects consists of creating short documentaries of various people in the city. It was fun to be on the other side of the camera and get into a great conversation about art, life and philosophies which resulted in this neat clip recorded after our hour long conversation. Of course, my sidekick Newton had to be in there as well. 

Alex has interviewed quite a few people. I'm number 47! You can see more clips here on his video wall. I've been enjoying looking through the various clips and hear some of the wisdom that can come out of a 1 minute clip. Also check out fellow urban sketcher Wil Wong's interview. 

The Rex Jazz & Blues Bar

Myself and some of the urban sketchers capturing the musicians.
Photo courtesy of B. Beard Photography

There's something I find fascinating about sketching musicians. I don't exactly know what it is but it feels right. It's not the easiest thing to do as they move quite a bit but it definitely provides a great sense of well being. And judging by the comments on our meetup page, it certainly looks like I'm not the only one who feels this way.  

As the weather is getting colder, we need to find indoor spaces to sketch as a group, and The Rex is truly a gift. Located right downtown near Osgoode subway station, this casual and friendly family-run musical mecca offers live Jazz shows every day : 19 shows per week with local and world-renowned musicians. 

This time we have the pleasure of listening to the Hart House Jazz Combo and the Hart House Jazz Ensemble. They created a beautiful and relaxing ambiance on top of being our models during our sketching session. It was great to witness such talented individuals partake in their passion for music and inspiring to think of the fact that many members were not professional musicians. One of the singers is an actuarian professor and many of the musician are students working on a degree in a different field! 

Below you can see the results from my sketchbook during the event. The first two were was more of a warm up and getting used to the movement of each musician. Members of the Hart House Jazz combo come on an off stage depending on when it was their turn to play a portion of the song, some moved more then others but I managed to capture some of them. 

Sketching the Hart House Jazz Ensemble was a little easier because they mostly remained seated. Being really close, I was able to capture more details and at the end of the session some of us got them to sign our sketches for fun. You can see more of the sketches and photos from the event on our Facebook page. Many of the sketchers are looking forward to the next time we'll be back sketching more musicians playing. It's our second time sketching there and I'm imagine will be back again for more. Part of me wonders if there's a way to collaborate with The Rex in the future and make this a regular thing. We shall see.

To get a better idea of our time there, I create this little video summary of our time there. Enjoy!

Clouds are for dreamers and their contemplations benefit the soul

Journal painting for the new month

Clouds are for dreamers 

and their contemplations benefits the soul. 

- Gavin Pretor-Pinney

How beautiful is this quote from the founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society!  Yes! There is a group for people who appreciate clouds. I just found out about it today and I'm seriously considering joining. I read their manifesto and immediately connected with it. Especially the one about how contemplations benefits the soul. There is something about looking at the beauty that unfolds every day above our heads, the colours, the shapes, the lighting. It's all very mesmerizing and it makes us feel great and relaxed. There's definitely something to it and I wouldn't be surprised to find studies showing that there is measurable mental health benefits from looking at clouds : nature's meditation and mindfulness app. Maybe that's one of the reasons I'm into them. They seem to be appearing more and more in my paintings and doodling, like this one made a couple days ago in my journal for the start of the month. 

I also made a video of the process and uploaded it on my youtube channel. This prompted a couple more ideas of doing live painting session accompanied by a pianist. It would be the next best thing to watching cloud formations in the sky. Something to work on perhaps for the new year. We shall see. In the mean time, I hope you enjoy this relaxing painting cloud formation online. 

Gifting art to show appreciation

Winning alumnus award recipient and Dean with the art piece commissioned by me.
Photo : Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto,

A couple days ago, I wrote a post regarding the value of art, and what art can do for people based on Alain De Botton's presentation. One use of art that was not covered is the fact that art can serve as a way to show appreciation for someone special, as was the case for a few alumni students, like the one shown in the photo with the Dean of the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto.  

I was recently commissioned by the Faculty to create an art piece depicting their current and previous buildings. The idea was to give prints of the artwork as an award to Alumni winners, as a way to congratulate them and show them appreciation. What a thoughtful gesture! 

It was a great opportunity for me to create something a little different and to be part of this nice gesture that I think goes beyond simply receiving an award. It's my hope that this art piece will not only serve as a reminder of the school's appreciation for the Alumni, but also as a reminder of their time spent in school. Hopefully it will bring good memories of their time with fellow students and teachers, and it's something that they can look at and bring a smile to their face and warm their heart for years to come.   For those who received the artwork as a token of appreciation, this art is now also attached to the memory of receiving this acknowledgement from the Faculty who obviously care about and appreciate their alumni.

Art can serve as a physical manifestation of several emotions and also as a trigger to bring back those emotions. If you're looking for a way to make someone feel good for years to come even when you're not around, consider having art commission for them. It could be a student, a teacher, a retired employee or boss, a special client, a friend or a family member. Commissioned artwork can serve as a memento that will bring fond memories of good times and bring a smile to their face whenever they look at it. It's a great way to show how much you care.

What kind of art should you commissioned?  It could be a special place to evoke good memories of time spent there, or a place you've imagine in your conversations. It could be a portrait of that person depicted as a superhero that fits their personality. It could be surrealist scene depicting an inside joke. it could be an abstract filled with quotes or saying related to the person receiving the gift in his or her favourite colours. Sky is the limit when it comes to commissions.

Robarts Library : The Subtle Pyramid of Toronto in Spring

Robarts Library : The Subtle Pyramid of Toronto in Spring   

Watercolor and Acrylic on paper, 11" x 15 "  

$250.00  - ORIGINAL AVAILABLE   

I tend to be attracted to "mysterious" buildings and landmarks and one building that really gets my imagination going is the Robarts Library. It's been designed in a very interesting shape and contains a lot of reference to the number three, starting with the triangles that are repeated in patterns on the ceiling both inside and outside the building. It also occupies 3 acres (according to Wikipedia) and the footprint of the building is an equilateral triangle measuring 330 feet on each sides. 

Another interesting observation about this building is that it was built for Canada's Centennial in 1967. When you look at the building from the top using Google map, it looks a bit like the Centennial logo with extra bits attached to the upper points. Coincidence? Maybe. Being that the building is made out of concrete, it's not an easy design to build. So why was it important to add these two wings on ether side of the building and connect them in such a way. Also, how awesome is the design of the top of the building? There's a lot of great shapes one can discover from it. It can maybe inspire a couple design ideas for new logos. 

The painting I did is called Robarts Library : The Subtle Pyramid of Toronto in Spring is from a view you get from the ground level. It reminds me of an Egyptian pyramid and seem to have a similar effect (albeit way more subtle) of wonder when looking up at it that way. It was created for a project exploring the contrast of nature in the concrete jungle. There were 32 cherry blossoms in the area according to an article in The Varsity, the U of T Student Newspaper, as part of a gift from the Consulate-General of Japan to Canada. The trees were temporarily removed last year to make way for a renovation project and should return in 2018. 

The renovation project includes a 5-storey glass extension that seems to unfortunately break the pattern that was established by the original architects. It will feature a large glass cover on the side facing Huron St, essentially the only side that doesn't have the extra extension. If I were in their shoes, I would have proposed to repeat the pattern and add the extension the same way it was designed previously and perhaps using glass to "modernize" it. But that's just the way my brain works. It will be interesting to see the final results when the cherry blossoms are back on site in 2018. 

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Mysticity : Uncovering the Mystical Aspects of Cities

A couple years ago I visited Washington DC for the first time and took it as an opportunity to create urban sketches of some of the landmarks. I spent a lot of time exploring and sketching what I was seeing, pondering on the meaning of things and coming up with various theories based on what I saw and read about the city. It was mesmerizing and inspiring to see all the care that has been put into designing this city. 

Urban Sketch of the Washington Monument and reflecting pool from Capitol Hill

There are a lot of interesting theories regarding the design of Washington DC. The one that fascinated me the most is the possibility of the city being designed according to the laws of nature and sacred geometry.

I remember seeing a map of Washington DC with a Vitruvian man drawn on top of it. Vitruvius believed that the human figure was to be the principal source of proportion among the classical orders of architecture. In fact, many churches constructed in the Renaissance era are based on the design of the perfect human figure. What if the human figure was also at the base of the design of the city of Washington DC? Interestingly, when looking at the chakra points, which are energy centres of the body, it looks like each can correspond to a landmark in the city : 

1. Root Chakra : Thomas Jefferson Memorial
2. Sacral Chakra : Washington Monument
3. Naval Chakra : White House
4. Heart Chakra : Lafayette Square
5. Throat Chakra : Scott Circle Park
6. Third-Eye Chakra : House of Temple
7. Crown Chakra : Meridian Hill Park

Some landmarks are more prominent then others. Perhaps it's an indication of where there might be some areas that could use some help in order to create a more balanced and harmonious city. For example the most prominent landmarks along that axis are the Washington Monument and the White House. The Washington Monument represents the Sacral Chakra which is centred around sexuality and creation. George Washington is known as one of the the founding fathers of the United States. The White House represents the Solar Plexus which is centred around personal power and identity. On the other hand Lafayette Square representing the Heart Chakra, centred around Love, and the Scott Circle Park, representing the Throat Chakra centred around Communication and Truth,  are present but not as popular. 

What if these landmarks dictate the level of development of each aspects of a city's energy? What if just like the human body, cities can become more balanced and harmonious with a proper distribution of energy along each area? What if this applies to any city or town around the world? What if that's one of the reasons why there are so many obelisk landmarks around the world?

This is the starting point of The Mysticity : a fun explorative art project on possible links between the mysteries of urban centres through observations and random thoughts around them. 

What's the value of art ?

Photo by Sean Brown

Until recently, I thought it was difficult to articulate why I think it's so important to be surrounded by art and beauty in a way that tangibly shows its value. I just knew in my core that art makes people feel good and that I wanted to be part of that process. But how do I turn this into a real business? Art seemed to be one of the most difficult field to make a good living out of for a lot of artists, but now I think it's only because the value of the artwork is often lost in translation. 

Having gone through a lot of personal development over the past couple years through numerous books, various courses, workshops and a mastermind, I'm starting to find ways to better communicate the value and importance of art in people's homes, businesses and public spaces in a more effective way. I'm also gaining a better understanding of my urge to create and share art with as many people as possible so they too can reap the benefits of art, as intended. 

Why do people buy art ?

There are many reasons why people buy art. Some buy art as an investment with the hopes that it will increase in value in a distant future. Others buy art to decorate their homes or office so they don't have to stare at a blank wall. And a number of people buy art because the artwork and/or the artist make them feel good. To me the third option is the most attractive but it's also the most intangible reason why people buy art. Still there's a way to demonstrate the value of buying art by acknowledging that when these people buy art, they are buying the experience of an emotion.  When you really think about it, we all buy things to be able to feel a certain emotion. That's why retail therapy is a real thing. The object is just a physical representation of that specific feeling we're looking for. For example if you buy a car instead of buying a bus pass, it may be because you want to feel free to move wherever and whenever you want and feel comfortable doing so. So the emotion that you're buying in this case is a feeling of freedom and comfort.

Art on the other hand can alleviate pain such as anxiety, stress, depression, boredom, and more. It all depends on the art and what you're looking for. When it comes to art, there's a really insightful video that explains 5 reasons why people buy art, entitled "What is art for ? ". Narrated by Alain De Botton, it's a great starting point on the road of better understanding what art can do for you, your employees, your clients, your peers, your family or your friends. In this video, De Bottom narrowed it down to 5 reasons :  

1. Art keep us hopeful
2. Art makes us less lonely
3. Art rebalances us
4. Art helps us appreciate stuff
5. Art is propaganda for what really matters

My series of cloud paintings in progress

Pretty art keeps us hopeful : Art can be an emblem of hope in a world that sometime seems really negative and depressing. Some people need to be reminded of the simple pretty things in life like flowers, animals or even clouds to get a break from all the negativity. Just looking at a pretty image will enable them to be transported in the world depicted in a painting. Focusing on the pretty will put their mind at ease. Imagine working in a stressful office where everything is grey. Add some bad news and your thoughts can easily descend into thinking about everything that is wrong. But if you look up and see pretty clouds like the ones above, and pretty colours, it can interrupt your negative train of thoughts by introducing a positive image with which you can start associating positive feelings and reduce the negativity in your mind. For example these clouds could bring you back to a time when you were a kid and used to spend time looking for fun cloud shapes in the sky. Or they could take you to a time when you were traveling to a fun destination aboard a plane and was mesmerized by how beautiful clouds look from above. Pretty things can alleviate despair and depression. They are an emblem of hope, ready to be used when needed. So surround yourself with things you find pretty and that bring you joy in order to keep you in a good mood. 

One of my urban sketch in the Toronto Subway

Art makes us less lonely : Art makes us less lonely by helping us see that others do the same or feel the same way we do. Art has the ability to connect people by showing us that we are more alike then we think, and therefore that we are not alone. Sometime, something as simple as depicting people doing ordinary things, like the sketch of the girl on her cell phone depicted above, reminds us that we're normal but also worthy. When art depicts deep emotions like despair, anger, and lost, it also reminds us that we are not alone in our suffering because many feel the same way. That realization in itself can alleviate some pain. There are times when pretty things cannot alleviate certain pain because they are still being processed and need space to exist before returning to a happier state. This is when art depicting the same pain holds space and offer solace by recognizing that the pain is real and valid. It's just like when we need to hear a sad song to make us feel better in our sadness. So don't hesitate to buy art depicting pain if it can help alleviate yours. 

A arwork from my personal journal

Art rebalances us : There's a belief that we tend to be attracted to what's missing in our lives and sometimes art can be the missing piece. If we live in a dense city for example and we long for nature, we're likely to bring nature indoor through plants, photographs and paintings. If we tend to have a chaotic live, we may reach for a calming and minimalistic piece that will offer some peace amongst the chaos. If we're looking for answers on the big questions of life, we might gravitate toward mystical or surreal art like the one above. Art can essentially help you fill a void and make you more whole. If there's an excess in a particular area, art can bring back some balance. For example in an office that's very stern and serious, lighthearted artwork and rebalance the environment for the people working in it. Imagine an very austere law firm office where everything seems so serious, but when you go to the meeting room there's a picture of anthropomorphic animals in suits. The right artwork can bring some lightness through humour while adhering to the style of the office, thereby creating a balance environment. 

My sketch of the sculpture garden in Toronto

Art helps us appreciate stuff : All too often most people live in their heads, thinking about what the didn't do right in the past or what could go wrong in the future while missing everything about the time they are currently living in. Art can make you stop and appreciate what's around you by being present. Depicting ordinary objects or day to day scenes like the sculpture above essentially enables the artist to highlight some of the beauty that surrounds us but that are often missed because we are not being present. I've noticed quite a few time while sketching on location with the Toronto Urban Sketchers, passerby would stop to see what we're doing, only to look at what we're looking at an event taking pictures of what we were sketching. Being present is another great way to bring feelings of happiness and calm, and art and be a vehicle to becoming more present. 

My painting of the of the Toronto Police Memorial

Art is propaganda for what really matters : Art can be used to deliver a message or communicate beleifs. This is a great opportunity, for example, for a firm to communicate their corporate culture to their employees. Just like the art of Michaelangelo was used by the church to communicate the scriptures to devotees who could not read, art can say something without using words. An office with a custom graffiti art on the wall says something completely different then an office with generic motivational posters with words like "collaboration" "integrity" and "synergy". When using art in an office, make sure that it says the what you want to say to your employees, your clients and visitors.  

So what's the value of art? 

The value of art varies depending on the need of the benefactors and the kind of art they choose to live with. What's the value of art when its makes you feel happy and you then have more energy to do the things you really want to do? What's the value of art when it effectively communicate the corporate culture to your employees and they are more eager to collaborate on project because of that? What's the value of art when it makes you feel understood? What's the value of art when it reduces the number of day your employees take off work because the environment is no longer depressing? To really understand the value of art, I think it's important to look into what the artwork can do for you and work your way backwards. If adding the right art in your office reduces employees anxiety and depression resulting in a 10% annual decrease in paid sick days across your 100 employees who cost you $100,000 per year in sick days per year, then the value of that artwork could be  $10,000 per year. 

Sketchbook Tour 04

If, like me, you're into peeking inside other people's sketchbooks, you'll probably enjoy the latest videos I recorded of some of my sketchbooks. I've been testing various ways to present them, so they vary from one sketchbook to the other for now, but eventually, I'll come up with the right formula.  I created a playlist on my YouTube channel to keep them all organized in one place as I keep adding new ones. Going thought these sketchbooks are a walk down memory lane, as a lot of them were made on site and brings me back to the time I created them. Here's the latest one : Sketchbook Tour 04 

Think Different

"Think different" - Steve Jobs

What does it mean to think different? To me, it means to think for yourself, with your own unique perspective, even though it may not follow popular beliefs. People who think different tend to be the ones who accomplish great things because they don't compete to be the fastest or cheapest at doing the same as everyone else. They don't compete, they create something new, something that has never been done before and many benefit from it. They create in a new category all to themselves, they innovate and they push boundaries.  When I think of people who think different I think of people like Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Seth Godin, Gary Vaynerchuk, Michael Jackson, Missy Elliot, Eminem, Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Oprah, Karim Rashid, Leonardo DaVinci, Sir Isaac Newton, Einstein, Picasso, Salvador Dali, Martin Luther King, Gandhi, and many more. They don't follow the norm, they follow their own intuition and bring significant changes around them. They are the ones others try to emulate years after the originators have moved on to something else . 

It takes courage to think different because it also implies dissociating yourself from your tribe, your family, your coworkers, your community, your peers, etc. By doing so, you risk being cast aside for essentially threatening the status quo of that particular group. For example, think of the many scientists and doctors who ignore certain data because they fall outside of the established boundaries. They won't even talk about it because it would upset their peers and they could be ridiculed for thinking different. Thinking for yourself is a rebellious act that might get you expelled. Yet, it's the only way to move forward and innovate.

Where do you tend to think differently then your peers?

Cloud 02 

Cloud 02
Acrylic on panel

2014 

AVAILABLE

Cloud 02 is the second of my series of intuitive cloud painting. In this one I see a funny cartoon character with a long round nose and bushy eyebrows and prominent chin. It wasn't planned, it just appear and that's they main image I see whenever I look at this painting.

What do you see? 

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If you like this design, you might like some of the following items in this collection on Society6 

carry-all pouches

wall clocks

art prints

MJ Sketchbook Tour 03

I've been meaning to create another sketchbook tour video for a little while and finally took some time to create this one. I always enjoy looking through other artists' sketchbooks and I think it's only fair to let others see mine as well.

Unlike the previous two sketchbook tour videos I made in the past (1, 2) this one is longer and I added some context with a voice over done by yours truly in order to give you a bit of background regarding where the sketches were made and why.  It's an interesting way to learn more about the city of Toronto as most of the artwork are urban sketches from Toronto. That's the fascinating thing about urban sketching. I get to show Toronto through my eyes.

I'll probably do more sketchbook tour in the future, it's really a question of taking the time to do it. I have a few sketchbooks that I can share online. This process also made me realize how much time I take to complete a sketchbook and that I need to spend more time sketching.

I hope you enjoy this format. If you have any particular questions, feel free to add them in the comments below.

Ideation without execution is delusion

"Ideation without execution is delusion" Robin Sharma

I believe I first heard this quote while listening to a presentation by Robin Sharma. It's something that I need to constantly remind myself because I'm really good a dreaming up ideas, get lost in the planning and visioning phases, heads in the clouds, and forget all about actually doing the work to turn these dreams into reality. It's important to dream, but it's also important to turn these dreams into reality, otherwise they don't serve their purpose. Whenever I get a piece of artwork done, good or not, I get closer to turning my dream of being a successful artist into reality. I'm also finding out that there are various layers to this reality. Creating the art is only the first step. Next is to bring the art in front of the people who are looking for it and will benefit from it. I'm also realizing that with the technology available today, art is becoming more accessible to a wide range of people with a wide range of budget. It's a great thing because it makes art more accessible as it should be. 

Clouds 01 (Original painting)

Clouds 01
Acrylic on panel

2014 

AVAILABLE 

Clouds 01 is the first of a series of intuitive paintings of clouds I started in 2014. I just started to paint clouds without planing any particular shapes. Once the painting was complete, I started to look for shapes just for fun. It's become a bit of a game for me, like Where's Waldo : the cloud edition. In this one I see a flower, a donut, a contact lense case , a profile, a bowl, and blood cells. I'll probably keep finding new objects the more I look into it. 

What do you see ? 

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If you like this design, you might like some of the following items in this collection. I'm quite fond of the way the clouds look on  the pillow. Should I do one without the quote? Let me know. 

Carry-All Pouch

(Society6)

Pillow

(Society6)

Art Print

(Society6)

NEPHELOMANTIA - NEW ART SERIES

Capturing symbols in the sky in Washington DC (2014)

Have you ever looked up at the sky and seen a sign or shape in the clouds that felt like a personal message just for you? Moments later, it's gone. Fortunately, back in 2014, while I was visiting Washington DC, I had my iPhone in hand and captured this unusual cloud formation in the shape of a question mark. At the time I was taking pictures of everything in sight, wondering about the meaning of everything around me :  the monuments, the sculptures, the architectural details, etc. And when I looked up I saw these clouds.

Perhaps this is what started fuel my interest in painting clouds. I painted a few back in 2014 and stopped there. Recently I got back into painting more often, and the clouds are coming back. And as I was uploading the latest cloud painting on my online art store, I stumbled across the word Nephelomantia which, according to occultpedia.com, stems from the greek words nephele which means a cloud and manteia which means divination. So nephelomantia is the practice of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural means with the aid of clouds. How cool is that?  #LearnedSomethingNew

So since, I recently decided to continue my series of artwork around the topic of clouds, I thought it would be fitting to create a blog (http://nephelomantia.blogspot.ca/)  around that particular art series. The intent of this particular series of painting (I renamed it "Nephelomantia") is to capture some of these ephemeral moments intuitively. Each paintings are unique and the clouds are created without any particular shape in mind. It is only after they are completed that one can see a shape, message or meaning. And the fun part is that the viewer gives it meaning. Different people will have different interpretation and will probably see different thing.

When I looked at these clouds, I saw a question mark. What do you see? 

How a financial corporation supports local artists by connecting them to a wider audience

Toronto Urban Sketchers at the TD Gallery of Inuit Art

Do you know about the TD Gallery of Inuit Art? 

I certainly didn’t until a receptionist from the Museum of Inuit Art in the Harbourfront told me about it. Of course, I had to check it out. So I decided to organize an urban sketching session at the TD Gallery, located right in the heart of the city in the Financial District. 

Turns out this great little gallery is the result of a vision from Allen Lambert, TD's former chairman and president in the 60s, who recognized the potential for art to make a personal connection and start conversations. After working as a branch manager in Yellowknife in the late 40s, Lambert developed an interest and deep respect for natives and their artwork. He believed that displaying art in the workplace would not only enhance the corporate environment, but would also enhance the lives of the staff and customers as the art would provide a way to forge relationships. 

“I feel that the value of a Corporate Collection is not just a matter of dollars or decoration. It is the commitment by the corporation of its concern for a fuller quality to life; an extra dimension is added to the normal business day by providing a stimulating and sometimes challenging environment for our staff, customers, and visitors.”

He also hoped that this would enable Inuits to inform others about their culture and tradition. I would say that’s exactly what he did for the Toronto Urban Sketchers. By providing free public access to the gallery, the bank is helping more people better understand and connect to Inuit art. On April 9, 2016 about twenty urban sketchers made their way to the gallery to sketch some of the sculptures beautifully displayed in the mezzanine of a Mies Van Der Rohe building located at 79 Wellington St. Sketching the artwork enable them to spend some time with the artwork and develop an new appreciation and understanding if Inuit art and culture. 

It’s very encouraging and inspiring to see corporations like TD take it upon itself to purchase local artworks and to share them with the general public. Toronto is not yet at the point where museums are free like in London, UK and Washington, DC which restrict access to some members of the population. So it’s great to see some corporations taking the lead on enabling more people from the general public to connect with the artwork of local artists. In this case, they’re contributing to raising the awareness of Inuit art and its significance in the history of the country which for some reason have been lacking in the classrooms (at least at the time when I was a student).

So how does TD's project support local artists? 

1. TD Bank buys local artwork

To date, the TD Bank Canadian Art Collection, comprising Contemporary Canadian and Inuit art, includes over 5000 works. The bank originally acquired 1000 inuit artworks. While 200 of them are displayed in the gallery, the rest, including inuit prints and drawings, are located in offices throughout the bank’s global operation. Most of the larger domestic and international offices own at least one inuit sculpture.

2. TD Bank familiarizes its staff to local art
As a result of the bank's corporate art collection, many employees have been able to develop a greater appreciation of Inuit art without having to make a special trip to a museum or gallery. For some individuals, having ready access to works of art has sparked their own personal collecting activities or helped stimulate creative thinking in their day-to-day work. 

3. TD Bank showcases local artwork as part of its marketing process

Through the years, TD's marketing efforts reinforced their association with Inuit art.  An Inuit carving is often presented as a gift to important clients, visitors, retiring board members, or dignitaries. Also, for several years, an annual corporate Christmas card highlighting a sculpture from the collection was produced.

Toronto Urban Sketchers at the TD Gallery of Inuit Art

Toronto Urban Sketchers at the TD Gallery of Inuit Art

Toronto Urban Sketchers at the TD Gallery of Inuit Art

Getting acquainted with Inuit Art 

I was particularly attracted to a carving by Osuitok Ipeelee from Nunavut called Mythical Owl. The way the wings are positioned above its head and its twisted tentacle-legs were intriguing and inspired me to sketch it. I wish there was a bit more information about the actual artwork. It's great to know the name of the artist and the title of the work but I have so many questions like : Why the owl? What does it represent? Why do its legs look like tentacles? Why are the wings placed above its head? Does the position of the owl mean anything? Etc. It did however start a conversation with fellow sketchers about how the carvings are typically created and how the artists typically start by sitting with the stone to visualize what’s "hidden" in the stone before they proceed to remove the unwanted pieces of stone and reveal the hidden gem within it. What a fascinating concept! That could also explain why the figures are not an accurate replica of a particular animal or person, and can have unusual characteristics like the Mythical Owl.

My rendition of the Mythical Owl by Osuitok Ipeelee at the TD Gallery of Inuit Art

You can see a quick timelapse of my sketch here. 

Some of the sketches from the Toronto Urban Sketchers at the TD Gallery of Inuit Art

The sketchers created quite a nice range of artwork including sketches of the sculpture, the space and other sketchers. Everyone looked like they had a great time interacting with Inuit Art. I highly recommend you checking out the TD Gallery of Inuit Art next time you’re in the area. It is open 7 days a week and admission is free. Since the gallery opened to the public in 1986, the bank has maintain its commitment to do the collection justice and share it with the community. I hope this inspired other corporation to do the same as it’s a great example of how large corporation an artists can work together to enhance the lives of the community as a whole. Artwork should be shared with everyone. While not everyone can afford to own an original artwork, they should be able to see and appreciate them in public spaces like this and it's great to see companies doing something about it. 

BOOK / SHOP

Color Your Stress Away (Small): Geometrical Patterns and Quotes
Coloring Book for Adults - Pocket Size Edition
March 31, 2015 | Paperback

$13.99

COLOR YOUR STRESS AWAY! Color to reconnect with yourself! Color to ease your mind. With each minute enjoyed coloring this coloring book, the abstract geometrical patterns can help reduce anxiety the easy way. While it's well known and documented that meditation is an effective tool to improve mental health and well being, it can be difficult to get into. Coloring is a great and easier alternative to give similar benefits anytime and anywhere. If you're feeling anxious, stressed out, overwhelmed or even bored, you may benefit from coloring. The pocket size edition of Color Your Stress Away : Geometrical Patterns is easy to use at home, on vacation or on the go during a lunch break. It also features inspiring art quotes to spark your creativity and help brighten your day with a little bit of color. Get the benefits of meditation the easy way with a couple minutes of mindless coloring to keep your stress at bay and have a little fun.

DETAILS

Format : Paperback 208 pages

Dimension : 5 x 0.5 x 8 in
Published : March 31, 2016
Publisher : CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Language : English

The following ISBNs are associated with this title:
ISBN-10: 1530120985 

ISBN-13: 978-1530120987

Toronto Urban Sketchers Celebrating Toronto

A couple months ago I got a chance to meet Micayla who's the founder of Celebrate Toronto : A growing event celebrating the birthday of the city. Toronto's turning 182 years old this year and for the past 3 years she's been honouring the official birth of the city by throwing it a party. As part of the festivities, artists are invited to submit their artwork to showcase and sell the night of the show and throughout the entire month of March. This year, 10 Toronto Urban Sketchers, including myself, will be participating to the artshow. Above are the three artwork that I submitted for the show, two of which are also in our recent publication : Urban Sketching Disappearing Landmarks in Toronto. 

The celebrations will take place tomorrow, Saturday March 6, 2016. Here's a sneak peek of the installations :

I also got a chance to interview Micayla for my podcast a couple weeks ago. Below is a highlight regarding the event. 

You can still get you tickets for the show on the main site or at the door. 

Missed Opportunity at the Roy Thomson Hall

I've been fascinated by the Roy Thomson Hall for a while. Located on the corner of King St. W and Simcoe St, it is hard to miss this unique building in the shape of a cone with its top cut off : a conical frustum (I just learned that word). Mostly composed of glass windows arranged in a beautiful geometrical pattern, the hall opened its doors in 1982, thanks to the Roy Thomson's family who generously donated $4.5 million to help with the the fundraising efforts to complete its construction.

Roy Thomson Hall is connected to the Toronto PATH, which is an underground pedestrian walkway connecting several buildings and subway stations in the downtown core. This feature is particularly useful in the winter months when it's too cold to sketch outside. Along the PATH, there's a nice view of the Hall from across a pond. The pond is drained in the winter. Apparently, the original plan of the architect Arthur Erickson, was for the pond to be an ice skating rink in the winter. But I don't think it's ever been used for that, which is a shame and a missed opportunity. Having people skating there would bring the space to life and make better use of it. Instead, it lies empty for a couple months every year. Still it's a great sight for sketchers in the winter and most of us set up camp in the hall facing the ponds to sketch the view from indoors. I will have to come back there in the summer as suggested by a passerby who told me that"it's much nicer in the summer."   

A New Coffee Kiosk at Union Station

The Toronto Urban Sketchers recently gathered at Union Station for a sketching session. What caught my attention was a new coffee shop kiosk called pilot, right in the middle of the space. The booth has a unique shape is reminiscent of a paper airplane. I wonder if the name was the inspiration behind the design of the space. Not that coffee has much to do with a plane, other than perhaps the fact that it's imported and may have travelled by plane. I couldn't find any information about the story behind the name on their website. Maybe the concept of the plane was the idea of the architect, Williamson Chong, or maybe it's pure coincidence. But the shape of the booth definitely got my attention, so I sketched it. There is not a lot of space for the baristas so efficiency is key. There were only 1-2 of them working behind the counter on rotation while we were sketching. Speaking of baristas, I've been wondering why this "new" term is being used for the staff working behind the counter in coffee shops. Turns out it's an Italian word for bartender. Now you know :) 

A Random Act of Kindness

I've always like the concept of the random act of kindness, the kind that pushes you out of your comfort zone. A couple years ago I created mini artwork pieces and left them on the bulletin board for people to have.  Recently I decided to donate coloring books to a women shelter and then extended that offer to a local family shelter by creating a Go Fund Me Campaign. It was a little nerve racking because I'm not the kind of person who asks for help, let alone donations, but I figured it would enable me to give a little more. So I ran the campaign and was able to raise $210 to go towards more coloring books, a little handwritten note from me as well as colored pencils and sharpeners. I just sent the first packaged to the shelter in Toronto and will be sending the second one on its way to Ottawa shortly. I really hope this brings whoever receives them some joy and positive energy, but it's out of my hands now. I did my part and I'm glad I didn't listen to that voice that always tries to dissuade me from doing something different, even though it's a nice thing to do. How silly is that? 

Finally getting around to prepping a couple #coloringbooks with a personal note, pencils and sharpeners to donate to a local shelter. 😁😊

A video posted by [ MJ ] (@mjsketchbook) on Feb 1, 2016 at 10:55am PST

What I Use to Record my YouTube Videos

BEHIND THE SCENES OF TORONTO REAL

One of the first things on my list of to do's when I decided to embark on my YouTuber journey with the Toronto Real podcast was to figure out what kind of camera I needed. I was looking for something simple, that was easy to use, that could be operated by only one person and relatively inexpensive. I did a bit of research on YouTube to see what some of the prominent YouTubers were using, and although most of them were using cameras in the $1000 range, many of them made sure to say that gears didn't matter. The best camera is the one you have. Casey Neistat, a prominent filmmaker and YouTuber, recently did a really neat video called Casey Neistat's Guide to Filmmaking where he explains and shows the differences between various cameras ranging from about a hundred dollars to a couple thousand dollars. You can see the different results from each, but they all do a good job, enabling the creators to tell a story, which is the most important thing and requires the most attention.

In my case I had (still have) an iPhone 5c. Studying the scenes on London Real TV, I noticed that they use at least 3 cameras (one of the host, one on the guest and one on both of them at the same time). So I figured I probably needed at least one more camera so that I could have one to capture the guest and one to capture both of us. I think it's a good idea to have at least two cameras, not only to be able to capture different angles, but also as a back up in case on of them fail during the interview. This is something that has helped me from the very first interview. When I was recording my conversation with Jade, the alarm on my phone when on and as a result it stop recording. But since there were two cameras recording at the same time, the other one kept going while I restarted the phone.

USING THE IPHONE
Using the phone for long movies is a little tricky. There's only so much space your phone can take. Being that I didn't have plans to record videos with my phone at the time I purchased it, I chose the one with  16GB of storage as opposed to 32GB. I quickly realized that I had to make sure I took out all my songs and images from the phone so that it can record for a long period of time. With about 10GB of space, I can record about 2 hours. When I have an interview coming up, I typically un-sync all my songs, audiobooks, apps that I don't use and photos to have the required amount of space to record my conversation. Another important tip is to turn on the Airplane Mode before recording so you don't get a phone call during the interview, which will automatically stop the recording if the phone does ring. I put the phone in selfie mode so it's easy to see what will be recorded and the phone is held by a GripTight Mount on top of an Action Clamp and GorillaPod Arm attached to the table. This was my set up for the first couple interviews. But I wanted it to be a little higher so I got a inexpensive mid-Size Tripod to hold the camera instead. I recently learned that the quality of the image on the selfie side is not as good as the one on the back of the phone, so I plan to start recording the other way the next time around and see if I can get a better image.

USING THE CAMCORDER
The camcorder is a little more complex to operate than the iPhone but offers more recording time, provided that you get a good memory card because the one that came with the one I bought didn't have a lot of storage so I bought a 32GB memory card to be able to record in HD. The camcorder is located on the conference table facing both of us on  the same tripod I got from a local store.

USING TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF CAMERA
One thing I noticed about using different cameras is that the image is not the same. The colors don't look quite the same. I'm still playing around with the various settings on the camcorder and also while editing to correct it as much as possible, but I imagine having two similar cameras would eliminate that issue. Something to keep in mind.


Below are affiliate links to the equipments I use :

• Canon VIXIA HF R600 BundleVideo Camera with 3-Inch LCD, Black (0280C022)
• Joby JM1-01WW GripTight Mount (Black)
• Joby JB01280-BWW Action Clamp and GorillaPod Arm (Black/Red)
• Nextech Mid-Size Tripod