slings and arrows!

i'm spending most of my days preparing for my first technical solo show coming up next month at the Visual Arts Collective. the theme is Slings & Arrows, a collection of mugshots and mishaps, insults and injuries, wounds and weapons. it'll be the first time i'm responsible for filling up a whole gallery by myself and the thought is quite daunting. (and i've got a lot to live up to with the showing of ben wilson and erin cunningham's excellent show "Hello Friend" that is still running through the end of the month at the VAC. do check it out.) luckily, i enjoy a challenge and have a strict schedule of energy drinks, bathroom breaks, and five-hour naps. throw in some beer for those late painting nights, and i feel quite blessed for such an easy lifestyle. (also amazed to find out that i have to be pretttty drunk to affect my painting skillz.) i really do have the best job.
but on those days off, i do have to battle this little distraction:



every now and then i get an ambitious idea for a painting that i end up needing photo reference for. i basically force my sister- on her visits to bring me food- to pose for these reference shots. this photo sums up how she feels about this:



Andie's telling me it's time for her evening stroll to smell fire hydrants and pee in the neighbor's yards. i'll leave you with some progress shots of one of the paintings i finished last weekend and one of the mini-mugshot paintings i'll have there.