Mark Johnson Art Blog Wonder & Whimsy

DVAC Large & Small Show

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I almost forgot to post this! The Don Valley Art Club is having it’s annual Large & Small Picture Show at Todmorden Mills Museum and Art Centre, 67 Pottery Road Toronto. (http://www.donvalleyartclub.com/) I’ve submitted some drawings – my Tree Dancer 13″ x 19″ series.

Tree Dancer 3 sold, so I’ve dropped the rest of the series with the gallery people. Apparently a couple of artists have sold work and didn’t have replacement work ready, which opens up an opportunity for me to get another piece on the wall.

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Reflections II

Bayview Art Tour

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Once again the Bayview Art Tour is happening in our neighbourhood. Local artists and artisans open their homes/studios for a show & sale on the second last weekend of October. The Manor will be open, and now that I have moved my studio down to the main floor I will feel more like I’m going to be participating as a working artist in the community.

Look for signs with yellow balloons. We will have maps available of the different venues –

… Read more Bayview Art Tour

Leaside Davisville Nuit Blanche

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Local artist Sharron Katz has organized a Leaside Davisville Nuit Blanche and invited me to take part. So I am setting up in the Tremblett ValuMart at 1500 Bayview here in Toronto Central.
Rob Tremblett has kindly offered the use of his entrance and will even clear out the displays and shopping carts so I can set up my artwork in a nice cozy indoor area. Thank you Rob! There will be a complimentary bbq at my location at 10 pm.

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In The Same Place

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11″ x 14″ Pencil

We tend to live our lives unaware of the alternative spaces which are knit with our own. The world around us contains us as we contain the particulars which make up our minds and bodies. There is existence beyond and above us. Eventually, we all have to deal with this great unknown. A vantage of time may tell us what defined our moments of truth. The moment itself is without definition. There is only realizing we are in the same place as always .

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AWOL Square Foot Show and the Distillery Fall Show

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AWOL: I have 3 pieces hanging at AWOL Gallery’s 8th Annual Square Foot show. The number of pieces the gallery has put on display means that the show is now held at 2 different locations -  the original AWOL Gallery at 76/78 Ossington, and a large space at 100A Ossington on the 2nd floor.

The artwork runs from sketchy through to wonderful. I saw a lot of light humour along with a staggering array of imaginings and possibilities,

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3rd Ward online art competition

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Well I’ve signed up for their online art competition. I am putting myself out there again in a “vote for me” way with http://markjohnson.3rdward.com/

I am always very aware of how my art doesn’t translate well – my cheap old digital camera is not a very good window through which the world sees my work. The work itself is in a state of flux. Each major piece changes radically from the one before as I learn how to see/show my vision. Not to mention the learning curve as I handle the various mediums.

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Family Round – end game of a painting

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This acrylic piece has been sitting on the easel for far too long. I’m including it as part of a juried submission that accepts works in progress, which means it can make it into the Blog as well. I’m betting the end result will not look too different from what I have here, but it will take forever to achieve that small difference. That’s just the way it goes with some work, I guess.  20″ x 20″

I noticed that I never posted a final image of the painting in this post –

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Taking Part in 2 Shows

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I’m happy to be taking part in the Don Valley Art Club’s Annual Spring Show. There will be quite a range of work by the members, including my new piece Reflections II.

Place Todmorden Mills, Pottery Road, Toronto Ontario
Show Dates April 30, May 1, 2, 8 & 9, 2010

Opening Reception Friday, April 30, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Awards Presentation 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Weekend Shows Dates and Times
Saturday,

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Reflections II

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I decided I wanted to do a variation of Reflections, going with the energy and ideas that were still strong from the original. So, working on a larger scale (36″ x 24″) in acrylic, I will be trying extra-hard to make this piece a fully functional painting when hung in any orientation. I’m interested in following up on where I was when painting Reflections.  So while not trying to be cute about it, I’m reflecting upon the reflections of things,

… Read more Reflections II

Icons and Water Element

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11″ x 14″ pencil

People have a reliance on and a relationship with the animals that share our world. Our bodies, our natures and the very roots of our existence are conjoined. There is a natural correspondence between this ancient interrelationship and the iconic gestalt that we consider when we think “bear”, “bird” or “fish”. These creatures have acquired connections in our perception which include the cycles of life and death. The primeval forests we roamed were the domain of the bear.

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