Studio mayhem.

Sometimes inspiration grabs you. Sometimes the stars align, and it feels just right. Sometimes creativity swoops you up and carries you along, and you lose time.

Crows, trilobites, trees, whales, fish,m and more. Messy fun.

That was today. The product of all that energy? I think you can label it “studio mayhem”. Or perhaps “Art chaos” or perhaps “unplanned creativity”. Or, maybe just a big old mess. Regardless, I managed to make dozens of pieces of art, and I’ll soon get them labelled and they can start their journey around the world. Keep your eye out, you might just find one.

Creativity, or disaster?

Animals to share

While snow blankets my yard outside, the paint brushes have been busy in the studio! It’s been a month of creativity – in addition to this project, I am working on some other fun things – they too involve pen and ink with splashes of colour. I’ve been still on an ‘animal’ theme of late, such as this Heron (magnificent birds!!)

And I’ve also been playing around more with just ink. You can say and do a lot with just black and white! This sheep, I find, has a pretty serious look, don’t you think?

So 2022 looks to be a great year for this project – I have some plans all sorted out, and I am pleased to report that about 65 art pieces were distributed in 2021, well above the one per week that was my original goal.

I hope you are well! Please take care of yourself and the ones you love. Let’s let compassion and kindness prevail, and I tend to think this is helped with art and creativity. Maybe you’ll pick up a pen and sketchbook? Send me some examples of YOUR art! (You can reach me by emailing FoundThisArt@gmail.com.

Rabbits of Montreal / Lapins de Montréal

Two things: 1) I have been very actively drawing Rabbits these days. I do not know why this is the case, but it is true. And sometimes you just have to go with it. 2) I love Quebec (Canada) – a truly amazing place, with incredible forests, lakes, towns and cities. It’s a beautiful part of a vast and wonderful Country. Someone I know very well travels to Quebec’s largest city (Montreal) regularly. So, I’ve decided to combine these things and send Rabbits to Montreal.

Get ready, citizens of Montreal! Keep your eye out in your Metro stations, in your restaurants, and on your park benches. Twenty or so rabbits are on their way! Not only am I simply thrilled to think about Rabbit-art all over the city, I also hope that it will bring lots of smiles to everyone, because November can be a bit of a dreary, dark month up in northern cites.

So, stay tuned, my friends – white-tailed, hoppy fur-balls are invading your city!

Raleigh bound!

Big. News.

I have a very special friend in Raleigh, and that lovely city in North Carolina will soon encounter a “Found This Art” blitz!

Some of the pieces that are Raleigh-bound!

Citizens of Raleigh – keep your eye out… soon you will find art throughout your city, whether at Cup A Joe’s, or perhaps the North Carolina Museum of Art.

Cup A Joe!

Do you want your city to be part of a Found This Art Blitz! Drop me an email at FoundThisArt@gmail.com and we can set something up!

Twenty Pieces

Happy August!

Big news from the studio today – twenty pieces are done and being shipped out this week. Lots of nature themed pieces of art, and lots of birds. (I like birds).

These are going to a few of the most amazing, awesome, funky, cool, independent bookstores around the world. I’m pretty sure the owners of these select stores will enjoy getting a few pieces of art and secretly slipping them to some of their favourite customers. Fun times ahead!

Goodbye 2020!

Hi Friends. Well, this most unusual and difficult year has come and gone. This project has also wrapped up for the year – and 52 art pieces were completed in 2020, one for each week – and the final 11 have left the studio, including this Octopus:

Octopuses are magical. They are intelligent, secretive, magnificent animals. They are full of wonder and awe, and we all need some of that in our world. So, I hope someone finds this piece of art, and enjoys it!

As for Found This Art? I must admit, it’s been a difficult year to keep the project going – very few people have reported finding the art, and my creative energy has waned at times. But a new year brings new things, so perhaps in the coming weeks, things will get rolling again. Until then, I wish all of you happiness and peace.

A busy studio

Hello everyone! Hope you are all doing ok as I know that times are still difficult for so many people. I just wanted to gives a quick update – I HAVE BEEN VERY BUSY!!! For some reason, the creative juices have been flowing again and the project is moving along nicely. Here’s a selection of art that has come from the studio over the past week or so – birds, trees, fried eggs, fish, and more!

And, as mentioned before, these pieces have been shipped all over the world – coffee shops in Wales, Cape Town, and Fiji will soon be receiving some art 🙂

People

I sure hope everyone is doing ok these days.

I’ve been busy, but also finding a bit of time for some art. I decided to take a leap and include some artwork of people in my project. I have always been uncomfortable sketching, drawing, or painting people. To my eye they always look funny. The wrong proportions, off-kilter, or just weird. But I also know that we are our own worst critic. So, what the heck, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Here are a few from the studio, and these (along with a few other pieces) are on their way to a coffee shop in San Francisco! Safe Travels, Art!

The start of 2020: trees and trilobites

Hi Friends! Welcome to the new decade!

I had some fun over the holiday season, and prepared six pieces to share around the world, including ones featuring mountains, trees, birds, and trilobites. It’s the first edition of ‘from the studio’ for this year!

The craggy trees was inspired by an old painting in my parent’s house when I was growing up – I believe it was in my Father’s “den” (which was essentially a room with his slides, paperwork, a desk, and a bookshelf containing various interesting titles on all kinds of things, including ships, natural disasters, and field guides – you can never have enough field guides!). I recall a piece of art on his wall that depicted warped trees emerging from steep mountains. There is something amazing about the ways tree roots find their way among the rocks to the smallest patches of soil. They persist.

There’s also something special about birds on a wire. Sometimes when I drive home from the train station after work I can see a nice row of our feathered friends on the overhead wires. They are often pigeons, but I’ve also seen starlings there, and sometimes I can’t quite make out the species because the silhouettes just don’t provide enough clues. So, this wee painting of three birds can be whatever species you wish it to be.

So there you have it: Six pieces to start off 2020. Keep your eyes out, folks, you just might come across one of these when you are out on your own adventures. Let me know if you find one!