Sleepy Face - 20" x 13" pastel.

It's a combination look on the face that says "how dare you disturb me" and "this better be good". Sleepy Face - 20" x 13" pastel and charcoal on paper. Oh, and this one is dedicated to my ex publisher who always said "don't do green paintings. People don't buy green paintings".

The Weight - 20" x 13" pastel.

Finally, new work! The Weight - 20" x 13" pastel and charcoal on paper. When the afternoon sun pouring through the window is so thick and luxurious the weight of which pushes you to the floor and forces a nap upon you.

Website Woes.

The hosting company for my main website (bigcatheads.com) has changed their policy regarding subdomains and ... well, don't get me started. The tech folks seem like nice people and it wasn't them that decided to make sweeping changes without notifying their customers, so I can't be angry with the tech people ... must not EVER get angry with the tech people. It's just that every time they they solve one problem it creates two more with interconnected services. It's now got to the point that I'm going to have to build a new site and get it hosted somewhere else. I have a few ideas in mind but not a great deal of time to hunker down and get it done so if anyone is wondering where bigcatheads.com is, it's down, but it's coming back with a cool new look... soon... soonish... I'll let you know.

UPDATE: Here's a temporary portfolio site at Viewbook. If you like this format, let me know.

UPDATE 2: The old one seems to be accessible but who knows for how long LINK. 

Commercial Break

Until the new work is ready (soon I hope) I thought you might be interested in seeing a new commercial I did for Ford of Canada over the last few months. The whole idea is to present Ford as a company that is inspired by their customers, their lives, their activities, their passion for getting out there and doing cool things. As it says in the voice over: 

"Everywhere you go, everything you do, you are the inspiration because a car is just a car until it's powered by you".

The spot seems to have made quite an impression on the public as the response has been huge. It was great fun creating it. I had the chance to work with world class talent and a terrific team of clients from Ford. Over the years I've made dozens of car commercials for various manufacturers and agencies but this is by far my favourite - and it's the first one that never actually shows a car. It takes a brave client to approve a concept like that, and that's what has captured the public's imagination.

If you'd like to get a look behind the scenes as to how it was created click here.

Overdue Update

Big apologies for being away for so long with no updates. Several things have happened that made me take an extended break. There's been a severe illness in my family which has had me distracted and will hopefully soon be all cleared up. And toward the end of last year I was feeling that my work needed to find a new expression, a new voice so I've been doing some planning for new pieces which you'll see over the next few months. 

Another bit of big news that should be of interest to my collectors in the UK is that I'm no longer affiliated with Washington Green Fine Art publishing. After making many large promises several years ago when I first joined them, they have done virtually nothing to help build my market and have stifled any attempts of UK collectors to seek out my newest work. As of now, any private collector or gallery owner in the UK can purchase my work directly from me. Individual collectors will get better service and cheaper prices and gallery owners will have access to a much greater range of originals at prices that allow them a better profit margin. I'll be producing my own limited editions as well so stay tuned for that. If there are any new publishers out there that may be interested in working with me, send me an email or leave a comment and I'll get back to you.

Everyone needs to shake things up sometimes just to keep it fresh and moving forward. My work will continue to evolve in new and hopefully unexpected ways. Much thanks to everyone who visits this site and especially all my collectors who keep me inspired. I hope you all enjoy the new work which is coming soon. 

Want - 30" x 36" acrylic.

First painting of the new year (happy new year to you all) Want - 30" x 36" acrylic on canvas. One of my favourite scenes to paint is a cat looking out the window of his house, this is my fourth variation. We see it all the time so it's easy to relate to the situation and create an emotional connection with the viewer - in this case empathy. When the piece was nearing completion, I was thinking something was missing, some element. But it's that missing element that creates the empathy. The cat is waiting for someone to come home from work, or the cat sees the beautiful day and want to go outside, or the cat sees his nemesis - the squirrel. The missing element allows the viewer to make up their own story and therefore the painting becomes more relevant to them. The stylized planes of colour in this painting indicate dappled light on the side of the house, reflections off the glass and the shadow of a big tree just outside the window.

The Cat's Pajamas - 36" x 36" acrylic.

The Cat's Pajamas - 36" x 36" acrylic on canvas. A big bright fun painting. I always knew I would do this idea and it may not be the last time either. This painting took an unusually long time to finish. Last week I thought it was done but it wasn't feeling right. As you can see below, the plan was to use the same colour pallete as Tolerance which would've made the fuzzy mice on the pj's really pop but instead it just felt too obvious and forced. It was always intended to be a happy painting and the greys made it feel drab. Today I added colour all through the background and the result is quite interesting. The dark cat and pj background make the cat recede away from you into what looks like a stylized fluffy quilt. I'm liking it today but let's just say I'm not going to varnish this one just yet.

Freddy on the Fridge - acrylic variation.

Up until now all my variations have been from acrylic works to pastels. This is the other way around. Freddy on the Fridge - 24" x 30" acrylic on canvas. The piece is so highly stylized I didn't include the drawings of Freddy that I did in the pastel version but I did use the shapes of the papers to create some layered depth.

Tolerance - 48" x 24" acrylic

This painting was great fun to do. Tolerance - 48" x 24" acrylic on canvas. It's peaceful and still but you know there's great tension lurking just beneath the surface. The background of built up overlapping planes of greys further tugs on that tension. I had to be careful to have just the right combination of typical cat aloofness/irritation in the eyes. It's not huge but at 48" wide it's quite impactful.

Even though my paintings are simplified and humourous, I still like to include a basis of reality to ground the idea. If birds would ever be so confident to actually perch on a cat, they would still be somewhat on guard. Below you can see how I added that small touch of reality. In each of the three groups, one of the birds is intently watching the cats face. The solo bird sitting on the cats tail is the main lookout. Everyone else is just doing bird stuff.

Fred & Ginger 24" x 36" acrylic.

I've been planning to do a companion piece to Bill & Ted and here it is - Fred and Ginger 24" x 36" acrylic on canvas. I think these two originals would make great 'bookend' paintings on either side of a window or bookcase.

Don't Fence Me In - 19" x 10" pastel.

Don't Fence Me In - 19" x 10" pastel and charcoal on paper. I was so please with the original acrylic version of this, I just had to try a pastel variation. 

Back Soon.

My usual pattern with this blog has been to post at least once if not twice a week. Lately though, I've only been able to post a few times over the last several months. Nothing is wrong and I will be back to regular posting hopefully in a few weeks. Several things have happened though. An old friend from my days in advertising called needing help with some very large projects and the timing was good so I've been doing some of that. I also had a very busy spring and summer and felt like taking some time away from the studio and actually get out and be with people again. Some artists can keep things fresh just by doing wildly different styles but my work is usually more consistent and if I'm not careful can turn into a routine. Also, because I can and often do produce two or three new originals a week, the pressure I put on myself to keep the ideas fresh can be tiring.

My solution to this is to not be so obsessed with one thing and to not be in such a hurry all the time. Once I get back in the studio my plan will be to produce one new painting a week. This will allow me to only paint up the ideas I'm really excited about plus making my originals a bit more of a rarity isn't a bad idea either purely from a business standpoint. It'll also allow me the time to be involved with other creative projects which I've always found a good method to stimulate fresh ideas that I never allowed myself time for. It's an interesting time with plenty of options, all of which are good. Be back soon.

Gallery Cleaning.

I did a major tidy up over at bigcatheads.com. There was too much older work that had been sold long ago cluttering up the place. And I put quite a few original acrylics in The Backroom to move them out (half price folks).

A Little Leg Love - 20" x 26" pastel.

Here's a new pastel. A Little Leg Love - 20" x 26" pastel and charcoal on paper. This is the first time I've combined the semi-cubist style of my recent acrylics into a pastel piece. And I like the results. I can still maintain enough precision in the linework (provided I'm working large enough) and the looseness of the pastel within the arcs compliments the style and acts as shadow elements between those layers. I'll be doing more or these. And expect an acrylic variation of this idea at some point in the near future too.

T-shirts.

I've discovered a new supplier for doing printed t-shirts. Printfection offers all kinds of colours, the clothing is of good quality and most important, their printing is excellent. I don't intend to do a lot of this but I thought Just Passing Through and Don't Fence Me In would look good on some tees. Click here.

Foots - 28" x 22" acrylic.

Sorry for the lack of posting lately, busy with other projects. I'll be back soon with a new batch of originals. Meanwhile, here's a smallish one I finished a few weeks ago. Foots - 28" x 22" acrylic on canvas. Many years ago I lived with a few buddies in Vancouver. One of them had a cat who would sit exactly like this on a sofa. Usually he rested his one paw on the arm of the sofa but if you sat beside him he'd rest it on your hip. It was hilarious.

Ambush - 24" x 36" acrylic.

Here's the latest. Ambush - 24" x 36" acrylic on canvas. A dangling tail can be just about the most irresistible thing in the world.

Here it is hanging just outside my kitchen to provide some scale.

And here's a group shot. On the left is Don't Fence Me In - 60" x 36" and back in the dining room is Group Hug - 60" x 48".

The Sunny Spot - 36" x 36" acrylic.

The Sunny Spot - 36" x 36" acrylic on canvas. This was a bit of a tricky one. From the first sketch right through to the end of the painting process I literally didn't know which end was up. The painting works the way it's shown above, and it also works upside down. Signing the piece would finally decide which way was up. At one point I was going to sign it top and bottom so that the buyer would have the option of displaying it either way. It isn't varnished yet so I still can do that. What do you think. Let me know in the comments if you feel this is a good idea.

UPDATE JULY 24: Yup. I agree it's a fun idea to make it work both ways. It's now signed top and bottom so whichever way it's hung there will be a signature in the bottom right corner. And to make that option even easier for whoever buys it...

...that's right, double wires baby!!!

Don't Fence Me In - 60" x 36" acrylic.

Here's the latest in my semi-cubist style series. Don't Fence Me In - 60" x 36" acrylic on canvas. It's not really a cubist style but more of a stained glass effect. I find it almost impossible to walk by this painting and not sense your mood brighten. There's a happy, confident feeling radiating from this big boy.

Pussy Galore - 48" x 36" acrylic.

This one just came together on it's own. No rough drawings, No planned layout. My only thoughts going in were to use tints of my two favourite colours - Naples Yellow and Cerulean Blue. Pussy Galore - 48" x 36" acrylic on canvas. A while ago one of my collectors - Kristen from Nevada, suggested I shoot my new acrylics in a room setting to show the scale of the paintings. Usually I just shoot them outside on my back deck in the natural light, then crop them tight in Photoshop. Even though I always indicate the dimensions, these 'in situ' photos do give a much clearer picture as to how big some of these paintings are and how they can impact a room.