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We had a brief hiccup, but now we’re back online, with all the latest software!

Just in case you were looking for something to do this weekend, the studio is open and on display at the 9th annual K-W Central Art Walk. There’s 8 artists just at 14 Peltz this weekend. Why not head out and see what great things are developing.

A waterproof ink and watercolour version.

Nice to see people are still talking about abstract art. One of the problems with making and showing non-objective art is that it challenges people in ways they’re not used to being challenged. As a result, people may dismiss it outright. “My kid could paint that.” “Can you believe how much that art costs?” I hear things like this all the time.
Occasionally, someone gets it, and I can tell they get it by the way they gaze into the painting, as if they’re lost in another world. These people understand what I was trying to do.

Abstract art is an abstraction. It does not represent anything. It is nonobjective. Instead of depicting what we recognize in the world of objects, people and nature, abstract art is concerned with color, line, form, and texture. It is not reality-based but emotionally-based. It is expressive and gestural. When an artist paints or sculpts, they are driven to express what they see and feel. And because no two artists see or feel in the same way, we have a broad spectrum of presentation. Couple that with the viewer and alchemy takes place. The emotion in the art synergizes with the evoked emotion of the viewer and voilá, you love the work, hate it, or remain cold. When viewing the work, you may feel dreamy, or hyper tense, float with a buttery pattern, or grow dizzy in a geometric structure. Clean lines, drips, swathes of color, loaded canvases, arched steel, holes in stone, towering monoliths of brass or tiny boxes painted in colored grids; the range of abstraction is infinite.

Decoding Abstract | News from West Branch Gallery & Sculpture Park

Tonight is a great fundraising event at THEMUSEUM in Kitchener. A Toast to Canadian Whisky features whisky-tasting, a book-signing, and an art show, curated by yours truly.
Over 30 works will be shown from the Burnt Island Collective, a group of wilderness artists, who work together on local projects.

I’ve been so busy working on the Central Art Walk project, that I forgot to even mention it on this site. So here’s a poster. Come on out, and see all the great work available to the public from the artists’ own studios.

I’ve switched over to Square (http://squareup.com) for VISA and MasterCard processing. Impulse-buying has never been easier!

This T-shirt is available on Mister Dressup, and prints are available from ZuckerLoft Studio. It features just one of Ryan’s great pen and ink designs.

http://www.misterdressup.com/products/j-ryan-brooks

Did a new acrylic piece for studio night. Measures about 12″ X 24″. Inspired by a Groove Salad song. Go listen to somafm.com, and donate. They’ve got great radio and run almost entirely on donations.

We do a weekly studio gig at my place. This was one of the cool paintings that came out of it.