2 Years!

Hi all,
This week was a big one for Not An Octagon, celebrating our second anniversary and wrapping up The Side Show. We all had a great time opening night and were so happy to have friends and fellow artists Irma and Greg included in the event as well.
Here are some images from the opening night:Hyein, Liz, Jack.

Wendy poses with her new food girls!

Friends and well-wishers taking it all in.

The artists: Eric, Hyein, Pat, Liz, Jack, Hieng, Greg, Wendy, and Jho (Irma was unable to attend the opening night, but her beautiful work was appreciated by many).


Some great news to end on: Eric Overton has joined Not An Octagon as our eighth member! We're all happy to have Eric on board and thankful for all the hard work and great ideas he has already contributed.

Two years in I'm thankful to be a part of this crazy group of artists, friends, and generous human beings. I can't wait to see what we do next...

- Liz

The Side Show!

We cordially invite you to The Side Show, a carnival themed art exhibition featuring brand new original paintings, mixed media and digital art of all things curious. Brought to you by good ol' us, Not An Octagon!

Here's the lineup of artists (click name for link):

Pat Butler
Wendy Ding
Greg Hill
Irma Kniivila
Hyein Lee
Eric Overton
Liz Pignataro
Jack Shepherd
Hieng Tang
Jhosephine Taniwidjaya

Admission: FREE
Dates: Oct 3 - Oct 10 '09 (opening night same as Nuit Blanche)
Location: 2ndHalf Gallery
Address: 250 Queen West, Toronto, ON M5V 1Z7

See y'all there!

- Not An Octagon

Fan Expo 2009

Hyein's table with a lovely drape

Wendy's table!

Wendy's merchandise: prints, magnets, buttons and graphic novels!

Zombies (they did not hurt us)

Nice girl who bought Wendy's Sushi Girl tiny print and put it in her wallet right away!

Hyein and Wendy had a fun weekend at Fan Expo 2009 with their neighboring sales tables! Meeting fans from anime, horror, gaming, sci-fi and comic books in Artist Alley never fails to be a good time.

Join us again next year!

Love,
Wendy

Tofino, Part 2

Hello everyone, with a special 'hello' to those who have found us through the Heart of Tofino blog!

As Pat has already written, we had an amazing time experiencing the natural beauty of Tofino and talking with locals and visitors. Below are some of the sketches I made on the trip.

We were lucky enough to see transient orcas and a grey whale during our trip (I am a cetacean nerd, this was a big deal) .

A tree at the Tofino Botanical Garden, and a quick sketch.

Another tree at the garden. This sketch got pretty messy, as it started raining while we worked (the full rainforest experience!).

Another tree, a crow and a jay.

Thanks for checking in!
Liz

Tofino, Part 1

Liz and I found that painting in the temperate rainforest of Tofino has a direct effect on the painting process. The humidity in the air, the frequent light showers and the constant mist from the ocean and mountains hits the paper and changes the way the paint behaves. With watercolours it helps by never letting anything dry completely. Although frustrating at first, this softens the edges of things and blends colours in a way that makes the painting look more like the environment with mist, moisture and moss everywhere.




A beautiful old Western Red Cedar, on the boardwalk of the hostel we were at.



Mackenzie Beach, campsites and cabins- acrylic and watercolour.

A quick watercolour of the view of the ocean from Mackenzie Beach.

Tofino Botanical Gardens



Another post will happen soon with some of Liz's work from the trip...

- Pat

Hyein at S.O.S. Show

Hello world! I'm continuing in Pat and Liz's absence to make bloggy blogs. They are probabaly singing around a camp fire right now in the wilderness...wish I could join them!

Ok now, on with art news: Hyein is taking part in an art show called S.O.S. in Kensington Market. Her pieces are inspired by her recent trip to Bruges.The show continues till the end of August '09 at 165 Augusta Avenue in Toronto.

Please drop by sometime, she'd love you to come and maybe buy an art or two. :D

Gallery Hours:

Mondays - Closed

Tuesdays - 10am to 5pm

Wednesdays - 10am to 5pm

Thursdays - 10am to 5pm

Fridays - 10am to 5pm

Saturdays - 12pm to 6pm

Sundays - 12pm to 6pm

Cheers,

Wendy

Wendy at Fan Expo 2009

Howdy! Pat and Liz are currently on a lovely vacation in BC, so I'm taking the driver's seat for a lil while.

First, after much waiting and anticipation, I was notified today that I will have a table at the Toronto Fan Expo this year! Yay! You may remember me from last year. The event takes place August 28 - 30 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (255 Front Street West, Toronto.) Hope to see you there!

Second, I've begun work on a new Food Girl: Waffle Girl. So far so good! I'm looking forward to adding more details to enhance the golden-brown of the waffle, as well as making the syrup luscious and mouth-watering.

That's all for now, folks!

Xoxo,
Wendy