ROUND ROBIN Book Signing and Gallery Show

Rare Device, a modern design shop and art space, will host a ROUND ROBIN book signing and gallery opening for us!

Along with the books, we will exhibit 8 new original bookplate paintings (4"X6"), and 11 sequential prints (11"X14") from both books. Also, our friend, the amazing display artist Asaki Oda, is creating our window display (sneak peek below).

We are very excited to partner with Rare Device and we hope to see you there!

ROUND ROBIN Book Signing and Gallery Opening Party
Rare Device, 1845 Market Street, San Francisco,
Nov 5th, 2:00pm - 5:00pm
Art show Nov 5th - 8th

Pig Headed

My second favourite boar at Four Barrel.

Rear Window

This entry should really be titled "Spring Cleaning" considering that these date from 2007. But you know how it goes - artwork lingers in a desktop folder of half-thoughts and to-dos until you just suck it up and post it, even if you kind of wish you weren't.

The subject in the set of paintings below is the view from my rear window. I know, no ballerina, no newlyweds, no wife's murderer. Not even a small dog. But a shy view of Downtown and of the Bay Bridge and lots of wooden fire escapes of 20th Street homes.

I truly think that one needn't go far to be challenged in drawing and painting. No need for exotic locales or glamorous people, you just have to be interested in all things around you even if they appear to be mundane.

What I got out of doing these? A notion that light paints things so differently each day that the same world appears changed.

Sketchbook Selections

From the past few months!


Also, you should check out these paintings James just finished!

SketchCrawl 21

We returned to San Francisco a week ago. Something about getting on a plane in winter-y Toronto on the 4th of January, traversing the whole continent and arriving in a greener, warmer, sunnier place makes me feel just like I did when we first arrived, on January 4th 2007. Which in turn triggers a desire to trek around the city and explore its neighborhoods like we did without fail every weekend of those first few months.

I have spent the last week reliving my first impressions here - not a bad thing to remember! That must be why I suggested to James, and friends Ric and Adrian to hike across half of San Francisco in the name of SketchCrawl; from Hayes Valley, through The Mission, The Castro, Cole Valley, The Haight and Golden Gate Park. It was perfect, at least for me!
As for the others - aching muscles, please forgive me!

Here's a sketchbook page, unfinished.


And here's another, from YSL at The De Young! Go see it and you'll recognize many famous outfits, like the one from Buñuel's "Belle De jour".

Totoro Forest Project Update

Hi from snowy Montreal!

Let me give you a quick update on the "Totoro Forest Project".
The art auction that took place in September at Pixar was very well attended and extremely successful - we raised more than 200 000$!!! The Totoro Foundation promptly used the sum to buy off a small portion of Sayama Forest in order to protect it from land developers.
Bravo, Totoro artists!

Before I move on I would also like to tell you a little bit about my piece. "My Neighbor Totoro" is one of my favourite Ghibli films, and it is definitely the one I relate to the most. It reminds me of what it was like to grow up as the little sister, of learning to accept my family responsibilities, of helping the elderly, and of understanding that nature commands reverence and respect. I love this film for its balance of truth and fable, grown-up themes and childlike whimsy.

Naturally my painting is mainly inspired by the film itself so just like Satsuki and Mei (or my older sister and I) it depicts two sisters at play in a field on a warm summer evening. I went back to my own childhood for inspiration on subject matter and look. When I was little outdoor play was the most fun because stick, stone or leaf, just about anything could become a plaything. It was far more adventurous than staying indoors anyways.

Visually, I wanted my piece to be reminiscent of 18th century French landscape paintings and of fairy tales illustrations, both of which fascinated me when I was younger. I looked at Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot and Théodore Rousseau for colour, composition and mood, but I also referenced some favourites - Ludwig Bemelmans, Maira Kalman, Mary Blair and Aurelius Battaglia for execution and style.
Here below are some references, my digital study and the final piece, again, for those who may have missed the previous post about it.

Well, this is it for the Totoro Forest Project for now.
If you would like to see this or any other Totoro collection pieces, you can still do so at "The Cartoon Art Museum" of San Francisco until February 8th, 2009.

Humboldt, Hornung

Hello.

It's been so long since my last appearance... Updates are due, sure, but I'd rather not write much. How about a couple of drawings?
This one was done last weekend, in a curious little place called "Finnish Country Sauna and Tubs" located in a curious little town called Arcata, up in foggy Humboldt County.


Marker Pen
8" X 12"

This second one is of a building I really like, here in the Mission. I drew it today during SketchCrawl.
Enjoy! And so long for now.


Marker Pen
12" X 8"

Sunday Afternoons

Marker Pen and Ink Wash
5" X 8"

Golden Gate Bridge

GGB seen from Fort Point, June 21st (and just finished today).

Pencil, Marker Pen and Gouache
6.5" X 10"

Totoro Forest Project

Allow me to introduce an extraordinary series of events I have the honour to participate in.
The "Totoro Forest Project" is organized by Dice Tsutsumi, Yukino Pang, Enrico Casarosa and Ronnie Del Carmen, but to name the core committee (although many more deserve credit here), and has a simple mission: to raise funds for the preservation of Sayama Forest, affectionately known as "Totoro Forest", as it is where filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki found inspiration for his 1988 classic film, "My neighbor Totoro".

This project of impressive scope aims to help the "Totoro no Furusato Forest Foundation" in a few ways, kicking off with a Benefit Auction, held at Pixar Animation Studios, on September 6th, 2008. A book of all participating artwork will also be available for sale at the event, and The Cartoon Art Museum, here in San Francisco, will exhibit a collection of selected pieces in Fall 2008 - Winter 2009.

I am inviting you to take a look at The Official Website, where you will find information about the events, galleries of inspired artwork and ways to contribute to this worthy cause from your corner of the world.

Enjoy, and help save the Totoro Forest!


Pencil and Gouache
6.5" x 10"

Neighbourhood: 655 Dolores Street

I always told myself to draw the church near my house before it was too late. Apparently it suffered irreparable seismic damage and is soon to be leveled.
Strangely, the tree in front of it is dying too. Maybe it knows things are coming to an end.

Living Room

I am half of the mind that I shouldn't break up the "Family trilogy", but I have decided to take you for a (de) tour of my living room anyway.

Early Spring

It's been awfully gray here lately...

The Girls of Portsmouth Square

How long have they been here?

SketchCrawl

To paraphrase its creator Enrico Casarosa, SketchCrawl is simply "a day-long drawing marathon" - a sort of intense visual record-keeping of the happenings in one day.
When I was back in Toronto, seeing Enrico's painted drawings of palm trees, exotic tea gardens and hidden public staircases felt magical and foreign. And the idea of so many people invading the streets with their pens and sketchbooks kind of made me chuckle. Is there anything more paradoxical than a small army of artists?
Anyway, I'm here now and I live on a boulevard lined with palm trees, I've enjoyed the Golden Gate gardens and I've climbed up, UP, UP! the Filbert steps. Man!
Last Sunday was the sixteenth Sketchcrawl - my third - and for me at least it was very much a crawl. So much so that I only did one drawing! But to be fair, I spent a lot of time talking to James and Pat, and hanging out with Emma and Erin.
Here's the drawing and its painted "adaptation". I did some preliminaries in Photoshop, and I painted the final in gouache, to produce VERY different results.

One, Two, Three... GO!

Oh my! You're here already!

Hi. I'm Dani. I've been trying to introduce myself to you for a few days now but I simply couldn't think of a good way to do it. (I spend most of my time drawing you see, and I happen to know very little about introductions.) I thought of starting at the very beginning and show you some of the scribbles I was doing at the age of six; mostly princesses and the occasional bear. Perhaps you'd like to see a little later? I also considered telling you all about my drawing heritage and how I came here from Bulgaria, through Canada, and how that changed everything. But we don't know each other that well, so this too I'll save for another time.
I even read about the etiquette of introductions, which by the way was very, very complicated in the 1920s, if rather obsolete today.
Nothing would quite do.

Except that now you're here and just like that, we've met!
And I've been saving something to show you!
I hope you like it.