Friday, December 03, 2010

The flying whales and sharks

Something I found that was especially interesting about the dream comments from the last post is that some of my own experiences has been similar to yours. Like dreaming of flying giant whales in the sky, strange that some of you also dreamt of whales or flying sharks - perhaps these beings are of some significance in our mysterious subconscious. The idea of the 'painless' death in a dream was also something that remained in my thoughts and wonder before.

I remember dreaming of a white whale in the sky, giving dreams and hope a chance. These 'beings' are often made of many little bits and parts, some more clear, some more blurry.

When I wake up in the morning, in between adjusting to everyday reality and the dream state... I would pick up a pencil and some sticky notes or scrap paper to jot down and document some of these strange things that had been floating in the depths of my mind.

Below is an example of one:


Also, here is something that has formed.

"miss you, a thousand"
5'' x 8''
mixed media

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Spectrum 17 and Winner of the last giveaway

I am very happy to be part of this year's Spectrum 17 book, which is already available on sale at Amazon.com and in stores near you.





In the last blog post, I did a little giveaway and asked some of you to leave an email for a chance for a giveaway prize, and if you want, to share a dream of yours.

The winner of the last giveaway is..
popobrown
Congratulations, popobrown you win a zine, gocco print and also a lino-cut print.

The following runners up will also be receiving a gocco print:
Cassandra
Cliff Roth
teruterubozuu
SaraLynn
Charles Santoso
Jade

Thank you everyone for sharing! I had a lot of fun reading and learning about your own experiences of dreams. I will be trying to do more of these giveaway in the future!

In my next post, I will be sharing some experiences of my own dreams and drawings of them.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Post-Canzine 2010, Updates, and Give-away

Hey everyone, hope you are all doing well.
First off, I wanted to announce the winners of the last giveaway on the blog of the two lino-cut original prints. Since there were 14 comments, I numbered 14 pieces of paper and picked out two from a hat. And the winners are...



#8 and #10! Which are... Hannah Bacalla and Carrie Rodriguez! Congratulations - I will be sending you each a lino-cut print piece.

-------------------

Recently, I have been busy working on several things as well as preparing for Canzine 2010 which happened just this past weekend. I have posted some pictures from the event on my flickr.

It was an awesome experience and had a great time. I had some zines titled 'daydream, nightdream' for sale at the show, as well as lino-cut prints, gocco prints and giclee prints.


Thank you everyone who stopped by and picked up a copy or print. It was great seeing familiar faces as well as meeting new ones. I still have some copies of the zines and prints left, so if anyone is interested in any of the items, please get in touch with me at info@peterchanart.com

The zines - a collection of written thoughts, sketches, photos that inspires me. 28 pages - black and white.


The gocco prints are limited run of 50, hand numbered and signed.


The giclee prints of 'distant' are limited edition of 31, hand numbered and signed.


The lino-cut prints are limited to 50, hand numbered and signed.


And...this also brings us to another little giveaway, to enter this one, simply reply to this blog and leave your email. If you are open to it, I would also like to know what your best dream was like, whether it'd be a good dream or nightmare (who knows, to some people a nightmare may have been a best dream). The winner will receive a package which includes the zine, the mini gocco, as well as a lino-cut print! I will also be giving away gocco or lino-cut pieces to a few selected others as well!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Tumble and Stumble

I am finally on both Tumblr and StumbleUpon.

Tumblr - http://peterchan.tumblr.com
SU - http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/chanp105/

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Girl and Boy Lino

As I had talked about in one of my previous posts, I had been doing some new personal projects to explore some new mediums for mark making / image creation. Had some fun recently working with lino-cuts.



I painted the background first and then did the print on top. These will be available for the upcoming 'Canzine' event at the Great Hall in Toronto, Canada.

Each print is hand painted and printed. They are all unique and none are the same.

As a little appreciation for the readers of this blog, I will be giving away two of these prints. All you have to do is comment on this post and leave your email address (or a website that leads to your email) and I will choose two random people to send out an email to. It doesn't matter where you live in the world, I will still send you one if you win. :)



Wednesday, September 08, 2010

The Familiars - Magic Isn't Just for Wizards Anymore



Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to illustrate Harper Collin's new children's novel titled 'The Familiars'. The book has finally hit the shelves yesterday.

'The Familiars' is a kid's story about three young wizard apprentices who are kidnapped by the evil queen of a distant land and it is up to their familiars, their magical animal companions -- a street smart alley cat, a precocious blue jay, and a bumbling tree frog -- to save them.

I had worked on the cover and illustrated the interior pages as well. It was quite a challenge, but I learned a lot from this project and it was a very amazing experience. Currently, started working on the second book and it has been a lot of fun!

In 2012 the book will also be made into a feature film by Sony Pictures Animation directed by Sam Raimi. Excited to see the book translate into the film.

Here are a selected few illustrations that I worked on - all of them were done traditionally:







To find out more, please click here to browse inside the book.

Follow @the_familiars on twitter for future updates on the book.

Other info/press about 'The Familiars': CoronaComingAttractions.com, Hollywood Reporter, IMDB, The Brain Lair, Cartoon Brew, Reuters, Georgia McBride, PageTurner'sBlog, AllisonBookMarks.com, SchoolLibraryJournal

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

see. your. monstr.

A few nights ago I had the opportunity to jam with my friend Tessar Lo again.

Here are some of the art that we produced and collaborated on - in the session of paint and words about art and life.

Hope you enjoy looking and experiencing them as much as we enjoy creating.









Saturday, August 14, 2010

Don't forget to breath.

It has been difficult to make time to write lately.

Recently I had been taking some time off dealing with and accepting the sudden passing of my mother. Without warnings, she has left very silently. Things have been really unreal and a lot of times it is still really hard to believe that these new changes are now coming to be.

She was a close friend of mine and has been a great inspiration to me. She has been a great driving force and has helped and supported me in my journey as an artist. We would have lunch every week and talk a little about what is new and I would share my new art with her.

To be completely honest, I am very very saddened by this loss. Sometimes, it feels as if my whole world has been turned upside down.

It has made me think, a lot. It feels as if life feels suddenly even more fragile.

However, me and my family both believe that her spirit is still among us and now she is in a better place.

On the day of her passing, when I had got home... there, on my bed, was my passport and all the things she had wanted me to bring with me to San Diego on my trip that week. I was at a loss of words.

I knew, then and there, that I had to keep going on this journey.

Rest in Peace, Mom. We miss you.


Thinking about all this, there really isn't time to worry and be afraid of what and how something turns out, but just go with things and let it happen.

Creating an image, it is really easy to forget why we are creating in the first place, we often get very caught up with the result of an image and how people might think and judge our work. It prevents the full potential of our creativity.

I remember when I was young, I would draw in the restaurant napkins with my crayola crayons and markers. As a kid, the result didn't matter at all, it was all about having fun because it meant the world to me to simply create.

When I was cleaning the house, I found some old books that I used as a kid, and i saw then, that I drew over anything that I would find around me.

Kids books, exercise books, sticker books, novels, bible. Everything that I was able to find in the house.

What happened to this excitement to create?

...

Tonight, I found an old book that I had around me.
It felt good to be carefree and draw to my heart's content, again. Just like the old days.






The feeling of using markers is fresh again, just like I did when I was young.

Drawing, drawing in a book that has been sitting around, an object that has been aging through time, there is a feeling of fragility and impermanence.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

There are no rules.

"In the times in which we live it is far too restricting to say that art can only be found in art galleries and not touch people's everyday lives.. I want to use any means that are necessary to communicate to people what I feel about things. There are no rules. And if there are rules, then you may as well break them." Ken Done

Thursday, June 24, 2010

On one Wednesday afternoon...

Yesterday, I had the pleasure to collaborate and jam with two artists, Tessar Lo and Harvey Chan. We worked on several large pieces, talking art while experimenting and just having fun, over lots of tears from laughing.

Also had the chance to check out Tessar's new studio, he has just posted photos of his place as well over on his blog.

Here are some photos of the day.



















Friday, June 04, 2010

That white board must become something

"I do not know myself how I paint it. I sit down with a white board before the spot that strikes me. I look at what is before my eyes, and say to myself, that white board must become something."
- Vincent van Gogh

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

'Another Dimension' Show at Gallery 1988

You're travelling through another dimension. A dimension, not only of sight and sound, but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. Next stop, the Twilight Zone!

Here is a painting I recently finished for the Twilight Zone Tribute show at Gallery 1988 called 'Another Dimension'.


*Click to view full image

Title: To Serve Man
Size: 16'' x 20''
Medium: acrylic on watercolor paper



*Click to view full image

Size: 11'' x 14''
Medium: graphite on stonehenge paper


This piece is inspired by the feeling and mood of this series, 'The Twilight Zone'. I'll leave the rest for your interpretation..

The opening reception is tomorrow, Thursday May 20th, 7-10pm
For other details, here is the show image:


*Click to view full image

Here is the episode I was inspired by:

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Two Things



Me and my friend T will be guest speaking tonight at Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts today for their Digital Media Night.

We will talk about the use of digital media and how it has influenced the creation process in the art industry.



Another thing is, we will be launching the first official LIVE streaming show after midnight tonight.

The exact time is: Wednesday May 19th, 2010 at 2 am EDT, 11pm PDT

We are planning for a second stream this coming Friday and that will happen earlier for East Coast people. To find out more please visit Sketchoholic.

Friday, May 07, 2010

Coming Alive..

Here is a little more progress on the piece...


*Click to view full image


*Click to view full image

Thursday, May 06, 2010

Something Forming..


*Click to view full image

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

A sneak peak...

Been juggling between commercial work and personal work a lot lately, as busy as it may be, it has been a lot of fun. Here is a little something that I'm working on for an upcoming group show at Gallery 1988 Los Angeles. I will have this drawing as well as a finished painting in the show.

More to come in the upcoming days.


*Click to view full image

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

FREE issues of 3x3 Mag



For any illustrators and art enthusiasts out there who are into building an art/illustration book collection, this is for you.

3x3 Mag, is doing a storage clearance to make room for their new books in the future.

This is a great illustration magazine and annual. You can get any issues or multiple issues for FREE. This includes their annuals as well.. the only thing you gotta do is pay for the shipping.

The offer ends May 14 or until their magazines run out, then prices will go back to $15 each.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

These are great days



Hope you're all enjoying spring so far, its been really nice here in Toronto lately.

I've been extremely busy the last month but finally here is a sneak peak of the beginning stages of something I am currently working on for a show on May 18 at Gallery 1988 Los Angeles

Little teaser Gallery 1988 posted up on their blog recently..

Also been finishing up on a book project that I've been working on with my friend Kei Acedera that will soon announce.

more info to come soon...

Monday, March 15, 2010

Oils Portrait Painting Study

About 2 years ago, I found this nice piece of wooden board while I was on my trip to Japan. Something I like to do is to always keep an eye out on new objects to paint on...guitars, skateboards, vinyls, antique old book covers, etc.

This past Friday I found some time to finally paint with oil paint again. A painting study of a portrait for fun, wanted to focus on tones.

I was uploading images on Twitter during the night of #FridayNightArtDorks (a group for artists to share art on friday nights) Here are the images throughout the night, documenting my process so far. Next step would be to start the color stage.







Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Official Alice in Wonderland Gallery Show at Arludik Gallery

Hey everyone, a bit more than a year ago, Jason Seiler, Thierry 'T-Bear' LaFontaine and I had the pleasure to assist lead designers Bobby Chiu and Kei Acedera on some concept art for Alice in Wonderland by Tim Burton. Now the film is finally coming out!! To see some of the production art already released, you can visit here.

My friends here at Imaginism Studios - Bobby Chiu and Kei Acedera will be having their first big show in Paris, France at Arludik Gallery this coming Thursday, March 4th 2010. It will be an awesome show, through the past few months i've had the pleasure to see them work on these images for the show and they look AMAZING. If you are in the area please go out to see this show!! In this show there will be over 30 pieces of original art for sale and another 20 pieces or so of production art on display. Another awesome lead designer Michael Kutsche will also have some of his production art on display in the gallery!