Painted Dog Is Blue!

Dog Is Blue by Tom YeoWe received this small painting recently as a gift from our good friend Tom. A fervent supporter of the band, he comes to most of our shows in Toronto and is a trusted ear when it comes to new songs or demo recordings. He based this piece on one of our recent intimate sets at our local hangout, Broadview Espresso. you can see Laura’s colourful dress and the weird shape of my old Japanese Saturn electric guitar (he also perfectly captured my current Teen Wolf look).

He’ll probably kill me for posting this, as he mentioned it was a quick sketch done while testing out some new art materials, but we love it so much I couldnt’ resist.

Thanks Tom!*

*We also have an awesome painting in our apartment by Tom of a colourful cat with a massive outstretched tongue. He’s a great artist and I really should build him a website…seriously, Tom, if you’re reading this, let’s get your art online for all to see!

Laura Heaney’s Men with Facial Hair

Ray Mitchell, by Laura HeaneyWhen Laura’s not busy being half of Dog Is Blue—and generally keeping me in line—her time is spent as an excellent Toronto-based visual artist. Specializing in photo-realistic portraits, her most recent series, “Men with Facial Hair,” depicts men from all walks of life with various forms of facial whiskers.

Initially complete portraits, she’s had to start leaving portions of each new drawing in a sketched state (see the excellent image to the left* for an example), as they are so realistic that passers-by were dismissing them as black and white photography. The resulting portraits demonstrate her uncanny attention to detail while also allowing her to manipulate focus and composition to great dramatic effect.

Most of the images can be seen at Laura’s website, but they are all currently on display at Broadview Espresso, an amazing little coffee shop at 817 Broadview Ave. in Toronto. They’ll be there until the end of the month, but tonight is the official “opening” so come by between 7:30-10:30pm to see these amazing pieces in person and show your support.

Oh, and if you look closely enough you might just find a portrait of yours truly in there somewhere too.

*The above photo is Ray Mitchell, Guelphite extraordinaire—he ran for mayor this year—and Jenny Omnichord‘s father. He’s a good friend to the band and makes for an excellent subject.
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