I got to noodling around with an oil-based marker and my not-so-sexy rubber boots – here are the results! I tested them in today’s blasting rainstorm, and not a smudge or smear. Definitely a fun surface to draw on, and a great end product for me. If you’d like a hand-painted pair for your feets or someone else’s, give me a shout :).
Boots! With koi design, side view 1
Boots! With waves, side view 2
Boots! With koi, side view
Boots! With waves, front view
Murex will be up for auction on ArtBomb this Wednesday, Oct. 30!
Murex, 2013. Pencil crayon on watercolour paper, 9″ x 12″.
Thanks to everyone who came out to Biofuel, my exhibition at the Montreal Art Center! It was a great experience, and I thank you for your support.
Starting at the end of October, a few of my drawings are going to go up for auction on ArtBomb. ArtBomb is a daily online auction site that features artwork curated from Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. Each piece of art is presented for one day only – bidding opens at 6 a.m. and closes at 11 p.m.
Three of my drawings will be up for sale over the next few weeks – Osseous Labyrinths, Rib Cage with Wing, and Murex – and I’ll post the exact auction dates when they’re confirmed. In the meantime, please pass on the word about ArtBomb!
Untitled (Osseous Labyrinths Map), 2013. Pencil crayon and gesso on map, 22″ x 27″ (unframed dimensions).
Rib Cage and Wing, 2013. Pencil crayon on kraft paper, 11″ x 17″.
Murex, 2013. Pencil crayon on watercolour paper, 9″ x 12″.
Art & Science Journal is a great publication out of Ottawa that features art with a scientific slant. Founded by Lee Jones, A&SJ reviews local and international art exhibitions, and features interviews with artists who are inspired by science and technology to create their work. I love this blog – and I’m not just saying that because they published my post about the James Turrell exhibit at the Guggenheim in New York ;).
Here are a few drawings that I’ve made for my exhibition, Biofuel, at the end of September at the Montreal Art Centre. I like the combination of old medical illustrations and paper that has an aged appearance, like old maps. I think it’s something to do with the idea that each conveys a kind of instructive, authoritative feel, yet each represents information that’s still unfamiliar and constantly changing.
Untitled (brain map), 2013. 20″ x 27″, pencil crayon and gesso on paper.
Osseous labyrinth study, 2013. 11″ x 17″, pencil and white conté crayon on kraft paper.
Untitled (osseous labyrinth map), 2013. 20″ x 27″, pencil crayon and white conté on paper.
At the end of September, I’ll be exhibiting some of my new bio- and brain-inspired drawings at the Montreal Art Centre in Griffintown (1844 rue William). The exhibition will be on display from September 28 to October 5, and there’ll be a vernissage on September 28 (14:00 – 17:00). Hope to see you there, with tiny wine glass in hand ;).
Biofuel exhibition flyer
Dress design, Saraphima by SERPENTFIRE
I had the pleasure of interviewing Montreal artist and designer Scarlet Phoebe, the creative juice behind SERPENTFIRE. Our interview was posted on the blog Drink n’ Draw Montreal on July 20: check out this link to read about this dynamic and industrious local artist.
This Saturday marks the opening of the Global Art League Exhibition at the Montreal Art Centre. I’ve submitted two drawings to the show, images of which are shown below. All work in this exhibition is for sale, and can be viewed either at the Montreal Art Centre (until August 17) or online: http://www.globalartleague.com/buy-art.html
Untitled (nude study). Conte crayon on paper, 2013
C4 with cherry blossoms. Graphite, conté crayon, and watercolour on paper, 2013
Check out the blog of Montreal-based artist Marc Taro Holmes: http://citizensketcher.wordpress.com/. In addition to sharing his beautiful drawings, Marc regularly posts info about the practice of art making en plein air. He’s recently published a downloadable guide to drawing people in motion that’s full of useful tips on how to capture gestures, build on initial sketches, and add dynamism with colour. If you’re not able to learn from Marc directly at one of the Urban Sketchers symposia (like the upcoming one in Old Montreal this August), be sure to take advantage of this guide: http://citizensketcher.wordpress.com/downloads/
This interview was first posted on Montreal’s Drink & Draw blog on June 28.
Photo by Karel Chladek.
Montreal artist Kevin Ledo is known for creating seductive images that combine elements of high-end fashion advertising and religious iconography. Many of his paintings examine the intersection between contemporary representations of beauty and the notion of divinity: works from painting series such as The Guiding Light and Ethereal Manifestations portray beautiful women within a luminous background of gold leaf. “I am captivated by ethereal wonderment and am concerned with idealism, beauty vs. divinity, mythology and mysticism,” states Ledo.
Born and raised in Montreal, Ledo travels extensively, and has created a variety of installations and murals worldwide. An artistic road warrior, his recent travels through Central America saw the creation of a number of murals in both public and private locations, many of which are documented on his blog. For his most recent project, Ledo made a special return voyage from Guatemala to his home town to create an ambitious installation at Flyjin restaurant and nightclub in the Old Port. Using 11,000 sheets of gold leaf in a space 80 feet in length, Ledo and his collaborators from Spkeasy Design Company created a golden tunnel leading to the entrance of the subterranean Asian brasserie. Check out the video by Karel Chladek documenting Ledo and his team at work here.
Drink & Draw MTL contributor Suzanne Hood recently spoke with Kevin about his experience creating his latest installation at Flyjin.
D&D MTL: You’ve been travelling quite a bit recently. How did it feel to return to your hometown to create a new artwork?
Kevin Ledo: The project at Flyjin was a complete whirlwind, as I only returned for the project and then headed right back to Guatemala. I didn’t have time to really see anyone or go anywhere during those two weeks, and so it ended up just being a teaser for moving back here. I did feel a little like a rock star though: returning for an art project, and then continuing on with my travels.
D&D MTL: Gold leaf is a recurring material in your work, but at Flyjin, you’ve created an immersive environment using 11,000 sheets of gold leaf. What inspired you to use gold leaf to this extent? What kinds of technical considerations were involved in creating something like this?
Kevin Ledo: I was contracted for the project because Flyjin had this idea of a having golden tunnel from their entrance way into the main space, and since I had experience with gold leaf already, I was contacted for the job. I had done a much smaller installation with gold leaf a couple of years ago at Velvet club, and so I was invited to see how far I could take it with Flyjin. It was crazy ambitious, and so was I. I had the idea of applying the gold leaf sheets at a 45 degree angle, which was way more work that I could have imagined, but the end result is just magic though, and I think it was worth the hard work.
D&D MTL: The images you created for Flyjin — phases of the moon and an owl in flight — speak to the transition of the space at midnight from restaurant to club; however, these images also have spiritual weight to them. Given that much of your previous work has incorporated aspects of religious iconography and spirituality, what do these images represent to you? Did the nature of the space at Flyjin influence your artistic decisions?
Kevin Ledo: The space at Flyjin and the transformation it undergoes on a regular basis from restaurant to nightclub had a lot to do with what I created. I wanted to marry the idea of transformation and night creatures, and I had to do it in a way that worked with my inspirations and interests. The moon is eternally mysterious, and has held different meaning for people from all around the world since the beginning of time. For myself, I was attracted to the mystery of the moon, and the transformations it endlessly appears to go under. The owl was the perfect animal for a creature of the night, and I felt (it) worked well with the phases of the moon. I was going for something bold, edgy and mysterious, and I did my best to achieve it.
D&D MTL: You’ve created murals in a variety of locations internationally. Were there any unique challenges that you encountered during this project at Flyjin?
Kevin Ledo: There were many challenges. To begin with, I had flown to Montreal from Guatemala for only two weeks to tackle the project, so there was a constant race against time. It was the biggest art installation I had ever done, and that was also a challenge. Putting together a team, showing them what to do and then making sure everything was going well, all while concentrating on the murals was very difficult at times. But all in all my team were absolutely amazing, and I’m so grateful that I had them to make it all possible.
D&D MTL: Can you share with D&D readers what projects are next on your list? Will you be working in Montreal or are you heading back out on the road?
Kevin Ledo: I’m back in Montreal now and don’t have any solid plans to hit the road again. I love travelling though, and I can’t imagine not continuing it in the future. Next on the list is wrapping my head around the fact that I’m back in Montreal, and then working on some more paintings, murals and art installation projects. I’ll be part of a group show at the end of the year at Yves Laroche Gallery, and there is a decent chance that I’ll be working on some projects with Cease Art and Station 16.
Drawn In 