À l'écoute

The Black Keys (Attack & Release) Nonesuch Records.

The Police (Ghost In The Machine) A&M.

Simian Mobile Disco (Attack Decay Sustain Release) Wichita Recordings.

Portico Quartet (Isla) New World.

Talib Kweli (The Beautiful Struggle) Rawkus.

The Streets (Everything Is Borrowed) 679 Recordings / Vice Records.

The Veils (Nux Vomica) Rough Trade.

Tears For Fears (The Hurting) Phonogram / Mercury.

Work In Progress

Shown above are recent works on paper.

From top to bottom: Untitled 4 and Untitled 6 (from Douglas Blue series); Pako study and Yikes study, details of both.

Work In Progress

Painted two weeks ago while in Sault Ste. Marie.

Fafi (Self-Portraits)

Above are self-portraits by French artist Fafi. Loads more here and find her site here.

In reversed-chronological order, from top to bottom: Wednesday March 31, 2010; Thursday March 25, 2010; Monday March 1, 2010; Saturday November 14, 2009.

Os Gêmeos

Os Gêmeos (The Twins) from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Find their site here.

Raymond Pettibon

Here are images of works by the American artist Raymond Pettibon. Famous for his record sleeves (think: Sonic Youth's Goo) but also his cult-famed gig posters and artwork for the iconic punk band Black Flag. Find his site here.

From top to bottom: Black Flag gig poster (circa 1978); No title (circa 2003); No title (There is a touch of poetry...) 1997; Limited edition t-shirt for a ANP Quarterly (2010).

Bricks at Art Metropole

Follow this link.

The London Police

Rex just sent me a link to loads of hand-painted works by The [infamous] London Police produced in 2009 for various exhibitions. Love these guys. Find them all here.

From top to bottom: Stay Tuff (2009); Dumbo (2009); Circle of Truthfulness (2009); 10 Years Box (2009).

(RIP) Dennis Oppenheim

Dennis Oppenheim past away last Saturday. He was 72. Here's from the CBC.

A Face A Name (No 1)

The good folks of Well and Good just published their first eBook—A Face A Name— featuring over 30 artists. I'm amongst them. Think of it as a great addition for that iPad you just got for the holidays. Find it here.

From top to bottom, and from the pages of A Face A Name: On the cover: Sorry For All the Boardroom Meetings (detail) by Patrick Thompson; What I've Learned In the Last Five Years (Emperor Penguins, detail) 2010; What I've Learned In the Last Five Years (Bowls) 2010.

Ryan Dineen

If you're around Toronto at the end of the month, or next month, pass by Show&Tell to see Ryan Dineen's latest series of oil paintings. Superb pieces. More here and here.

From top to bottom: Winter Roofs (2010); Kensington Roofs (2010); Lenny's Opera (2010); Morte (2011).

What Was 2010 (2 of 2)

Top readings for 2010:

David Sedaris's Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk—brilliantly illustrated by Ian Falconer and published by Little, Brown and Company.


Shawn Micallef's posts, commentaries, columns, articles and even a book (Stroll; Psychogeographic Walking Tours of Toronto) published by Coach House Press.


Slavenka Drakulić's They Would Never Hurt A Fly; War Criminals On Trial in the Hague. Published by Penguin Books.


Top listenings for 2010:

Britain's Wild Beasts. They make really really good records.
Thanks Adrian.


This is Michelle Gurevich's second record under the moniker Chinawoman. It's glorious.


I never got much exposure to Toronto's veteran band Constantines. So I'm looking forward to the bunch of records of theirs I'm still to discover. This one here played many times—confirmes my iTunes song play counter. Truly a wonderful record and band.


Photo of Shawn Micallef by Liz Clayton. Photo of Wild Beasts from www.dominorecordco.com.

What Was 2010 (1 of 2)

Here's a first nod to what made my 2010:

German Montana's new line of paints. High fives all around.


This here painted with Sight, which made both of our day that day. It sadly lasted no more than a week.


One of my favourite personal designs of 2010, the smoking Vanessa t-shirt.


Steve Ferrara and Lisa Martin—the folks behind Well and Good—took very good care of me in 2010. Besides "collaborators" and "facilitators of local and international talent", I'm happy to call them friends.


I realise that Andrea Arnold's film was released last year (2009) but Cindy and I caught it this year. Truly amazing.





Photos: Montana Gold from www.montana-cans.com; Steve and Lisa by Eugen Sakhnenko; Bushmills Black Bush from www.bushmills.com.