Moshe Mikanovsky Art

QWAC – Artist Friends

Moshe Mikanovsky — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 08:56:14 +0000

This post I wanted to share with you some of my very talented friends who are going to be showing and selling their artwork at the Queen West Art Crawl along side with me. The show promises to have many more great artists, but these I know personally and can whole heartedly recommend you visiting their booths.

Scott Shingler – Photography

Scott Shingler, Boy Meets Girl, photograph, from the series "Refined Abstractions"

I know Scott for about 7 years now. We have actually worked together for many years at one of the software companies I used to work for in Toronto. He recently started marketing is amazing creations, and I was happy to direct him with some tips on how and where. But being such a talented guy, Scott is now mastering the art! In his Refined Abstractions series, Scott photographed incense smoke and creates playful and imaginative world.

You can find Scott at booth J34. More about Scott’s photography at Shingler.ca

Steven Crainford – Photography

Steven Crainford, Streaked, photograph.

Steven has a huge array of photographs from his travels around the world, and most recently, his amazing experiments with exposure and manipulations of colours to create abstract artwork. I have interviewed Steven to my 4th episode of “Lets Talk Art”, you can watch it right here on my blog.

You can find Steven at booth M44. More about Steven’s photography at StevenCrainford.com

Joe Colleja – Photography

Joe Colleja, o sea ii (from the The Seaside Triptychs), photography

Like many of my artists friends in Toronto, I met Joe at the Artists’ Network of Riverdale. Other than being a talented graphic designer, Joe finds abstract beauty in architecture and nature alike. I love his compositions and colour schemes!

You can find Joe at booth M42. More about Joe’s photography at CallejaPhotography.com

Felicity Somerset – Photography

Felicity Somerset, Transitions 1, photography

Last year I invited Felicity to talk in front of the Israeli Artists Group, and got a glimpse into her entire career as a fine art photographer. It was amazing to see her inspiration, work process, progress and achievements! I have recently had the pleasure of referring my friends to my photographer friends, and they chose few of Felicity’s creations. Both artist and clients were so delighted about the experience! I am sure you would too.

You can find Felicity at booth J6. More about Felicity’s photography at FelicitySomerset.ca

Adam Collangelo – Metal Art

Adam Colangelo, Willow, copper, 36"x36", 2011

What can I say about Adam’s metal art? AMAZING! Every time I see his work, with the varied shapes, colours and compositions he creates from copper, I am speechless. You have to see it for yourself to undersend. Check out his website and come visit him at his booth. You have to treat yourself!

You can find Adam at booth J31. More about Adam’s metal art at AdamColangelo.com

Jamie MacLean – Oil Paintings

Jamie MacLean, Treetops, 36"x36", oil on canvas

If you are looking for Canadian landscapes, look no further! Jamie has all sizes and seasons, and they are masterful. I had hard time choosing which painting to feature here, but at the end I decided to go with the Treetops, as it is not of any tree, but so typical to Canada’s wilderness, although you could find them even in the urban parks of Toronto. You can’t go wrong with Jamie’s artwork, they are timeless.

You can find Jamie at booth F7. More about Jamie’s paintings at ArtistsInCanada.com

Jill Price – Mixed Media

Jill Price, Rurbia: Loft, mixed media on canvas, 3' x 3', 2012

On top of being an amazing artist, Jill is a marketing master! Just check out how she is promoting her artwork and upcoming trip to a show in Turkey – raffling $500 certificate towards buying her artwork. I think you can still buy tickets till September 10! Jill has so much energy. You can watch her on my “Lets Talk Art” interviews.

You can find Jill at booth F9. More about Jill’s paintings at JillPriceStudios.ca

I hope you will enjoy the show, visiting with my friends, and maybe even purchasing some original art. Say hi to all of them – I will be busy at my booth (N24). Here is a map of the show, and our locations highlighted:

QWAC 2012, Moshe Mikanovsky and friends. Click on the image to enlarge

Cheers

Moshe

Queen West Art Crawl – special blog promo

Moshe Mikanovsky — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 21:09:37 +0000

For all my readers, as well as your friends and family, here is a special promo for buying my artwork at the Queen West Art Crawl this coming September 15-16.

Just mentioned the promo code BLOG, or show me this blog post on your smartphone, or print it out (but do try to save the environment by using the first or second method), and you will get 10% on all my artwork that you will purchase!

No need to be subscribed to my blog – just direct it to anyone you know who might be in Toronto during that weekend, someone who loves art and will come to the show, and who knows, maybe they will love my artwork and will want to buy, so why not enjoy some discount?

Hope to see you, and your friends, and your family

Cheers

Moshe

Queen West Art Crawl Sneak Peek

Moshe Mikanovsky — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 00:44:59 +0000

As promised, here is a sneak peek of few of the new paintings I have been busy lately on, in preperation for Queen West Art Crawl this coming September!

I am now into mounting my watercolors on 1.5″ cradled panel which is very sturdy and beautiful to hang, and then covering the painting with clear encaustic (wax). The encaustic layer protects the painting so that no framing is required, and it gives it a special matted look. I wrote in the past about this technique.

This series of faces was inspired by watching too much TV! I sometime find I like the way that the camera zoomed in on characters on TV and movies, cutting out their head somewhere in the forehead, and their entire body blow their chins. That perspective, usually aligned to one side of the screen, creates some intimacy, which I connect with. This intimacy was the focus of my exploration, finding that magic zoom-in view that is close enough yet not too close to blur the image, intimate enough to understand what this person is all about.

I hope you see that too.

Battered Life, Watercolors and encaustic on paper and panel, 12"x36"x1.5, 2011

I Had Good Life, Watercolors and encaustic on paper and panel, 12"x36"x1.5, 2012

Don't Look At Me, Watercolors and encaustic on paper and panel, 10"x8"x1.5", 2012

Look At Me, Watercolors and encaustic on paper and panel, 10"x8"x1.5", 2012

Are You Looking At Me?, Watercolors and encaustic on paper and panel, 10"x8"x1.5", 2012

Hope to see you at the show (QWAC, Sep 15-16, 11am-6pm, Trinity Bellwoods Park, Toronto, Booth N24)

Cheers

Moshe

Queen West Art Crawl 2012

Queen West Art Crawl 2012

Moshe Mikanovsky — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 01:40:23 +0000

I will be participating this year at the Queen West Art Crawl, and I can’t wait!

Its been very exciting summer so far, preparing for the QWAC outdoor art show and sale. I applied last year and was not accepted, so this year when I got the confirmation letter that I am in, I was very happy!

To get ready, I busied myself in the past few months working on new artwork. Several paintings in different sizes, mostly watercolors on paper mounted to boards, and covered/sealed with encaustic.

I will try to post few of these in the upcoming days, as well as a special discount code for my blog readers, in case you will be at the show, or one of your friends will be. So stay tuned…

In the meantime, here are the dates, times and info about the show:

When: September 15-16, 11AM-6PM

Where: Trinity Bellwoods Park, Queen St West, Toronto. For details on how to get to QWAC and a map check here.

Booth: N24

My page on the show’s site: www.queenwestartcrawl.com/artists/moshe-mikanovsky. If you have a minute, I will appreciate a vote for best of show.

Cheers

Moshe

New work at art show

Moshe Mikanovsky — Tue, 22 May 2012 22:41:38 +0000

Last weekend I participated in the annual show of the Israeli Artists Group of Toronto with some new artwork. The show was very nice and I got a lot of encouragements from our visitors, especially with the Battered Life paining.

These are mixed media paintings. They are watercolors on paper, which was first stretched on a panel. The entire painting is then covered with clear wax, protecting the painting underneath and giving it depth and the look-and-feel of encaustic work.

I spent quite some time on Battered Life, so I am glad people “get it”. Many told me that it speaks to them, evoking emotional reaction. That I did something, or many things, right.

I’m happy.

Cheers
Moshe

Painting found its home

Moshe Mikanovsky — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 21:49:59 +0000

My old friend from Israel who lives now also in North America, bought one of my paintings (2am Club) recently, after I featured it in one of my blog posts. She recently posted on Facebook this picture of the painting in its new home. I love the other art too! Looks great! So, I thought to share it with you too:

2am Club found a great new home

Thank you Nurit for allowing me to use it on the blog, and I am so happy you enjoy it.

Cheers and Happy Holidays (Passover, Easter) to you all

Moshe

Toronto Watercolour Society’s newest member

Moshe Mikanovsky — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 19:00:27 +0000

I am happy to announce that I am one of the newest members of the Toronto Watercolour Society (TWS)!

I have applied couple of years ago, and completely forgot about it. People have told me that there is a limited number of members, and that it might take awhile to be accepted, so I was surprised couple of weeks ago when I got a call from the founder, watercolourist artist Margaret Roseman. She personally let me know that I am in, and I can join immidiatly. Been already to the March meeting, and it was great. Not sure how I will get to know all other 274 members of this prestigious group, but I hope that in time I will get to know many of them, get inspired by them, and share my art with them. I am excited about the opportunity!

check out the TWS website, it has a member section and a gallery section, and you can find who are in the core of Toronto’s watercolour scene.

Cheers

Moshe

2012 Art For All Canada (AFAC) Conference

Moshe Mikanovsky — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 19:00:43 +0000

Earlier this month I gave a talk about Social Media for Artists at the 2012 Art For All Canada (AFAC) Conference.

AFAC is a local organization, running by artists, and directed by artist Sheila Mitchell. The organization has exhibition space at the Rainbow Cinemas Gallery, next to St. Lawrence Market. It also organizes this successful conference annually, where art demonstrations along side with the business of art are discussed.

The conference took place at Toronto’s Metro Hall, and included also an art show (in which I participated with one painting), and an art fasion show, where the artists walked the catwalk with their art! You are welcome to see pictures from the conference, as well as watch videos of the fashion show and the show’s jurors selections in AFAC’s YouTube channel.

Art For All Canada website: http://artforallcanada.org

Art For All Canada’s YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/ArtForAllCanada

Cheers

Moshe

PS are you part of an artist group and interested in a talk about Social Media for Artists? Contact me and we can discuss the details. It can be in person or via Skype video conference.

So far I have given these talks at the Artists’ Network of Riverdale, Fusion 2011 Conference, 2o12 Art For All Canada Conference, Toronto Potters and the Israeli Artists Group of Toronto. If you need references from any of these groups, please let me know and I will be happy to provide it.

My Art at Jimmy’s Coffee in the Heart of King West

Moshe Mikanovsky — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 19:00:48 +0000

Back in January/February, I presented some of my artwork at Jimmy’s Coffee in downtown Toronto, at the King West area. I love this coffee shop, although it is quite far from my home in the suburbs. The atmosphere is great, and the coffee is awesome! Make sure to check it out, they are the nicest! Their address is 107 Portland Street, Toronto, ON.

Here are some pics from this show:

Mikanovsky artwork on the red wall in Jimmy's Coffee

Mikanovsky artwork in Jimmy's Coffee - neon signs series

Mikanovsky artwork in Jimmy's Coffee - Anemones series

Daniella enjoys her time at Jimmy's Coffee

Jimmy's Coffee, 107 Portland Street Toronto, ON

Another picture of Jimmy's Coffee

The paintings shown in this show are still available. You can also see them in the Watercolors section of my gallery. Check them out, and if you like, hit me with your best offer!

Cheers

Moshe

Resistance – the many faces monster

Moshe Mikanovsky — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 18:52:38 +0000

My dear readers,

From my sketch book, Leaves, spring 2012

You might have noticed that I didn’t post anything new here since the beginning of the year. I missed the blog, and I hoped someone missed me…

So what happened? Why didn’t I write for so long?

Well, in one word – Resistance.

I allowed this monster control me, rather than me controlling it. I have written in the past about Steven Pressfield’s “The War of Art”, and how Resistance is the one big enemy of all creative person, so I should have known and learned my lesson. But sometimes, when the resistance is strong, you don’t even recognize it for what it is.

And the beast was frightening, and it told me many different things. Bad things. And I believed them.

But I am back now.

It is not that the resistance is completely gone. On the contrary, it will always be there, find its way to raise its ugly face and bite me. But TODAY I believe I am stronger than it, and TODAY I want it to be a small win for me.

In the next few days I will tell you of some of the things I have done recently.

Till then, be well!

Cheers

Moshe

PS I chose to decorate this post with a sketch from my sketch-book. I hope its feel of spring will spread out and bring light to everyone. It is my gift to you.