five-person show

I'm going to be in a five-person group show in late January (25th - 29th). I'm showing with several other emerging artists of different mediums and standpoints. I imagine the reception would be on the Thursday so, if you have time, come down. More information later or if you want to know more comment or contact me.

december now...

New post and it has been a while. School has been a little hectic but here I am and I have pictures. For the past little while I have been occupied with studio classes and other classes mainly focusing my time in foundry and in video. For foundry, I have been working on a bronze apple. It's really surprising that I spent perhaps three months on something that's as big as my fist. I've also been working on some absurd videos. The last one I did was, more or less, a modern take on Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot. If you're interesting in seeing it or perhaps buying it, contact me via email. I will have pictures and possibly the video uploaded soon but no promises on the video. I might just take some screenshots of it. Anyways, here are some pics of the paper version of myself I entitled "Big Dummy"





Copyright Billy Garland 2009

interesting developments...

Dear Internet,

How are you? I am fine. Just thought I should let you know what's been going on as of late. Well, if you might have noticed, I have added some links of other artist friends that I like so you can investigate their artworks and that. The works range all over the place: drawing, painting, photo, sculpture, miniatures, and computer art.

I would like to add as well that I will be having an upcoming group show in the Gales Gallery of York University in January 2010. I am planning to have a sculpture in the show and one to three drawings. More details to come. Thanks for listening Internet. You're pretty cool.

Sincerely,

Billy

'nother gallery

Alright, so I have another gallery show in the Eleanors Winters Art Gallery. Different show, same awesomeness. The show is called "SHOW OFF" and I will be showing with many other great emerging artists like myself. In this show, I will be putting in one of my sculptures that is a 3D version of myself composed entirely out of paper. Here's a sneak peak of the sculpture:


Now the show starts Monday September 28th and the reception is October 1st from 6:30PM to 8:30PM so if you have some time to eat some food, drink some wine, and appreciate some good art, you should definitely come down and check it out.

Self Portrait

Hey, I just did a self portrait for some education course. Although it is for an odd class, I still put the effort in and I think I did a pretty good job. Haven't drawn a real self portrait in a while. Here it is!


The quality of the photo isn't that great and will be trying to find a way to scan certain drawings in the near future.

So it's been a while...

Thought it was too long since I last posted so I am diligently posting now to make up for lost time. Now, to bring you back up to speed. I'm taking a bunch of courses at the moment hence my lack of posting. I'm taking video art and just finished making an uncut one minute short video on the question "what am I doing here?" so I naturally based my video on procrastination.

I'm taking another studio as well; foundry. Getting to play with wax, bronze, and aluminum so that should be fun. I already have a couple ideas and I'll reveal them all in due time.

I'm also in the middle of a large drawing 22" x 30" and will speak more about as time goes on.

Alright, I have a gallery reception coming up on Thursday from 630 to 830PM so if you want to come check out some art or just want to get your fill of free cheese and that come on down to Winters College at York University. That's all for now.

Back to school, a gallery, and twitter

Alright so I'm going back to school tomorrow. Not terribly excited about it but I think I'll be ok.

Anyways, I will be having two of my works put into the Eleanor Winters Art Gallery of York University. The gallery showings are from 14th to the 25th of September and the gallery is open from 12 to 4PM, I think. I believe the reception is on the 24th from 6:30PM to 8:30PM. This is a group show where the theme is based around comics so I'm submitting my "Prime" TV and the dinosaur/robot painting that I have just recently finished. OK, so if you want to check out my work, see me, or just have some free food at the reception, I would definitely suggest coming down.

I would also like to add that I have just recently made a twitter account for those you like twitter. I update it when I can so for those who are interested in what I'm doing when I'm not blogging my twitter site is http://twitter.com/billygarland. Simple as that. Alright, that's it, hope everyone enjoys their last days of summer.

monitors and screens

In the past little while, I have been collecting old television screens and computer monitors. I find something very interesting about these things like they hold so many connotations and whatnot, it's crazy. Anyways, I've stacked four computer monitors on top of one another and contemplating about painting a self portrait of myself (a portrait of myself around the same time when the internet started becoming really popular).


Just some thoughts. Some other ideas involve the idea of the "ghost in the machine" and a possible computer monitor "totem pole." I've already made an artwork with an old television set. Some play on mythology, technology, pop culture and seizures. I had it in a gallery downtown earlier this year in the Whippersnapper with some other artists. I'd turn on the TV to an epileptic type of static for an emphasis on seizures or a religious ecstasy (similar to what you would see in some Renaissance paintings). I'm still not sure what to call it but, for now, I'm calling it "Prime."

hometown

So I went back to my hometown to see my family before I go back into school. While I was down in there, I happened to come across some old fancy photos of landscapes and that that looked straight out of Value Village so I brought them back to Toronto with me and thinking about adding some crazy monsters and robots into them. I'm thinking I'll have to use mylar because they're photos and the paint might not stay on very well. Anyways, that is what's goin' on. Still working on my dinosaur/robot painting and keep you updated when I think it looks awesome enough.

Back Tracking

Alright, after trying to think of a proper title for my blog (right now it's "X" Thoughts but that is subject to change), I thought I'd tell you a little about myself. OK, my name is Billy, I'm a student in Toronto right now studying visual arts.

With my artwork I'm working with a lot of ideas right now, a lot of it focusing around thought, humanity, and art. I like to draw gods and heroes and interpret them in my own creative way. For the past little while, I have been focusing on supreme gods; recreating them with almost a sense of "googlization" yet trying to keep traditional aspects of these gods and heroes. I like the ideas around God or gods and heroes and all that with regards to our thoughts. I also use to focus my work on the duality of the organic and the technological and I feel that I still use elements of that duality within my work. Here's a couple of really rough sketches to give you an idea of what I'm talking about...



The first drawing here with the many arms, I have been working on it for a long time. I never seem to be happy with it but I think I'm getting somewhere now. An interesting play of the traditional, new age, technology, pop culture, lots of stuff, should be cool. Hopefully I'll have something done for the god in the next little while and I can show a sneak peak.

a dinosaur and a robot...

Ok, here's a painting I've been working on for a little while, its about half way done. It's a nice beautiful landscape, something out of my parent's living room or rec room and I slapped a t-rex about to fight a 1980s robot. Thought it would be funny having these two titans from the past and future dishing it out. I think next time I'm just going to buy some cliche paintings and paint/draw away. Thinking of a sasquatch and an alien for the next one.

Welcome to my blog...

Alright, well I was suggested by some friends of mine that I should get a blog going so here I am, starting a blog. On this blog I'm going to be posting some rough sketches and artworks that I'll be working on. Also I'll be posting my ideas, photos, links, and my day-to-day events with personal shenanigans. Until then, here's a funny picture of myself as a cartoon-ish character that I did on my spare time. Enjoy!