I heard about this Fox & Owl, in the Ossington alley.
Artists: Shalak Attack & Smoky Bruno
I knew where it had to be, so I went there. I came home, unsuccessful, but returned a few weeks later.
Artists: Shalak Attack & Smoky Bruno
I re -did the alley, to no avail. I turned around to go home. Don’t know why, but I looked up. The reason I hadn’t seen it, is that it’s almost 3 stories high.
Artists: Shalak Attack & Smoky Bruno
However, no matter where I stood, I could not get in the entire piece. I tried finding new spots to shoot from. When I got to the end of the alley, I saw a house for sale. There was an open house in 1 hour!
Artists: Shalak Attack & Smoky Bruno
I’m always looking for an investment. Yay! There was a deck on the back of the house!
I found this in an alley, & it made me think of Holly from House Of Heart
Artist: Nicolas Canon
I sent a pic to Holly and asked, “Does this look like you?” She answered positively yes, then mentioned something about ducking lightening.
Artist: Resa
Then I muttered I should be doing graffiti tours in Toronto. Holly said she’d drive the bus. Well, one thing lead to another, and we formed the Boogapony Dancers.
Artist: Nicolas Canon
Of course we would need the perfect outfit to dance in front of graffiti, street art and murals. We came up with the outfit you see here.
The above oil painting titled “White Glads at Night”is my fave. It blows my mind that he painted it, blind, with a knife. Vernon also designs gardens to this day.
Vernon told me, ” I can show you the exact spot in my garden where these Glads grow”
Vernon said, “I used several stencils from the Dollar Store for the background. The word SOUP & the A & Z are on raised wood blocks (about 1/8th of an inch). It’s an homage to braille, in that it is tactile.”
There are lots of colors in the above painting, “Tenements”. I asked Vernon how he knows which tube of paint is what color?
Vernon answered, “I have a bar code reader, that reads out loud to me. On the tubes of paint, the color is listed in the code. I line them up accordingly. Tenements is done in 3 colors, mixed in variations and applied very thickly”.
This painting was inspired by a jazz evening w/Molly Johnson at the SoulPepper Theater . Molly is an amazing singer, & friend of Vernon. He sat in a front row & is still inspired by the love and recognition Molly showed him when she sat at his table.
Vernon noted, “thoughts inspired by Molly were: “cello note”, Molly lead, ultra marine. All other singers = other blues. The shades progress to a light turquoise for depth. It’s painted using a cardboard template, with a brush. Check out Molly’s Kensington Jazz Fest
Vernon told me, “this painting is based on a construction site’s nails, screws, black nails, rot & climaxes in rust. All colors represent something at a construction site.
Visit Vernon’s Website where you can read his bio, inquire about showing his art at your amazing venue, or simply buy, or commission one of his works of art. A direct email link is available on the site.
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