Andre Jolicoeur Illustration

Lipstick Graffiti

2011-03-28T11:37:00.000-07:00

Do you ever look at an empty wall and just hate it's whiteness? Then do something about it once and a while!
Detail:

Prints Available:
12x18 Poster Print, signed, $10 each + shipping

2011-03-17T17:09:00.000-07:00

12X18 POSTER PRINTS:
That's right, I'm clearing out my surplus print stock and I'm selling all these signed 12x18 poster prints for just $5 each. And as always, you can combine shipping on up to 5 prints.

Theyr'e going fast - GET THEM BEFORE THEY'RE GONE!
Any prints that have sold can still be purchased through the normal "Art" section of my website (just not at the sale price).

"Cheers", 12x18

"Rainy Day for Mr Squiggles", 12x18
SOLD OUT

"Stargazer", 12x18

"Within Reach", 12x18 SOLD OUT

"Dead Fish", 12x18

"Structured Living", 12x18
SOLD OUT

"Nowhere Man", 12x18

"Loch Ness Monster Parade", 12x18

"Falling Downwards", 12x18
SOLD OUT

Bored Beauty

2011-03-11T22:23:00.000-08:00

Oscar is a Jolicoeur

2011-02-28T01:26:00.000-08:00

So you might have noticed I've been rather idle on my bloggie blog haven't I? Don't get mad! I have my reasons...

But I haven't been idle elsewhere. I haven't done any painting since my show but I've been swamped with projects. And they're finally starting to pay off, I'll have lots of shit to share very shortly.

But the painting bug is bitting again. I hope it's poison takes me to fantastical places where I might find some exotic new foods to taste. I'll take my vacation there this year I think.

2010-12-12T18:31:00.001-08:00

My house is sadly lacking secret passageways.

Story, the opening

2010-12-03T18:53:00.000-08:00

I just took down the show, so here's the photos from the opening. Was such a great turnout and a really fun night, thanks to all who helped out.

Paintin'

2010-10-04T18:51:00.001-07:00

The days are running out, and I'm trying to finish as many new pieces for my show as possible amidst commissions & a generally busy October.

My toes are cold as frozen fish sticks. I think I need some new slippers, these ones have lost most of their coziness since last winter.

Story, a collection of paintings by Andre Jolicoeur

2010-09-20T19:51:00.000-07:00

At long last, a chance to see all my best paintings in the flesh. I'm having a solo painting exhibit downtown Peterborough, at the Cannery on Hunter St. The show will run from Nov 5-30, and the reception is on Friday November 5th. If you're in town and not too busy with your church group or homeless friends, stop by!

Illustration Tutorial: DIY Wooden Canvas Frames

2010-09-07T00:04:00.001-07:00

Here's my latest tutorial. Much better attempt methinks, and with a surprise ending! What more can I do to entertain you?

Tutorial: DIY Wooden Canvas Frames

Video tutorial:

Materials

1. Wood Surface
Get some plywood or masonite or whatever is on sale. Just choose your surface based on how it feels and how well it'll suit your painting style. Keep your eye peeled for recycled wood! You wouldn't believe what people throw away...

2. Wood Planks
Choose a thickness for the sides of your canvas. This one is 3/4 x 1 1/2 inch.

3. Saw
I tried to make this tutorial use no power tools, but I couldn't think of a good way to cut the surface wood in a straight line. So I'm going to recomend that you use a saw of some sort. Either a jigsaw or a circular saw will do.

4. Miter Box & Hand Saw
You'll need something to cut diagonal lines. Obviously if you have a chopsaw you'll use that. But if you have a chopsaw, you probably don't need my stupid tutorial to teach you how to make the most basic of contraptions. For the rest of you, grab a miter box. Super cheap and does the job perfectly.

5. Hammer & Finishing Nails
Just dig out that old hammer from under your couch, and borrow some nails from your neighbor.

6. Glue
Use either wood glue, or LaPage PL9000 Heavy Duty Construction Adhesive (I reccomend the adhesive, it's strong enough to stand the test of time).

7. Primer
I use gesso.

Steps

1. Cut the Wood surface
If you buy your wood at Home Depot, you can have them cut it into managable sizes for you. Handy to keep lots of wood around, you never know when the art bug will bite. Draw out your canvas shape and cut it out. Measure twice, cut once.

2. Cut the Planks
Measure your cut wood surface. Cut the planks to match your outer surface dimensions, but with 45 degree angles at the corners to create a seamless edge. Measure twice, cut once.

3. Nail the Frame Together
You can use some extra adhesive to make that bond nice & tight.

4. Apply Glue
Cover the top edge of your frame with a line of adhesive.

5. Secure the Bond
Place the surface of your canvas board on the glued frame. Use something to clamp it down, or place a larger piece of something overtop and use something heavy to weight it down. Wait overnight to let the adhesive set. Use sandpaper to smooth out any rough edges. Use wood glue to fill any gaps/cracks/nail holes. Then prime it with whatever primer you fancy. I like gesso.

6.Paint
Now go art!

Dream House

2010-09-06T23:12:00.000-07:00

I call this one dreamhouse. Somewhat derived from my agoraphobia, I yearn to distance myself from the civilized world. Don't get me wrong, it's nothing personal. In fact, if I could choose you'd come with me, and we'd sing campfire songs together every night and skinny dip under the starlight. But it's the rest of the humans that I'd like to be separated from by a big body of water. Of course, you're more than welcome to visit whenever you wish. Just park your canoe beside mine and knock thrice. I'll have hot coffee and toast waiting.

Illustration Tutorial: Masking Shapes while Painting

2010-08-29T22:27:00.001-07:00

Here it is, my first video tutorial. I plan on doing a handful of these, and this one is basically a test to see how it looks all edited and uploaded. Looking back I think it was a moderate success, but I promise the next one will be more informative & entertaining. Until then...

TUTORIAL: Masking with Paint

Afterwords, here's the mask I made for some of the details (you can see the bottle of wine wasn't actually done on it's own, I just did that to show you how to do individual masks):
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Which ends up looking like this:

And for some stuff it's not necessary to create the same shape over & over, you can create it once and use that to 'stamp' those shapes to the canvas:

Although, be warned that the more of the same shape you have, the boring-er your picture will end up. You may be able to hide the fact that it's the same shape by flipping/rotating/changing colour, but your picture will always feel a little homogeneous. Plus, the more you re-use the same shape, the fewer happy accidents you'll encounter.

And here you can see why this technique is valuable in the first place. Look at those crisp sharp edges created with a minimal amount of careful painting. Most of those sharp edges were created with broad brush strokes over my masked surface. You can also see how the background around the character (like the shadow under his nose) can be added afterwords with the reverse-mask I mentioned in the video.

Here's a few shots of the finished artwork:

Abstract Afternoon

2010-08-29T22:01:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I like to pretend that I'm a real artist and make real paintings. I know, it's silly to pretend things that aren't true...

"Cheers"

2010-08-28T12:22:00.001-07:00

He was saving the bottle of wine for a special occasion. But it seemed that special occasion would never come.

But on second thought, why isn't this occasion special? Why not toast to a life well lived, with the company of the moon and the stars, right here, right now, at the end of all things...

It's as special an occasion as they come, so "cheers".

And when our own health fails, our loved ones pass on, and all hope fades, don't wait any longer to open that bottle you were saving - because every moment of your life is a special occasion, special enough to savor.

Detail:

Post No Bills, Illustration Show

2010-08-28T12:05:00.000-07:00

So there's this art show that I did last year that's going on again this year. It's called "Post No Bills", a poster show, and the theme this year is movie posters.

My "La Fin Du Monde" 3d poster will be on display: If you're around on Sunday Sept 12th, you should swing by the gallery for drinks & mingle-bait.

Coming Soon

2010-08-25T22:57:00.000-07:00

Sneak peak at my latest painting. Stay tuned for the finished piece, and some news I'm anxious to share.

The Dangers of Braining

2010-08-21T20:04:00.001-07:00

I have a problem. When I'm in the midst of creative fury, I often can't get anything done. The problem is when I get too deep in my own thoughts I stop existing in the real world. I call it "Braining", and it's my worst enemy for productivty. It usually goes like this - I'm working, I reach a step that brings my mind elsewhere, and 30 minutes later I realize I've been pacing back & forth spending time in my own brain instead of working.

In many ways it's not such a bad thing. I mean, it's sort of a pure creative act, fast paced conceptualizing of idea after idea. Admittedly some if not all of my best ideas are born this way. So you might say that braining is actually an important part of my creative process. I know this, which is why I often allow myself to brain more than I should, because I tell myself it's okay to let my mind wander endlessly because I'm creating, and it just feels right. The problem is that it's so easy and enjoyable to live inside your own head that the real world (and the task at hand) takes a back seat to the conceptual world. Which is all well and good, but at the end of the day what do you have to show for it? I may have spent my afternoon coffee's energy throwing around some great notions and made some terrific growth, but if I walk away empty handed then I've failed at the one thing I know I should have been doing - making paintings.

The Elusive Forest Whale

2010-08-21T16:28:00.000-07:00

This piece was created for the "Post No Bills" art show last fall. There's a new show this year, I'll give you a notice as soon as they're ready. This was the first time I attempted a true 3D collage style. A pain in the butt to make, but it was a moderate success so you'll see at least one more attempt at this style soon.

Detail:

The Spiders in my Workshop

2010-08-21T16:18:00.000-07:00

Last spring I read the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Soon after, I noticed a big black spider lurking in the entrance of my workshop. She was quite hideous, big and black. At first I let her live because I was too lazy to kill her, and soon enough I started saying "Hi" as I passed her on my way to paint. I called her Shelob, after the spider in the Lord of the Rings. Seemed a proper name from the way Shelob was described in the book, big and black and old and rank, but also wise and ancient. Then when winter came she died, but she left behind a big egg sack and sure enough the following spring there was a whole new generation of Shelob's children keeping my workshop's entrance bug free. I didn't name them all, but I noticed there was one who had taken up residence in Shelob's old spot (right by the bottom of the door, where she had dibs on all the best bugs crawling in). I called her Shelob the Second. I just noticed that she's dead. I never cared for spiders before, but then again I never got to know any. Let me just say I'm a changed man. I'll never again kill a spider that's not bothering anyone, and I'm looking forward to meeting Shelob the Thrid next spring.

Work in progress

2010-08-20T20:07:00.000-07:00

Ah, the cluttered workstation of a work in progress. Expect to see the finished piece here very soon.

Stargazer, 2008

2010-08-20T19:59:00.000-07:00

This was another important piece in my mind because it was the first time I painted the shadows on in this way to create a 3D-ish diorama sort of feel that I always tried to achieve through collage & photography before. I've since used this technique on most of my paintings and it's actually changed my way of thinking about the 2d space.

Before, I found that if I abstracted too far then the sense of form was lost. Which was sad, because I like abstracting. But I also like creating pictures with a believable dimension. This push & pull technique allows me to create non-realistic abstracted characters that can exist in a real space (albeit a 2.5D shadobox space). Still, take a look through my portfolio and you'll find that almost everything has some element of the shadows you see here.

Detail:

Oscar's Room

2010-08-20T19:52:00.000-07:00

When she found out she was pregnant, Melissa 'commissioned' me to make a set of paintings for Oscar's room. I tried to have them done by the time he was born, and I almost made it. But he came early, so it wasn't my fault! I finished them up when he was about a week old. They're hanging in his room now.

2010 Family Portraits

2010-08-20T19:49:00.000-07:00

Every year or two I create a new set of family portraits. I rather liked the ones we had above the couch. Then we birthed a baby and we needed him represented. Melissa didn't think the post-it note portrait of Oscar was cutting it, so I had to paint a new set. For the best, this set makes the old ones look like ugly.

Oscar William Jolicoeur

2010-08-20T19:42:00.000-07:00

In case you were wondering why I didn't update my blog for a few months, I was busy with this:

Yeah, I know. He's the cutest baby in the milky way. Speaking of which, he's a big fan of Melissa's boobs. Makes 2 of us. (Don't tell Melissa I was talking about her boobs on my blog)

"Within Reach" - 2008

2010-08-15T19:00:00.000-07:00

A little history. First, I went to school. In school, I painted. Then, when school was done, I did computer stuff (still do). Then, I wanted to paint again, so I did. This was the first painting from this generation of work that I was proud of. I still am.

Detail:

Wacom Bamboo Pen & Touch Review

2010-08-14T18:38:00.000-07:00

Product: The WACOM BAMBOO PEN & TOUCH
First let me say that I'm no hardware snob. For me, value is the most important aspect of a purchase. I'll admit it, I'm cheap. So you'll never see me paying 500+ bucks for a huge fancy Intuos or Cintiq when a perfectly usable Bamboo can be bought with enough change left over from a $100 to get a coffee & a cookie on the way home. That old saying, "A craftsman is only as good as his tools" does have some merit, but don't go thinking that if you spend enough you'll reach a higher level of productivity or perfection. A tool is only as agile as the one who wields it, and when it comes to Wacom pads I can wield a 5.x8 inch graphire as good as any 27 inch Cintiq. I think lots of designers prefer the large size tablets because of the high degree of precision, but to each his own. The small size feels perfect to me. But then again I like drawing small, most of my sketchbooks are pocket sized.

I have owned this pad since my birthday, 2 months ago. If I had to guess I'd say that I've spent 150 hours using it. It was an upgrade from my old Bamboo Fun tablet. But it has a feature the Fun didn't, the ability to use your fingers.

Good:
So as you probably guessed, the "touch" portion of it's name means you can use your fingers. Now you won't be doing any drawing or fingerpainting, your fingers aren't nearly as precise as the pen. But there are some cool things you can do with the touch function. There's a set of predefined "gestures" that can be used to control various functions. For example, you can place two fingers down on the pad and rotate your hand to rotate photos and Photoshop documents. All the gestures work reasonably well, although Illustrator (on the PC) isn't compatible with the gestures, and no patch has been released yet. I hear the Mac versions of these programs are working fine, but I'm on PC (and if you've got a problem with that I'd gladly schedule a back-ally knife fight).

I found the gestures to me most useful when doing normal stuff like surfing the web. You can place 2 fingers down on the pad and slide to scroll around pages, you can make a "pinch" motion to shrink or zoom pages, and the pad make right-clicking and left-clicking feel natural by placing hotspots beside the active finger. It feels like a tablet version of the iMac's mouse - So basically, it just feels right.

But my favorite part of the package is the pen. The pen is shaped just right for my taste, with a sharp squared eraser on the back end, a classy beveled side that holds the side buttons, and the tablet has a fabric pen holder along the side (a stroke of genius). The pen feels just right on the surface of the tablet too, with just the right about of friction to feel somewhat paper-ish, but not as much as the older Bamboo Fun which was so textured it started to show signs of wear after about a week. My Bamboo Pen & Touch still looks brand new (when I wipe off the fingerprints and coffee splats). The 4 built in buttons look and work great too, nice and sexy.

Bad:
But it's not all fun & games, there are some notable downsides to this tablet. One gripe I have is the software. It works well enough out of the box, and most users will have no problems adapting to the gestures system, but I found it quite limiting. I really hope in future versions of the tablet/software that they provide a gesture editing suite to customize the device's usefulness across the board, not just in the applications they pre-programmed. Picture of all the buttons on tablets were pre-determined. It'd suck not to be able to program "undo" to button x if you wanted. The gestures should work the same way.

Another gripe is the cord. The Bamboo Fun had a great cord system - miniUSB. It was removable, so when you tossed it in your bag the cord didn't have to be bent and mangled and eventually break (like my Graphire 3). For some reason they went back to the built-in cord, and even now I can tell it's the weak link that'll be the death of my pad.

But my biggest gripe - the glitchy touch. This doesn't happen often, and when it's working it's a pleasure to use. But every now & then the touch function will get all drunk and do weird stuff. Silly things like crumbs underneath the tablet or sweaty fingers will sometimes make the cursor accidentally right click, or jump across the screen. Sometimes there's no visible reason why it's being glitchy, and all you can do is turn off the touch function and wait until it starts working again on it's own (which it always does).

Conclusion:
A few small gripes aside, this is a good tablet at a great value. The touch function is amusing and often helpful, but not game-changing and won't really affect your workflow as much as it'll affect everyday tasks like simple browsing. If they came up with a customizable gesture system in their software, fixed the application compatibility (for PC users) of the touch functions, and went back to the Bamboo Fun's miniUSB cord, it could be perfect. But those are small gripes, if you like Wacom's smaller tablets or you're a cheap chap like me, upgrade to the Pen & Touch and you'll be a happy camper.

Good:
+ Great new pen & sheathe
+ High quality build and sexy aesthetic
+ Touch function is fun and useful
+ Awesome value

Bad:
- The touch function has limited usefulness for doing actual work due to the inability to customize the functions through the software
- The touch surface can occasionally start misbehaving
- The cord isn't detachable miniUSB, so if it breaks your pad is useless
- Compatibility issues with PC applications (like Illustrator)
Grade: B+

Smokin' Hot

2010-08-14T18:01:00.000-07:00

Finished this one a while back, but I was never really satisfied with it. I spent another session on it and I think I like it enough now to give it a spot on my site.

And kids, don't smoke.

Detail:

La Fin Du Monde

2010-08-13T20:52:00.001-07:00

Ladies and gentlefolk, I present you with my piece for the September 2010 "Post No Bills" illustration show, which takes place on Sept 12th at the Leslie Jones venue in Toronto.

Detail:

This is the first time I made a frame like this. A success methinks, you may see such frames on future pieces.

NEW BLAWGG

2010-08-13T19:54:00.000-07:00

Hello friend,

My name is André Jolicoeur. You've probably never met me, although chances are you've heard of me. I'm very big in some circles (mostly related to whittling). But don't let that stop you from reaching out across the internets to get to know me, because I'd like nothing more than to let you take a peek or two at my brains.

First things first, every time I start a new site I like to have an archive of what came before it. If you're into digging through my past, here's where you'll want to start:

2008 andrejolicoeur.com - http://www.andrejolicoeur.com/oldsite_2009/

2008 Andre Jolicoeur Illustration Blog - http://www.andrejolicoeur.com/oldsite_2009/blog/

2006 andrejolicoeur.com - http://www.andrejolicoeur.com/old/

2006 blog - http://www.andrejolicoeur.com/old/blog/blog.html

Second things second, enjoy the new site! Lots of the stuff I'm going to be posting early in the blog is recycled content. But don't touch that dial, new and exciting arts and musings are a stones throw away.

Third things third, bees can smell fear. So if you find yourself in the unlikely situation of having a beehive fall onto your head, RELAX, and everything will be fine.