Postive Creations: Chris Dyer Book Launch Dec 16 2011

Although I was a little late in getting there, I stopped off at the Positive Creations book launch at the Fresh Paint Gallery on the corner of St. Caths and Hotel-de-Ville last Friday to pay homage and respect to a hard working artist and his latest creation. It's hard to even figure out where to begin with this guy -he's just got so much going on. I first picked up on Chris and his work a couple of years back through my work with Under Pressure and other related events. His painting is some of the most vibrant and colorful I've seen in a while, truly psychedelic. His art captures your senses and then bashes them with an array of color and form. He has had much success with his art, but also as solid skater -you can check him skating at the Urban Ambush Yard here and he has been featured in magazines and other publications over the years.

Besides shredding it up Chris has been painting decks for a while now. Having been an avid skater for years he amassed quite the amount of crushed boards, and one day he started recycling them as canvasses for his art. He had plenty up on the walls at the show but it was a drop in the bucket to the hundreds he has painted over the years. He's even gone so far as to create giant robot-skateboard installation pieces such as the one seen here at Fresh Paint Gallery a few months ago. I found a similar one in his book that he did in 2010 too as well as a ton of his other painted boards.

Chris has been commissioned by dozens of skaters and pro shops to paint custom boards. His colorful and spiritually infused deck art has been celebrated in his own series of skateboards through Creation Skateboards (more than 60 decks to-date). He's done a bunch of art shows -solo and group -here in town, across the country, the States, South America, and wherever else his feet have taken him on his many travels. You can check out his web site here to feast your eyes on his many artistic creations, writings, pictures, and videos of his travels through life and art.

Here are some pics from the event, I wish I had taken more pics of his boards but you can also get a good look if you buy his book which is a solid read and visual joy ride chalked full of great art and good vibes. It's close to three hundred pages are modestly priced at about $40. You should be able to get it at the Fresh Paint Gallery in Montreal, but if from afar or just too lazy then you can find it here on Amazon.

Barry Walsh had some of his boxes with him stacked up in a mighty pyramid too. I had to flick some of the nicer painted models. Some vintage models up there, you gotta appreciate how awesome this collection is. Here are a few shots of these beauties painted by Howek, Sake, Hest1, Chris Dyer, and others.

I was really glad I was able to make the night and congratulate Chris on the book and all his successes. I've only had a chance to read a bit of the copy I picked up and leaf through the rest but I can guarantee that this is a solid production of Chris's work, travels, life, and philosophy. I'm proud to have it in my collection and can't wait to finish going through it. Do yourself a favor and pick it up. You won't be disappointed.

Neuf is Enough: Sino Shop Dec 3 2011

I got a special invite to attend 'Neuf is Enough' at Sino Shop on the 3rd of December that featured canvasses by nine of Montreal's finest: FOne, Zek, Stare, Fluke, Nixon, Tchug, Scan, Five8, Sino. Although there was only one canvass per artist the show was really a nice mix of style, form, and substance. Sino was gracious enough to provide drinks, food, and some good beats, along with the good company of all those in attendance, the evening was full of good conversations, great art to check out, finger foods, and Stella Artoise. 

In speaking with some of the artists it was really interesting to hear some of the techniques they used to complete their canvasses or why they used a particular style or form. Stare's piece looked like a printed Polaroid on canvass with his signature in marker on the corner. On closer inspection, however, you could tell that it wasn't that at all. In fact he had painstakingly hand painted the entire canvass (down to every little brink) including the signature that wasn't in marker at all, but in fact was hand painted to appear as such. Solid canvass and a reminder as to why he's one of the premier artists out there.

Zek's piece was awesome and honestly one of the few times (if not the first) that I have seen a work that does not include his letters. Zek is a Montreal staple of letter form and style, his signature letters are regarded as some of the best in town and he's got years of experience to back it up. This piece featured a miner's skull in the forefront of an industrial design that had some wicked color fades and smoke trails. What sucks is that I didn't get a full shot of the piece, just a close up of the detail but if you stop by the shop you can get it in all it's glory. Although this piece was a break from what we nornally see from him, being 'sans lettres', it was finely executed and served a harsh reminder that Zek has got game on all fronts.

Fluke, Five8, FOne, Tchug, Scan, and Sino all had great signature pieces up with tight style and form. Nixon's piece was unmistakably his with a myriad of funky characters surrounding a snow remover. I love the organic feel that all of his pieces have, street or gallery. Five8 has been kicking out some solid portraits over the last while and this one was great addition with a nice multi-colored blend. You can view more of his work on his flikr here. All these guys put some hard work into their pieces, and it showed. I didn't get to talk to everyone about their pieces but just a look shows you the effort and skill they put into each of their works.

You can check out Sino shop here for info on the artists and contact info or you can contact Ashop here for the same info. 

 

All in all a great night or food, drink, art, and conversation with some good company. Thanks for having me along. Stay posted. Big updates coming as soon as I get out from under the pile of work that's been bogging me down. Check out the rest of these shots from the night, additional photos provided by Katrine Couvrette who got some great shots of the evening too.

Stay posted.