Oooooo k. Part 2 of this months question: Who is your favorite Toronto-based artist, beginning with another member of the talented Gordon clan.
*EDIT* VALERY GORE HAS BEEN ADDED, CHECK AT BOTTOM.
JESSICA RAE GORDON: ILLUSTRATOR
Laura Paskevicius is my favorite illustrator living and working around Toronto. I had the wonderful good fortune of going to school with her for 4 years at Sheridan College. It's so interesting to see how her art has developed over the years.
Her collage style is so free and instinctual. I can really appreciate these qualities because they contrast so much from my own far more rigid collages.Her vivid colour schemes, unusual characters and messy details are so intriguing to me. I just love to watch and see what she'll do next.
Another Toronto illustrator that I admire is Melinda Josie (also a Sheridan Illustration graduate). I love the beautiful flat, solid colours and the way they contrast the delicately water coloured characters and scenes.
Her art is so sweet and comforting and all together playful.
SHAWN CLARKE: MUSICIAN/ EDITOR
A lot of my favourite music had to be beaten into me. I just didn't get it at first... Jeff Buckley, Radiohead, Wilco, Tom Waits, and Toronto's own, Martin Tielli. With most of these artists, the man who did the beating was my good friend Joel Emberson. He loved the Rheostatics, and insisted I check out guitarist Martin Tielli's solo album, We Never Even Suspected that He Was the Poppy Salesman. . At first I was resistant, I hummed and hawed (as I do), than took the album home and gave it a listen. It went in one ear and then out the other. A couple weeks later, I put it on again. It was gorgeous. I sat down and listened to it three times that night.
What struck me immediately was his voice. I'd heard it before on Rheostatic albums, but there was such intimacy on this solo endeavour, beautiful falsetto, whispered lows, confident highs. The second thing I noticed was his guitar playing. Tielli is a technically proficient guitarist, but doesn't shows off. He is a master of tone, whether on Acoustic or Electric.
He is a bit of an eccentric, which is more prominent on his second solo album Operation Infinite Joy. It has more of a prog-rock feel (and I mean that with all respect), but features one of his most beautiful songs, Kathleen, (a big influence on my song Song for Kathleen).
LESLEY DENFORD: INTERIOR DESIGNER/ ARTIST
I have had the biggest art-crush on Erica Gosich Rose, aka EGR, for the last few years. A former Sheridan student (like me!), she's made a name for herself in the Toronto art scene with her urban yet elegant graffiti art, usually featuring beautiful curvy ladies and dreamy fantasy elements. I was fortunate to receive one of her original paintings, "Sweet Nothings" (see attached picture, yo!), as a gift, and I feel honoured to have it in my possession - to feel the texture of the wood, to see the little sparkly bits of glitter, to see the wood grain peeking through the sheer layers of light aqua paint. EGR's influence doesn't directly show up in my art, but her paintings give me butterflies and inspire me to keep creating.
BARZIN: MUSICIAN
JESSICA RAE GORDON: ILLUSTRATOR
Laura Paskevicius is my favorite illustrator living and working around Toronto. I had the wonderful good fortune of going to school with her for 4 years at Sheridan College. It's so interesting to see how her art has developed over the years.Her collage style is so free and instinctual. I can really appreciate these qualities because they contrast so much from my own far more rigid collages.Her vivid colour schemes, unusual characters and messy details are so intriguing to me. I just love to watch and see what she'll do next.
Another Toronto illustrator that I admire is Melinda Josie (also a Sheridan Illustration graduate). I love the beautiful flat, solid colours and the way they contrast the delicately water coloured characters and scenes.
Her art is so sweet and comforting and all together playful.
SHAWN CLARKE: MUSICIAN/ EDITOR
A lot of my favourite music had to be beaten into me. I just didn't get it at first... Jeff Buckley, Radiohead, Wilco, Tom Waits, and Toronto's own, Martin Tielli. With most of these artists, the man who did the beating was my good friend Joel Emberson. He loved the Rheostatics, and insisted I check out guitarist Martin Tielli's solo album, We Never Even Suspected that He Was the Poppy Salesman. . At first I was resistant, I hummed and hawed (as I do), than took the album home and gave it a listen. It went in one ear and then out the other. A couple weeks later, I put it on again. It was gorgeous. I sat down and listened to it three times that night.
What struck me immediately was his voice. I'd heard it before on Rheostatic albums, but there was such intimacy on this solo endeavour, beautiful falsetto, whispered lows, confident highs. The second thing I noticed was his guitar playing. Tielli is a technically proficient guitarist, but doesn't shows off. He is a master of tone, whether on Acoustic or Electric.
He is a bit of an eccentric, which is more prominent on his second solo album Operation Infinite Joy. It has more of a prog-rock feel (and I mean that with all respect), but features one of his most beautiful songs, Kathleen, (a big influence on my song Song for Kathleen).
LESLEY DENFORD: INTERIOR DESIGNER/ ARTIST
I have had the biggest art-crush on Erica Gosich Rose, aka EGR, for the last few years. A former Sheridan student (like me!), she's made a name for herself in the Toronto art scene with her urban yet elegant graffiti art, usually featuring beautiful curvy ladies and dreamy fantasy elements. I was fortunate to receive one of her original paintings, "Sweet Nothings" (see attached picture, yo!), as a gift, and I feel honoured to have it in my possession - to feel the texture of the wood, to see the little sparkly bits of glitter, to see the wood grain peeking through the sheer layers of light aqua paint. EGR's influence doesn't directly show up in my art, but her paintings give me butterflies and inspire me to keep creating.
BARZIN: MUSICIAN
I would have to say that it's probably Michelle Macadory. I really love her style of songwriting. She use to be the lead singer of Crash Vegas in the 90's. She has released two solo albums under her own name since that band broke up. And it's her solo work that I am really a big fan of. She never plays around. I think she might have stopped making music. Not really sure. But I do love her work. Eric Chenaux has been involved in her solo projects from the beginning. So, there is always a great guitar thing happening in her recordings.Barzin was gracious enough to answer my last question, but I didn't get it up in time, so here is his answer to last months question "Which artist, or piece of art, helped put you on your current path?"
Well, I would start by choosing Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan. Lyrically, they have taken folk and pop music to a whole new level, and I have always looked to them for guidance when it came to writing words for my songs.
Musically, I guess it's not as simple. Like all musicians I've gone through so many different phases. But these are some of the people and bands that have left their mark on me to this day.
Tindersticks,
Scott Walker (both the crooner years of the 60's and the recent stuff which is quite dark and experimental)
Parker and Lily,
Frankie Sparo,
Bruce Cockburn (early stuff, before the 80's came and he turned political),
The National
The Rolling Stones,
Nick Drake,The Beatles,
Peter Elkas
Peter Katz
Peter Pan (oops!)
Melissa McClelland
Royal Wood
Luke Doucet
Sandro Perri
Justin Rutledge
Elliot Brood
Ohbijou
Oh Man there are many. Those are some of 'em.
Why? Because they all have something to say and write beautiful music, or rocking music.
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8 comments:
I wasn't thinking!! JESSICA GORDON is my favorite Toronto Based artist!!
baaaahhhh hahaha! yeah! come on! what the hell ...
Yeah, I change my answer too.. Jessica Rae Gordon forever.... Just stay out of my field!!
Check this action out, I've decided to branch out and become a singer/song writer .. "la la la .. do dee do .."
I'm kicking your ass over here.
Damn!! well, um....
0
-I-
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Look out. Now I'm an artist.
Shawn, you're in trouble. Jessica seems to be taking over the world with her singing and songwriting and art abilities. And no offence, but your stick drawing? I appreciate the effort, but it's pretty weak. You've got some fierce competition going on, buddy. I'm gonna be checking back to see how this all heats up...
Yeah, all I need is a good base player and a filter that makes me sound like less of a complete fool.
I think that'd be bang on. I'll get all your gigs.
Lesley, you stay out of this.
It's a good thing you're off to Ottawa Gordon, cause there's a fist fight a brewin'.
Good luck finding a Base player. The best you'll do are BASS players.
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