FURNITURE. YES, FURNITURE

Furniture? Yes. Furniture

,ANIMATE THE INANIMATE

How I became a furniture painter.

During the dark social experiment 2020- my work as an actor staggered on. Sitting in my car in a mask waiting to be let in to a studio alone, then being sprayed with pesticide and at arms length from the technician and on zoom with the director. Well, I’m sure you remember the ridiculous state of us. I hope that later later we will all find that time as funny as things at a very great distance can be. My industry underwent a sea change from that time that is still unfolding. And it may be that it dies or morphs entirely. Maybe on the whole, the animation industry lacked depth for what we are becoming as a species after what we all experienced. Maybe, like the people of earth, it will splinter, some moving into the automatic, the repetitious, mechanical light, and like som others, into the organic, into nuance, depth. You can see (Well, I can see) how animation of all the entertainment forms was at a cliff’s edge.

I do still do cartoons. But you know, even in the thick of my career— it only ever took about 4hrs max to do an episode of a cartoon— usually much much less, so if it is your metier, it’s good to have other creative avenues to engage your vasty-vastness. For me, that used to be writing. But now I talk less, smile more, to quote Hamilton. I find myself happier with fewer words in my orbit(social media overload may have something to do with that) Anyway, I paint now and use mixed media (a fancy way of saying I paste stuff like a kindergartener) on furniture. I love it because it’s practical as we as (to my eye) beautiful.

I live in a country that generally expresses itself in a neutral palette. Ever go to Ontario in the winter? White. Grey. That’s it. I am here to disrupt that nonsense.

Souls have many purposes. I feel that one of mine— besides petting all the dogs and canoodling with all the cats, is to bring as much colour to the world as I can. And to take all the automation, all the unattended unconscious detritus and wake it up. If that means Ikea furniture or little boxes of houses, every one the same, made for ants, not people. Dull as dishwater suburbs and strip malls and perfect expressions of ‘no-one-is-at-home’ I want to turn the lights one. Not LED lights. Full spectrum. Tickle the mind awake with colour and pattern. Get the eyes unstuck. Let’s go! Let’s plant! Lets Paint! Let’s bring LIFE TO LIFE. I’m EXCITED! WAHOOOOOO

Where to find it

Currently I only deliver my furniture in the Vancouver area, lower Mainland. You can buy it at the Brick and Mortar shop 'Muckabout Gift Gallery, 4759 Hastings street Burnaby Bc 778 379- 3595 Some furniture pieces are in the shop along with painted jewelry boxes and vintage suitcases, and some are here at my home studio.
If you order, you might even get me as a delivery man!

Win-win Recycling

Most of the furniture I paint is found at thrift shops, garage sales and various recycling resources.I love this for so many reasons-- it's unwasteful, less expensive, completely customizable and if it all goes wrong, you can paint over it!

I use chalk paint in the main, it is environmentally friendly, has no fumes or horrid chemicals, and it blends beautifully. As for papers, I make my own blending free-source imagery but also sometimes buy papers from such lovely crafters as MadeByMarley and sundry Etsy vendors. I have also sometimes used low voc housepaint sourced at the recyclers, topped up with Plaster of Paris.