I left my Art in San Francisco! - Prologue

Here's a video put up by the chaps at Society6, which captures the setting up and opening of the "Superheroes" show at D-Structure in San Francisco! I was lucky enough to participate in the show with my "The Cap" piece, alongside many insanely talented artists.

I wish I could have gone down for the opening.. but there will hopefully be others! I think I love San Fran, and I've never even been.

I left my Art in San Francisco!

If you're in the San Francisco area, you should ABSOLUTELY check out the "Superheroes" show put on by Society6 and D-Structure Gallery. I had the wonderful opportunity to be involved, alongside many artists I have looked up to for years. It's really cool to have a piece up next to guys and ladies that I idolized all through school.

The show opened on May 7th, and runs for the month. You can get more information about the show and the artists involved, check out the details at Society6.com

Go for the art, and stay for the awesome!

Friday I'm In Love!

Work, work, work.. I mean quite literally. I'm working on three different pieces this evening. I've been on a quest to thwart oil drying times. The solution, it seems, is to work on multiple pieces at a time. I only utilize this method of working, however, when I already have the paintings blocked in - never when I first start the piece. I do this, because the only way I can begin a new painting, is when I've had a spark of inspiration. When I decide what I want to paint, I work through the night in a Jerry Maguire-esque tornado of clarity, until I've blocked everything in. This is where I'm at on my "Heart Of A Monster" piece. I hope you enjoy!

"Heart Of A Monster" Progress

I'm really excited to be on my way with this one. This is also the first time I've shown a piece this far along completion-wise from the new series I'm working on. SPOILER ALERT!

Here Comes The Bride!

So this feels weird... I mean, posting progress shots for a new piece without posting the other finished pieces?. I know, I know... I promised myself that I would save up all the work and unveil it as a completed series. As I mentioned before, I'm going in a slightly different direction as far as subject matter and technique goes. So, I figure releasing a new piece here and there and simply folding them in with my previous work may extinguish some of the impact that I'm trying to achieve in drawing a distinct line between the old and new. This isn't to say that I don't care for my older work anymore, or that my new work is better (I mean... I hope it IS. Every piece should be better than the last, in theory), but you know what I mean. I apologize for seeming really cryptic in all of this. I promise, I DO have a plan here. It may not make sense right now, but it will when the work is done.

I've also been working on improving and cleaning up my website- making it better, faster and stronger. Keeping up with technology and social media is tough enough when your not trying to design a site around it. ANYHOO, where was I?

"Heart Of A Monster" Early Progress

Ah, yes. So this is just a quick progress shot to wet the appetite (and convince you all that I AM actually working). This piece is actually part of a tryptic that I'm creating alongside two others that will also be monochromatic. I  forgot how much a monochrome palette changes the way I work. I mean... I apply the paint in the same way, but when colors are involved, I find myself achieving tonal values with slightly more ease. In monochrome (because everything is on the same scale) the lights and darks need to REALLY be built up to achieve the depth and form I'm looking for. Cripes, I sound like art school. Regardless, here she is!

Go West, Young Man!

Look at how long ago I posted an update... It's despicable. I feel just AWFUL about it too. I understand if you want to see other people... I just hope we can still be friends.

On THAT note... there are SO many interesting things happening in the world of Bennett. I have moved to Vancouver (basically on a whim), I'm working on a whole new direction as far as my paintings go, and I am discovering entirely new avenues that my work can take me... It's a very exciting time! I don't want to bore everyone with a self-indulgent diary entry here, so I'll make this brief. We aaaaall want to get back to looking at kittens on youtube.

Having sold off most of my pieces before moving out to Vancouver (some DO still remain... if you're interested), I have taken it upon myself to start with something all together new to me! I'm really challenging myself with more realistic figures and forms, while still keeping things the way I do them (I hate saying "style"). I'm working much larger than I ever have before, and I'm attempting a large scale series based on a single subject matter. Everything I'm doing right now- I have never done before. I am SO excited to show everyone what's happening in the studio, but you'll have to waaaait. Instead of releasing pieces one at a time as I finish them, I am releasing "teaser" shots of the works in progress and the finished pieces will be released together as a package. I don't mean to be like those Hollywood studios that market a huge blockbuster two years prior to release... but I would like to build a LITTLE bit of anticipation.

My scanner is currently in a box on the other side of the country... being used as a scratching post, no doubt. So if you'll just bare with the low resolution progress photos, we can get on with things. Ladies and gentlemen- for your consideration, here are a few teaser shots of a work in progress.

"Puddin" - Early Progress

"Puddin" - Later Progress

"Puddin" - Even Later Progress

FanExposé

Sorry for being a little tardy to the party, so to speak. I have just undergone the nightmarish process of relocating from southern Ontario to Vancouver, BC, but I'll get into all that hilarity in another post coming to you soon! Right now, however, I'll just throw down a word or two about all the Fan-tastic sights and smells of the weekend that passed.

As I mentioned before, I attended/exhibited FanExpo last year, and had the greatest of times with a couple of friends. This year, the crew doubled in size and the laughs doubled too. The event was actually oversold, so there ended up being SO many people in attendance that it was physically hard to get around, but I think everyone there would agree that it was TOO worth it! The large installations were as impressive as ever, with the "Tron: Legacy" installation being particularly rad. The special guests including Leslie Neilson, Adam West, Burt Ward, William Shatner and THE Stan Lee gave everyone something to lose their MINDS over. But the cosplay, especially, at this year's expo was worth the price of admission alone. Everyone that dressed up had something awesome about themselves. Whether it was the idea or the execution there were so many that stuck out in my mind... but I won't bore you with nerdery.

What you REALLY came here for (alright fine, but just bear with me) was to check out the piece I created JUST for FanExpo!

"The Cap" (16" x 20" oil on wood)

I've been wanting to tackle "The Cap" for about 2 years now, but always got sidetracked with other projects. With FanExpo 2010 soon approaching (as it was only June then), I decided that the time was nigh! I spent a loooooong time researching previous Captain America costumes and variations throughout the ages, but continued to get lured back to the original costume. I LOVE the aqua-ish blue from those older comic versions, and I have always loved the classic shield design. Keeping with the theme that I had going with the Baroque-style Batman and Robin that I created for last year's expo, I wanted to shine The Cap in the light of a different era. I still wanted to play up the soldier aspect that makes him so great, but didn't want to simply paint him in WW2 fatigues. I gave him a damaged marine helmet, but used small dove feathers stuffed in the helmet band to reflect the wings on his original mask. I then put him in ripped jacket with old leather straps and buckles. I wanted to give him a sort of guerrilla soldier look (potentially Vietnam), but keep the time period ambiguous enough to make your own conclusions. If you're asking why he has white sleeves and red stripes on his stomach, SHUTUP. Also, although I completely redesigned a new costume for him, I kept the colour pattern and arrangement the exact same as the original costume (with the exception of the logo on his shoulder).

I received a lot of great feedback at FanExpo about "The Cap" piece, and can't wait to do more! I'm working out of Vancouver now, and don't know when I'll be back in Toronto... But I am definitely signing on (in pencil at least) for FanExpo 2011!

Yes We Fan!

The dawn of FanExpo 2010 is finally upon us! That's right, its time for you ladies to slide into your Emma Frost costumes, as a sea of acne-riddled Batmen claw their way into prime awkward photo position. Oh, I love FanExpo so much! Last year was the first time I had ever done it, and I could NOT have had more fun. Between the laughs shared with fellow artists Darryl Graham and Andrew Patterson, and the amazingly fun people I got the chance to meet; needless to say, I was definitely down for this year!

And so the time has come to peddle my goods to fellow nerds and bask in the sights of Costumed Business. Darryl and Andrew will once again be joining me in artist alley, alongside some familiar yet new faces to the expo: Irma Kniivila, Bryce Huffman and Dave Murray. I'm excited to see what unexpected hilarity presents itself this year, as I hope you will be joining me for the insanity.

The Expo runs from Aug 27th - Aug 29th, so make sure you make it down! For more information on times and ticket prices, check out the official site HERE.

Ladies and Gentlemen... The Custom NRG Drum Kit!

It's been over half a year since I was asked to create a custom drum kit for NRG Drums, but I can FINALLY show you the pieced together drums! I am currently cropping hundreds of 360 degree photos of the drums to create a slide show of sorts... Its taking some time. A special thanks to Nick for doing a great job constructing the finished kit and for giving me this amazing opportunity. I can't wait to do more!

"Move Along"

Behold! The final product. I had a fantastic time creating this piece and know I will continue in this vein of graphic meets classical with a dash of geek. There isn't really a preliminary sketch for this deck, as I attempted to just go with the flow, so to speak, and have the image move in the space. This Deck is going into a Skate Deck show at the Loose Cannon Gallery in Hamilton. Opening night is August 13th at 7pm. There will be a DJ, some art, and some laughs on site.

All Decked Out!

On this long and winding road to my new home in Vancity (September), I have spent my summer traveling across the country with my hometown mates, heading next to northern Africa (Morocco) with my family, and capping off the summer with an exhibition of my work- shoulder to shoulder with my besties from the old alma mater- at FanExpo 2010 in Toronto. This "Summer of Bennett" has, so far, provided for much merrymaking and jollity; and I expect much more hilarity to come! At times along the way, I have been working on a few projects around my temporary base camp in Sarnia. One such project is a skate deck piece that I'm contributing to a show in Hamilton, at the Loose Cannon Gallery. This is a progress shot to keep you up to date with what's happening. Enjoy!

P.S. Big thanks to Bryce Huffman for putting together all the artists in this show and organizing/ordering all the decks for us.

Project Astronomo!

From time to time I am overjoyed, confused, or just plain furious about things that can be as trivial as, let's say, the length of Thor's beard in the new Avenger's franchise (its too short, by the way. It needs to be far more unruly) or surprisingly crucial things that have lasting impressions on the way we view our most beloved films (the tragedy of digitally adding Hayden Christensen into the end of "Return of The Jedi"... just referencing it gets me upset).

Due to this compounding stack of rantings, ravings, reviews and highlights that I have collecting dust in my mind; I have decided to create a blog to bring some new points of view and interesting arguments to an already over-saturated market of bored and picky movie, comic, video game and music nerds (such as myself).

So, why should you bother to read this? Well other than a delightful read, "The Astronomo" offers interesting takes on breaking news in the script and screen world, as well as some fresh scope of all things nerdy featuring regular contributions from a select band of hilariously geeky (yet astonishingly good-looking) writers.

Cool kids do it. You should too! Check it out HERE

Business Card Upgrade: Half Man, Half Robot, All Cop.

So it came to pass... The Bennett Slater franchise has been rebooted. This isn't to say that I didn't enjoy my old site/blog/card design from when I was in school, but in the new year I decided that, as much as I liked it, it wasn't working with the work as well as I would have hoped. A newer, cleaner, better, faster version had been in the works since about January, but I needed to get the site and blog launched at the same time to avoid confusion. With that, my matching business cards have finally come in the mail and a delightful design package is my reward.

P.S... the cards (when aligned) make limitless patterns... Like actually. I spent about an hour making crazy things, as the edges of the image match up in a few ways. SURPRISE!

Adventure Is Out There!

And so, my dear readers, I have returned from my adventure across Canada, and have many a story to tell. However, I feel I must start by going on record to declare that I have always considered myself a proud Canadian, but only now do I fully understand what a loaded term "Canadian" really is. I could sit here and prattle on and on about how much I "know" now that I've done the drive, (like those people who go to a country and come back as self-proclaimed wizards of philosophy and anthropology and forever one-up you with why it's better somewhere else) but I won't go down THAT road. Instead, to any wide-eyed adventurers ready to take on a new perspective with a sense of childlike wonder and amazement (as I was/am), I say "try it". As someone who has grown up and lived in Ontario for 24 years, Canada has always held the image of adorable cities peppered into hilly/forested landscapes with scenic gems such as a few waterfalls and rock-cuts along the highways. This isn't to discredit Ontario in any way either. Northern Ontario is absolutely beautiful and offers so much to those visiting, (there is a reason they call it "God's Country") but as an apt definition of Canada, it is not.

My experiences with Canada up until this point have, for the most part been narrow in scope, as I am born and raised in Sarnia, with most childhood trips to Thunder Bay, and the odd train trip to Montreal to see Habs games. My family and I drove out east one summer when I was just a pup; camping in the maritime provinces and deep-sea fishing, which was absolutely unique, but I was young, dumb and unable to really drink it all in. However, those trips did trigger in me the idea that perhaps Canada is more than the Ontario that I'm used to. I feel, by the way, like my earlier promise to "not prattle on" has been broken, and for that I apologize and will wrap this thing up before you get a headache from all the eye-rolling you're probably doing as you mull over this self-indulgent life story. I'll finish this post by repeating my earlier words and urging anyone interested to "try it". We have prairies, cacti, mountains, rivers, oceans, plains, canyons, rainforests, islands, and beaches... Go see them!

Photographs taken by yours truly in (from top to bottom: Regina, Saskatchewan; Banff, Alberta; Tofino, British Columbia - June 2010). For the full album of 128 photos narrowed down from 1698 photos taken, you can check out my Facebook album HERE (I'm working on getting a Flickr account, but waiting for activation is a bummer).

Teaser: 3-Piece Custom Drum Kit

So The drum kit that I've been working on (in between projects) for the better part of... several months, is FINALLY done! This project was unlike anything I'd ever attempted before, and with that, came a million new dilemmas. However, despite undertaking this perilous new quest, I managed to be quite pleased with the outcome. These drums were commissioned by NRG Custom Drums and will be unveiled at NRG's exhibition space at the Elton John concert in Toronto (mid July). I will be away from the office for the next couple of weeks driving across Canada, so legitimate photos of the drums will be posted upon my return! Until then, keep watching the skiiiiies...

P.S. Big thanks to Nick for seeking me out for this project and trusting me enough to give me complete freedom. The art direction could NOT have been any better, "Just make them look awesome"... I hope I succeeded.

Spotlight: "The Genius of Design"

This is a new series on BBC2, and is definitely worth a watch! It doesn't demonize or glorify any particular design, but rather, illustrates the aspects of what makes "functional" design work. Living in the age of the consumer, as we do, it's easy to forget that everything/anything we use is designed by someone to maximize functionality. I find this to be an intimidating concept to grasp as a wannabe designer, yet at the same time, it is an extremely exciting opportunity to prove one's worth.

P.S. I used to have a video posted, but "Vimeo" took it off their site. I'm sure it will surface somewhere, so keep an eye out!

Christmas In May!

This is the second in a series of small paintings I have given/am giving to my mom every Christmas/Birthday of hers. This was actually given to her on Christmas, but I forgot to scan it before fled back to Toronto, so... Behold! This our second oldest cat, Max. He was a stray we picked up in the woods... no joke. We named him after the dog from "How The Grinch Stole Christmas".

P.S.. Unplanned Christmas connection, woah.

Cardinal Arrest

"Cardinal Arrest" - oil on wood (20" x 20")

How's it going, everyone? It feels like a while since I last posted some artwork, and for that, I apologize. I have been a busy little bee with all sorts of projects and goings-on around the studio these days, (including the process of moving to a different studio) but this summer looks like it is going to be the "Summer of Bennett". I have my thumb in all SORTS of pies, it seems, and there is bound to be a large scale blog-post assault coming your way in the fairly near future (pending).

Until then, I have here a piece I created for the "Birds and Beasts" show at Jacana Contemporary in Vancouver, running from May 19th - June 13th. The concept should be fairly cut and dry on this piece (attempt at social commentary). I had quite a bit of fun working on this piece, despite the constant confusion while painting the ribs... I got dizzy spells more than a few times. More to come in the posts to come!

Super Punched!

So I noticed I was getting quite a few website hits from "Super Punch"... The reason for this was because I was featured on it... NEAT!

I'm flattered and grateful to be featured amongst great artists doing great things! Check it out at Super Punch.

Wallpapered!

Who here likes wallpapers?... because I made one of 'em! I'm a little late in posting this, as my wallpaper went up March 22nd, but I contributed a wallpaper to a graphic design/illustration conglomerate featuring many great works by many great artists. The site is run by the striking and lovely Erika Brouwer, and a huge thanks goes out to her for including me in all the bafoonery.

Shamelessly promote me or someone that you like better than me by grabbing one of these cherry wallpapers from: Canvas