s a m a n t h a . m e i l e r . f i n e . a r t s . & . i l l u s t r a t i o n

h a z a r d s

2012-01-16T14:08:00.000-08:00

As of late, this song is the only one that get's me through the day. I still wish this album had been made into a movie or stage play. The Decemberists: The Hazards of Love: (The Drowned).

p o l k a

2012-01-05T19:26:00.000-08:00

Painting picture frames, soon to be available on Etsy!

m a n y . h a p p y . r e t u r n s

2012-01-04T11:56:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone who's taken the time to stop by the blog these past few days. It means a lot to me that my work is touching so many people (even if in small ways).

Cheers to a brand new, W O N D E R F U L year jammed pack with creativity, courage and personal progress :)

g r e e n . q u e e n

2012-01-03T23:42:00.000-08:00

New series in progress: golden girls.

r o m a n

2012-01-03T23:39:00.000-08:00

Roman soldier & wolf headdress. Detail from a Christmas present painting. Acrylic on canvas.

l i v i n g . i n . t r e e s

2012-01-02T23:33:00.000-08:00

Album cover design for Living in Trees debut EP. Find them here.

g i n g e r

2012-01-01T20:40:00.000-08:00

Coloured version of a sketch.

" s " . i s . f o r . s t a b

2012-01-01T20:39:00.000-08:00

Coloured sketch version with a final version elsewhere.

b l o n d i e

2012-01-01T20:38:00.000-08:00

Coloured sketch.

s a d . g i r l . h a p p y . g i r l

2012-01-01T20:37:00.000-08:00

Cover for my zine "Sad girl happy girl" which debuted at Expozine this past November in Montreal.

m a k i n g . c a k e

2011-10-01T11:14:00.000-07:00

Coming soon to a glow-in-the-dark sticker near you!

s k e t c h y

2011-10-01T11:12:00.000-07:00

Imagine these 4 ft tall...then I could die happy!

f r e s h . f a l l

2011-09-23T18:26:00.000-07:00

It's been a while, I know. Hello, hello...is anyone still out there?

f r o m . t h e . a r c h i v e s

2011-07-21T16:39:00.000-07:00

I'll call this "Classic Sam" circa 2007.
Essay Intro to A Little Crescent Moon
Awareness is a drug--an opiate, a depressant and a stimulant.

It is a limb tingling, brain-beating spiral, where the blood curdles of its own frustrated accord and stinging wide eyes must flicker with frantic unease--that's what true knowledge is. When each separation from the fix breeds thick apprehension and each stumble back into its arms yields the most conceivably comforting embrace, one has found it.

To discover truth is to swallow the Pill; once one becomes aware, there is no escape, only the desire for more, for clarification. There is only the smothering kiss of an abusively gentle lover, a lonely, exciting thrill of peace chased by torrid wakefulness and the subsequent moments of agony from kiss to kiss; each new thrill requires more shock to please and the learner needs never stop the process.

Awareness is a drug: a hand to hold and be held, but never let go of without great trepidation

s w i p e

2011-07-15T23:23:00.000-07:00

d e t a i l s

2011-07-13T23:44:00.000-07:00

s k e t c h y

2011-07-12T22:30:00.000-07:00

d a r k . p l a c e s

2011-07-06T15:02:00.000-07:00

How about these photos by Swiss designer Dennys Hess? Love them!

o r a n g e . p o p s i c l e

2011-07-02T11:32:00.000-07:00

Upped contrast for collagability. I like orange, what can I say?

s t i c k y . a n t o i n e t t e

2011-07-02T11:26:00.000-07:00

Sticker design, playing around in Illustrator.

s e c r e t . g a r d e n

2011-07-01T10:50:00.000-07:00

I should spend more time outside.

o r a n g e . p o p s i c l e

2011-06-30T19:11:00.000-07:00

New Photos to be collaged. I like doing this work, but it makes me feel vain and vapid.

a r t . g a r d e n

2011-06-30T17:59:00.000-07:00

Diptych, one of two. Acrylic on cavnas...a little sloppy, will tighten on the next one.

m e l a n c h o l y . m a s q u e r a d e

2011-06-30T14:33:00.000-07:00

Feeling dizzy today.

d o e s n ' t . m a t t e r

2011-06-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

Today is my birthday and this bit of advice is my gift to myself:

I should probably actually have this shirt made. Now back to watching the Jetsons movie on Netflix!

c o m p l i m e n t a r y

2011-06-27T17:33:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time...my sketchbook was glued to my side; people told me that I was unapproachable because I was always too busy sketching. I like to sketch in pen or marker, never pencil (I have no time or patience for "impermenant media"); I like to jot down notes, dream logics, story fragments and imaginary conversations. I've even developed a sort of sloppy shorthand to concel the meaning of these messages from those who leaf through my books (which sometimes even I can't understand!).

Time for another revolution: get back into the sketching swing.

i f . o n l y . h o m e . w a s . a w a y

2011-06-27T08:31:00.000-07:00

Weekend on the beach: cold and cloudy outside, cozy and kitschy inside.

d e t a i l s

2011-06-09T18:13:00.000-07:00

Details from a larger painting. I'd like to do more work like this, nothing but patterened canvas.

f r u i t . s a l a d

2011-06-06T12:31:00.000-07:00

I've been a fan of Yoshitaka Amano's work since the moment I first laid eyes on it, way way back in my childhood. While cleaning recently, I stumbled across some character cut-outs of his which I had taped to the inside of my wardrobe (Locke and Terra from FF III to be precise) and the love was reignited. His figures appear to me as simultaneously sleepy and sensual, mysterious and nonchalant.

Oh to live in such a world.

via booooooom

a l l . o f . m y . h o p e s

2011-06-02T20:30:00.000-07:00

Bonus points if you can guess which movie that quote comes from. Another: "Forgive a doubting fool...".

I feel like all artists have a guilty drawing pleasure. Mine is fancily dressed characters standing stoically and facing straight ahead.

New self-challenge: one drawing a day, to be coloured later when the mood strikes.

y o u . r u i n e d . m y . b i r t h d a y

2011-06-02T19:56:00.000-07:00

A "drawing" from the year of no drawing.

Inspired by the story of a girl whose improperly packaged, leftover birthday soup ruined her party dress. In an ensuing memo, the restaurant manager scolded his staff but assured them that an apology had been delivered, along with gift certificates. He was sure that the girl and her family would remain loyal customers.

I'm sure that they wouldn't.

Things like that stay with you.

___

Paint and yarn on a canvas dress. It's wearable, for someone small enough.

d e t a i l s

2011-06-01T19:42:00.000-07:00

Lots going on, and yet not enough.

p u r g i n g

2011-05-31T16:12:00.000-07:00

I bought these shoes back in the spring of 2007 while on a school trip to New York City. They were only ten dollars, and at the time I was practically incapable of passing up anything that cost that much or less. I also though that they looked like they could have belonged to Marie Antoinette (or a kitschier, ie ever cooler, version of her), which further sealed the deal.

In the time four years since purchasing them, I had worn these shoes approximately one time.

I held onto them because they were beautiful, and because maybe, just maybe, someday I would have a need for bedazzled, ill-fitting, French Court kitten heels.

Finally, yesterday, I let them go; I donated them in their original box (baby pink with hearts) and only hope that someone else will see in them what I did.

h a l l w a y

2011-05-27T19:24:00.000-07:00

Yum! I'd like Miami-based Alvaro Ilizarbe (aka FREEGUMS) to decorate my house.
via Narwhal

c r u m p l e

2011-05-27T15:53:00.000-07:00

n o f l a s h . f l a s h

2011-05-27T15:39:00.000-07:00

Kinda looks like a Monet. As if.

Acrylic on Canvas WIP.

p u r g i n g

2011-05-25T07:51:00.000-07:00

So, Matilda's strong young mind continued to grow; nurtured by all those authors who'd sent their books out into the world. Like ships onto the sea. These books gave Matilda a hopeful and comforting message: "you are not alone."
via Shelving Cart

As I sort through my possessions, struggling with attachment to personified objects and guilt, I should remember that I'm not saying goodbye; I'm sending these things out into the world, to be enjoyed by someone else who will, hopefully, be as influenced by them as I have been.

g e t . h a p p y

2011-05-16T11:49:00.000-07:00

I wish that I could feel silly all the time.

T h r e e S t e p P l a n :

1) Make "GETHAPPY" Playlist

2) Learn how to do Everything

2a) Creative Explosion

3) Be fabulous ( & Sassy) !

b e g i n n i n g . a g a i n

2011-05-08T10:11:00.000-07:00

b l o d d y . b e d

2011-05-05T17:50:00.000-07:00

Who knows why.

g h o s t

2011-05-05T17:37:00.000-07:00

April was a dead month, I'm sorry.

Surprise-result photos. At what point does something like this pass from lame to art, and vice-versa. Am I a fraud for practicing "photography"?

Suddenly I have a plan: reworking, adding, subtracting, blowing up. Stay tuned.

s a d . d a y

2011-04-15T21:03:00.000-07:00

It's been a tough week for me. Last weekend I wrote my FINAL final exams, handed in my last essays, and that was that...Earlier this week I cleaned out my studio, took home my furniture, paints, paper, mementos etc and essentially said goodbye to what has been my second home for the past eight months. I packed up, turned in my key, took some photos and said goodbye.

It's funny because, for as long as I can remember, I'd been fantasizing about this time. Practically since my first year of university I had been dreaming about the day that I would finish school, gleefully awaiting the end of my academic life and all the pressures that went along with it. I didn't see university as"the best years of my life"...it was just something that I had to do, something standing in the way of the real life I would lead on the other side.

I dreamt about the end for four years but somehow it snuck up on me; and to my surprise, I wasn't ready to say goodbye. Leaving that studio was like breaking up with a boyfriend; it was a safe haven, a meeting point, a home away from home that connected me to the rest of the world in a way that hurts very much to lose.

Goodbye blue sky...

goodbye studio, goodbye school...

I'm adrift again.

c l a r a

2011-04-07T16:21:00.000-07:00

Oh ladies...so close but, going to take a break with these for a while. Faces and composition are done...pattern time!

a l i c e

2011-04-07T16:14:00.000-07:00

b u t t e r c u p

2011-04-07T16:09:00.000-07:00

Oh these paintings...I have to say, I love process photos but these seem like too much even for me. So, I'm happy to say they're basically over. This series is done(ish). Clap clap.

e m i l y

2011-03-31T16:56:00.000-07:00

WIP Acrylic on Canvas. After her.

a l i c e

2011-03-31T16:45:00.000-07:00

WIP Acrylic on Canvas.

f e r n

2011-03-31T16:43:00.000-07:00

WIP Acrylic on canvas. I have 2 essays to burn through and then I'll be spending the remainder of the weekend in my studio, painting myself into a coma. Can't wait! (and that's genuine!)

y e s

2011-03-30T20:41:00.000-07:00

So YES was a huge, fantastic success! Thank you so much to everyone who came out to share the evening with us. Also thanks to Marta Ryczko for taking these pictures :)

s t i c k y

2011-03-30T20:09:00.000-07:00

Some little experimental, hand-drawn stickers. Quite fun, I think I might make some more, but with proper materials!

b u t t e r c u p

2011-03-23T18:51:00.000-07:00

Today was full of fixing and do-overs. WIP Acrylic on Canvas, continuing from here.

f u n e r a l . g i r l

2011-03-23T18:44:00.000-07:00

The beginning of the painted version of this lovely lady.

Acrylic on Canvas.

c l a r a

2011-03-23T18:38:00.000-07:00

After her.

e m i l y

2011-03-23T18:34:00.000-07:00

There just wasn't something right about this girl.

The next step, looking better I think:

i n s i d e . l u c i e

2011-03-23T18:30:00.000-07:00

Another paint-over...and it's going to be painted over itself I reckon.

a b d u c t i o n

2011-03-22T19:47:00.000-07:00

An oldie, but definety in the same stream that I'd like to be swimming again in soon. Hades & Persephone, number one in a three part (as of right now) series that I did for the From Beneath show back in December.

Marker on paper.

i . a m . a . l i g h t h o u s e

2011-03-21T21:52:00.000-07:00

I like drawing on yellow paper, it makes everything look antique. Athena, Aegis and all.

p r o g r e s s

2011-03-21T21:49:00.000-07:00

Almost there, can't wait for something new!

b l u e

2011-03-21T21:36:00.000-07:00

Cutouts n' fabric.

m y . s p o t t y . c o m p l e x i o n

2011-03-20T00:04:00.000-07:00

Marker on Paper.

p o n y . g i r l

2011-03-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy past few days, it'll be a crazy few to come.

Markers on paper.

y e s

2011-03-12T08:04:00.000-08:00

It's going to be a fantastic show. If you're going to be in the KW area I highly reccomend checking it out, and as always, tell all your friends!

t i c k . t o c k

2011-03-11T09:02:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how fast time really does fly when you're having fun. These two feel like yesterday....

D is for Decapitation.
S is for Stab.

Happy Friday everyone!

m o s t . b r o k e n

2011-03-10T15:34:00.000-08:00

What's the most frequently-broken bone in the human body?

The clavicle, apparently.

l o v e . b i r d s

2011-03-09T15:59:00.000-08:00

f e e l i n g s

2011-03-08T21:30:00.000-08:00

markers & ink on paper + glitter cardstock

f i s h . & . f r i e n d s

2011-03-07T19:50:00.000-08:00

Collage components n' stuff.

s o m e t h i n g . t o . s a y

2011-03-07T19:40:00.000-08:00

Messages to myself / inner monologue / confessions / motivations.
I am channeling my negativity; by metaphorically voming it up, I regain control (or so I like to think).

l u c i e

2011-03-07T18:12:00.000-08:00

Another Acrylic on Canvas WIP lady.

I like her, except for her "scarf" which I mostly think looks like a steak...or an inside-out octopus. Tisk tisk.

p l a i n . j a n e

2011-03-06T10:14:00.000-08:00

From that to this. Acrylic on canvas WIP.

p r e s s i e s

2011-03-05T18:13:00.000-08:00

I was going through some books in my studio this past week and WHAM BAM stumbled across these gems; I had pressed them in the fall and I am so happy that I found them. I especially love the beautiful, giant hosta leaves, which were disgusting ( and slimy!) to harvest but now look like nature's own tissue paper.

I feel like I'm making a rediculous soup: Into the collage you go! (or like the French chef from The Little MermaidI. "Les poissons, les poissons, how I love les poissons! Now I'll stuff you with bread, it won't hurt, 'cause you're dead--and you're certainly lucky you are!")

I think I need a vacation.

w i n g s

2011-03-05T09:06:00.000-08:00

Another thrift store find. I'm not exactly sure what these little birds were originally intended for, but I know that they'll have happy homes inside some collages soon.

p l a i n . j a n e

2011-03-05T08:57:00.000-08:00

It's anybody's guess.

p e a r l s

2011-03-05T08:48:00.000-08:00

d a n c e . ' r o u n d . t h e . m e m o r y . t r e e

2011-03-03T15:54:00.000-08:00

So here is half of my Thesis assembly; the other half is here more or less.

If I can pull this off, I'll be the HAPPIEST girl in the world.

e m i l y

2011-03-03T15:36:00.000-08:00

The next step after her.

WIP Acrylic on Canvas

s w a l l o w . t h e . k e y

2011-03-03T15:21:00.000-08:00

Also:

Here & Here

s o . f a r .

2011-03-01T05:52:00.000-08:00

It's about time that I added some nudies to my wardrobe. New shoes from Old Navy.

t o m o r r o w . w i l l . b e . b e t t e r

2011-02-28T21:23:00.000-08:00

Fingers crossed.

Usually when I start drawing in a particular style, and I really get my mojo going, I stop abruptly and then look back months later, after I've fallen out of that style or forget exactly how I did something and think "why didn't I do more of those?". Not this time; I'm on a roll, and Imma keep rolling.

g o l d e n . g i r l

2011-02-28T21:19:00.000-08:00

Pen&Ink&Marker on paper + sparkly paper

p o l k a

2011-02-27T13:19:00.000-08:00

I wore this shirt on the morning of my first driving lesson.

Pen & Ink on paper

f u n e r a l . g i r l

2011-02-27T12:56:00.000-08:00

The Oscars are tonight, are you pumped? I'm pumped.

This is another collage piece, pen & ink and a bit of marker on paper, with some vintage fabric in the back for decoration. I originally bought this fabric/dress hoping to make a new dress out of it BUT, things didn't quite turn out and now it's being repurposed. How serindipitous.

b u t t e r c u p

2011-02-26T10:41:00.000-08:00

Stronger jaw, that's better.

Little Women just got even better: Donal Louge makes a cameo! ahhh

e m i l y

2011-02-26T10:32:00.000-08:00

The next steps after her. It's anybody's guess right now how these paintings are going to turn out, or if they ever will.

How are you spending your Saturday? I'm making a mess right now, cutting things up and putting them back together. I'm also watching Little Women, which has to be one of my favourite movies and is practically perfect in my opinion. I'd like to live my life like that: have lots of daughters and cats and quilts, go to Paris and paint, be surrounded by flowers in springtime and candles in the winter, wear full skirts and eat fresh baked bread and fruit. Plus, the soundtack warms the cockles of my heart, and it makes me cry every five minutes. I think I'm a little too much like Jo...I hope that things end as well for me as they do for her.

"Embrace your liberty, and see what wonderful things come." Yup, I'll get right on that!

m y s t e r y . g i r l

2011-02-25T11:58:00.000-08:00

More more more.

l i s t e n . l i s t e n

2011-02-25T10:48:00.000-08:00

I just googled "Marie Antoinette". Clearly that's not my image.

Happy Friday everyone!

It's a my reading week still, I'm all stocked up on fantastic supplies such as baby gold frames, sparkly paper, some metallic paint, more wooden framesies, hole punchers and some pre-loved fabrics and stickers. I think it's time for some uber crafting, the kind that leaves me sleepelss for days (let's see if I can break my record of 2 all nighters in a row followed by a full day at school/work) and turns my workspace into a disaster zone.

P.s.....Ugh, how much would I love this custom iPod skin from Gelaskins. Since I'm pretty sure that they wouldn't make it for me though (frowny face) I'm going to take Marta Ryczko's advice and draw my own. Yea yea.

t h e . w a y . t h i n g s . w e r e

2011-02-22T22:49:00.000-08:00

Dawn singing: Where do we go from here?

l a s t . n i g h t

2011-02-19T12:32:00.000-08:00

Last night I sold my cousin's birthday flowers to a criminal, was chased by murderers, got locked in a haunted laundry room in the basement, cleaned up vomited alphabet soup, was a mail carrier and had an INSATIABLE thirst for gingerale.

s o f t

2011-02-17T19:59:00.000-08:00

Sarah Silverman said it best - Homesick, but you're already home.

Baby wants her bed.

c l a r a

2011-02-15T21:06:00.000-08:00

The next steps after this gurl.

Not looking so good!

That's better - face detail.

Work in progress, acrylic on canvasss.

b u c k e t s

2011-02-13T22:13:00.000-08:00

I'm a messy worker.

p r e t t y

2011-02-12T09:36:00.000-08:00

" I may be dead, but at least I'm still pretty", says Buffy.

I never went through that "taking angsty pictures of myself in the mirror" phase as a teenager. I guess this is a bit of a late manifestation of that, albeit not intentionally. Imma be collaging these in a bit. Title up there courtesy of Buffy, Slayer of the Vampires...I'm back into it again, firing up season two as we speak.

b u t t e r c u p

2011-02-11T14:04:00.000-08:00

The next steps after this. Acrylic on Canvas WIP

c l a r a

2011-02-11T13:52:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on Canvas WIP

m u s t a r d

2011-02-10T21:34:00.000-08:00

This chair is the thrifted love of my life. It lives in my studio & it's where the magic happens. I tried to sleep in it once--bad idea.

e m i l y

2011-02-10T12:14:00.000-08:00

This girl got painted over.

and then....

Acrylic on Canvas WIP!

b u t t e r c u p

2011-02-10T12:05:00.000-08:00

I love process photos.After this babydoll.

Skeleton face! Acrylic on Canvas.

t a l l e r . t i m b e r

2011-02-09T11:05:00.000-08:00

I recently took part in the Annual University of Waterloo /
University of Guelph Art Exchange, where students from both universities desplay their works in each other's galleries. Very cool.

Afetr being on display in the Zavitz Gallery at the University of Guelph for a week, the works are back in town and on display at the Artery in downtown Kitchener from
February 7th-March 8th 2011.

To Break for Taller Timber-
Opening Reception
"Celebrating the spreading of wings to Zavitz Gallery and the safe return to KW."
Friday February 18th, 6:00-8:00pm at the Artery.

Come check it out & bring a friend!

t y p i c a l

2011-02-09T10:42:00.000-08:00

So I have this dress...slippery and cool, black and gold, makes me feel like a princess. I've had it for at least 4 years; I've worn it two times. Two, how typical.

t h e . d e m i s e . o f . b a r b a r a

2011-02-07T11:31:00.000-08:00

This popped into my head in the shower this morning. How kinda sorta beautiful it is. Bill swaggering off onto the lawn and toppling gracefully while Uma smiles and cries. Takes me back to high school, when I used to sketch brides in bloody wedding gowns, and when Mr. "Kippy/Kipler" Kipfer asked if I needed to see a counselor because of my fondness for red under-painting.

Bom bom BOM....The Demise of Barbara and the Return of Joe - Ennio Morricone. I need to watch more "old" movies.