30.1.07

February 'Picture This'

Here is the poster for february's 'Picture This' event at the Tranzac. The image for this one was done by the incomparable Dean Tzenos, who is also one half of Dr Jesus, a band playing the event. Incidentally, I did the graphic design this time.

Lincoln

Here are the three Lincolns I just finished for Boston Globe.



28.1.07

blogTo

Looks like I'll be writing two blogs soon. BlogTo is going to have me writing about the arts in Toronto. I'm really excited to join blogTo. Its a great opportunity to get more involved in my city and a great excuse to get out more. Hopefully I'll be able to start blogging over there within a week.

26.1.07

Update

I'm pretty busy with illustration these days. The Boston Globe has hired me again to do the front of the book review section. I should be done in the next few days. I'm also working on a piece for Geez magazine here is Canada. I'll post some of this soon. I'll also be posting the new 'Picture This' poster for the event on Feb.13th. Keep checking in.

20.1.07

Last night

Picture This was awesome last night! After a slow but steady start, the night went off like gangbusters. Dr Jesus performed first and was the funniest thing I've ever seen put to music. The first audience test of my first video collaboration with Lee Stringle and Jesse Ewles was a big hit. We'll be posting it on youTube and all over the internet soon... of course I'll post it here as well. The video is tentatively called 'Tifa's Yearning'. Dj Le French Toast, played some Nine Inch Nails songs injected with other, lesser pop tunes. It sure got people dancing though. I can't wait for next month's show.

19.1.07

Tonight



The January edition of 'Picture This' is tonight at the Tranzac. My first forray into film work will be on display, on a loop all night. Should be lots of fun.

18.1.07

Pontiac Quarterly

I was at Pontiac Quarterly yesterday night in the basement of The Drake Hotel on Queen West. Its a live magazine; authors read their articles live to the crowd. There's some live art and music, an advise column, classifieds, etc. I've been to a couple in the past, this one was by far the funniest. They were playing the movie Tremors in the background... that says a lot right there. The always magnetizing Downtown Cheryl Brown read a few diary exerpts, the most crowd pleasing one being about poo and peanut butter. Everyone laughs at poo. Ed Keenan, who writes the editorial column in Eye weekly that I got to illustrate not too long ago, read a written apology for his own sexually deviant behaviour. Good times. The next one is in April. I'll be there.

16.1.07

Michael Moore



This past september my girlfriend Cheryl Brown, was interviewing celebrities on the red carpet of the Toronto International Film Festival or TIFF as some call it. She talked a bit with Michael Moore and gave him one of my old promotional mailers with his portrait on it. Here is what Mike had to say about it:

Spacing

I just finished my first illustration for my favourite magazine; Spacing. For those who don't know, Spacing is a Toronto magazine about the city's urban planning, politics, street art and public space in general. Its a big part of the new optimistic spirit of Toronto. I'm really excited to finally work with them and hope to do more in the future. The new issue comes out in early february. Here's a sneak peek at my contribution. Click to enlarge.

12.1.07

A Thought

I read Jane Jacobs' 'The Nature Of Economies' not too long ago and it got me thinking about man made processes like the march of economies and how they can mimic organic processes in the natural world, like evolution. I'm not positive I understood Jacobs on every point, but a lot of her thoughts about the nature of economies are just as applicable to the art world. The telescopic nature of evolution is a good example. Evolution on this planet started in broad strokes, setting up the most basic classifications (reptile, mammal, insect, etc.) Now that we've got those nailed down, its seems to have become mostly a matter of increasingly subtle fine tuning. In a general way, this can look a lot like art... especially modern art. In the first half of the 20th century we nailed down basic categories: abstract, surrealist, realist, conceptual, etc.. Now we're fleshing out and fine tuning those categories. I suppose it will take a drastic change in environment or worldview to produce any more fundamental changes. Are computers and the internet that kind of change? Maybe the participatory nature of artists like Toronto's Darren O'Donnell and others hints at a possibly new category? I don't know. Just thinking out loud.

7.1.07

Fovea Super Ultra Arcade edition

I'd like to thank my web mistress Natalie Semeekina for making my website so awesome. Take a look at the new and improved Fovea.

Todd Bar

This is the wrapper to a choclate bar my girlfriend, Cheryl bought me. I have not altered this in photoshop in any way. I seem to have these Mr.Sparkle moments more and more. Judging by my first name you'd have to assume I owned a pool cleaning company, a line of spring jackets and now a choclate bar with my face on it. I had to eat it to get it flat for scanning. The nuts in the bar didn't so much sit as float in the choclate. Its a very tasty bar.

-Todd

5.1.07

'Picture This'

The poster for this month's 'Picture This' event at the Tranzac has just been completed. Recognize the illustrator? My good friend Lee Stringle, did the graphic design. 'Picture This' has been billed as an art/music collision. Those of us who are involved month to month are trying our hardest to find new ways to live up to that. Experimenting with the venue's layout is a big theme. This month we're really going to try and move the performers from the stage, into the audience and move the audience on to the stage a little. There will be a bunch of talented artists and musicians, including yours truly. This month's event is on Friday, Jan.19th -Doors open at 8pm. Come check it out.

-Todd

4.1.07

Up and running

Finally a source for all those dying to pry into the mind of Todd 'Dubya' Julie. Here you'll find my thoughts on art, illustration and anything else fuelling my creative drive at the moment. I'll try to update this daily... or close to it. I hope you'll find some time each day to sit back and surrender your mind to me.

-Todd