Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Orange is the New Black, Drawing #3



Amazing the true-to-life colour when a drawing or painting is photographed in direct sunlight. I think it's because the whole spectrum is present. Below is an earlier version taken on a cloudy day. In the final version I darkened the flesh tones with some graphite. The drawing took about 3.5 hours to do, crazy huh. Most of it while watching 3 episodes of 'Orange is the New Black,' Drawing #3 (final), 2013, Brenda Clews, 15" x 11", graphite and pastel on 130lb archival paper. No idea if it has any reference to the actual show itself, but it certainly has personal resonances.



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 brendaclews.com

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Orange is the New Black, Drawing #2



'Orange is the New Black' certainly is a good show for drawing, I find. :~) No idea why.

Orange is the New Black, Drawing #2 (final), 2013, Brenda Clews, 15" x 11", graphite and pastel on 130lb archival paper.
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 brendaclews.com

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Pics from Art Bar feature last night

Some pics taken at Q Space last night during my feature at The Art Bar. The first, with thanks to Jennifer Hosein for taking it, and the second a frame from a video.



"The Art Bar is recognized as Canada's longest running poetry-only, weekly reading series. Since 1991, it has featured both emerging and established poets from across Canada and occasionally from abroad. It is a hub for the poetry community, and an entry point for new voices."

direct link: Art Bar Feature July 23, 2013

A video taken by tripod of my poetry performance at the Art Bar on July 23, 2013. The video was taken from the side of the stage, and it was for my own reference, but I was asked to share it, and so have made it unlisted. It is raw video, an untouched performance.

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 brendaclews.com


Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Orange is the New Black, an unintentional sketch


A little drawing while I was watching Netflix's new series, Orange is the New Black. There is a unintentional resemblance to Piper Chapman, the main actor in the series, as she appears in the first 3 episodes (freaked out is the word for her). Seriously, I began a landscape, drawing in some lines for bark that became her hair. Le sigh. In a little Moleskine notebook, 7.5" x 10", nice for writing and drawing and fits in my purse.___

 brendaclews.com

Featured at The Art Bar tonight, Toronto's longest-running poetry event



Photo taken by Stephen Humphrey, the photographer at the Art Bar, and a writer and poet, and who does awesome CBC podcasts (his podcast, Dancing in the Dark, on bees was one of the very best I've ever listened to).

Tonight I'm featured at the Art Bar, along with the inestimable Pat Conners, and Stella Body. 8 - 10:30pm, Q Space, 382 College St Toronto.

The Art Bar is recognized as Canada's longest running poetry-only, weekly reading series. Since 1991, it has featured both emerging and established poets from across Canada and occasionally from abroad. It is a hub for the poetry community, and an entry point for new voices.

Full Calendar: http://www.artbar.org/

Monday, July 22, 2013

Featured at The Beautiful & the Damned



It'll be a fun night!

The August edition will be hosted by Lizzie Violet, and will feature moi, Adam Abbas and Andrea Matchett. It is on Thursday August 8th, starts at 7pm and will be at Q Space, 382 College St in Toronto.

You can follow The Beautiful and the Damned on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBandtheDamned
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/beautifulandthedamned
Blog: http://thebeautifulandthedamnedpoetrycabaret.wordpress.com

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 brendaclews.com

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Still around.... a poetry salon, and an article published in an on-line newspaper

Went to a fabulous poetry salon last night at Lou Lou's townhouse, 4-level, sunken living room, sunken garden. It was packed and the poetry and music performances were wonderful. I read 'Light Catches Diamonds,' from my chapbook, the luminist poems, and an older poem, 'Drumbeat,' from my CD Starfire. Unlike some of the poetry series where I do open mic, I always feel my work is welcome and my readings, be what they are, are enjoyed by the audience. These gatherings, and we have upwards of half a dozen or more poetry salons a year hosted by different people in the group, are always affirming. A good group of talented friends brought together by Nik Beat, who really is a centre of a small literary and music hub in Toronto.

On other notes, I got an article on the Victor&Rolf Dolls show in Toronto at the Royal Ontario Museum during the Luminata Festival in June published in an on-line newspaper, Dictated News. They changed one word in the article and added a few more paragraph breaks. And I will get paid for the article. I am chuffed, to say the least. But I should put up a separate post on the article.



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 brendaclews.com

A Pulsing Imagination - Ray Clews' Paintings

A video of some of my late brother Ray's paintings and poems I wrote for them. Direct link: https://youtu.be/V8iZyORoU9E ___