Thursday, August 20, 2009

Brand Spankin' New Website + New Drawing


I finally got off my keyster and redesigned my website. I ditched my original idea of another dark background set up, and decided to use a handsome mid-toned grey with a clean design aesthetic. After watching the documentary "Helvetica", a wonderfully geeky look at the world's most ubiquitous font, I felt that it would be an appropriate choice for my site. It is a clean, non-descriptive little fella, and doesn't distract from the work like many other more decorative fonts do. So now the font you see on your tax forms (both Canada and the U.S) can point you in the direction of my drawings and paintings, instead of to the box with the gut wrenching "amount owing" box! Check it out.......www.shaundowney.com.

As Art Toronto 2009 quickly approaches, I've finished a study drawing for my latest canvas.




I wanted to create a painting with multiple figures, and luckily found a great location for the photo shoot 10 minutes before my models showed up. I don't usually speak much about what I'm trying to say or convey in a painting (as I don't want to ram my own interpretation down anyone's throat), but in this work I wanted to touch on the strange dynamics of friendship. The
bonds we form with each other, balancing loyalty with independence, can be difficult to maintain, to sever, or even find reason for from time to time. But instinctively we group together protecting each other from whatever we fear, be it a tiger or a boring Friday night.

Today I'll protect you from looking at a blank sheet of paper. You owe me, big time.