New Projects
Recent updates of new projects and events
About Me
- michaeljeremybrown
- Toronto-based Artist creating abstract mixed media works on panel and on canvas.
Saturday, August 24, 2024
Thinking of Hundertwasser
Friday, August 26, 2022
Photography shoot at Harbord and Bathurst
In order to apply for the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, I need to take either a booth shot or a shot of a collection of work. As I have difficulty lighting an indoor space to shoot artwork, I decided to paper this hoarding on the south side of Harbord. And voila, an instant art gallery. Thank you Alexi and Barbara for your help setting up and shooting this work.
Friday, August 5, 2022
Old Growth Exhibition at Propeller Gallery
I am pleased that my piece, "Can you make a difference?" was selected for this group exhibition at Propeller Gallery, Toronto. The show runs through August 21st and the opening is Saturday August 6th from 2 to 5 pm. The exhibition is a joint collaboration between Propeller Gallery and the Broken Forests Group. Here is a list of the artists with work in the exhibition: Alexander Boudreault, Michael Brown, Nancy R. Chalut, Michael Cywink, Liz Rae Dalton, Susan Farquhar, Linda Fitz & Steve Paul Simms, Peter Friedrichsen, Sharron Corrigan Forrest, Gerry Gooderham, Arlington Hoffman, Lee Horner, Domenica Howley, Valentina Hutcheon, Alexandra Iorgu, Lisa Johnson, Clement Kent & Leena Raudvee, Sophia Kim, Robin Kingsburgh, Karen Klee-Atlin, Adam Kolodziej, Michelle Letarte, Liz Menard, Jurgen Mohr, Lisa Murzin, Leah Oates, Frances Patella, Atia Pokorny, Dominique Prévost, Clare Ross, Susan Ruptash, Silvija Saplys, Tracy Thomson, Mateus Stelini, Pearl Van Geest, Nadine Wyczolkowski, and Noriko Yamamoto.
"Can you make a difference?", mixed media on canvas, 105cm x 120cm x 5cm, 2022 |
Taking inspiration from planting trees
This piece takes inspiration from Jadav Payeng, also known as the "Forest Man" in Majuli, India. Since the late 1970s he has planted trees to create a forest that is twice the size of Central Park. I highly recommend the documentary Forest Man. It talks about his life and project in great detail.
Forest Man, mixed media on panel, 30cm x 30cm x 5cm, 2022, AVAILABLE
Tuesday, July 26, 2022
Newest piece called "Amarillo"
I have reworked this piece many times. I think I have it finished. I started with a yellow plaster base which really warmed up this work.
Amarillo, mixed media on canvas, 40cm x 30cm x 5cm, 2022, AVAILABLE
Thursday, May 19, 2022
Stranger in the Woods
I loved the book, Stranger in the Woods, by Michael Finkel. This piece takes inspiration (and some background text) from this book.
Stranger in the Woods, mixed media on panel, 30 cm x 23 cm x 5 cm, 2022, AVAILABLE
Monday, January 17, 2022
Reworked piece entitled, 16 random numbers between 0 and 9
16 random numbers between 0 and 9, mixed media on canvas, 16" x 12" x 2", 2022, AVAILABLE through Canvas Gallery.
I recently reworked this piece by bringing out some of the geometric shapes in lower levels of the painting. Here is the earlier version. I think the piece is now stronger.
Sunday, January 2, 2022
Working on some new painting and just applied to the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair
I took some time this holiday break to work on some pieces. I also applied to the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair that will take place at City Hall in mid-July.
Here's one of the new pieces. The text in the background is from the song of the same name by Gordon Lightfoot.
Friday, August 6, 2021
Collective Experience: 25 years of Propeller Gallery
My piece, Copan, is currently on display at Propeller's 25th anniversary exhibition. I was a member there in 2008 and 2009.
Wednesday, August 4, 2021
New piece on mylar
Copan, oil and graphite on mylar, 20" x 20", 2021. (Frame size: 31" x 30"). SOLD through Canvas Gallery.
For this piece I thought back to the first archaeological site that I visited in July 1989: Copan. This site in Western Honduras really moved me. The text running in the background relates to the site. The numbers were taken from an online random number generator.
Tuesday, June 22, 2021
Brazil
I just finished this piece that I named Brazil after Chico Mendes. He was a rubber tapper and environmentalist who, sadly, was assassinated in the late 1980s. He had some very inspiring quotes about the environment and the Amazon. The palette references water, which is a huge part of the Amazon. Recently I read that rain clouds that form over the Amazon come from the moisture from the jungle. Previously the thought was that the rain clouds came solely from westerly winds blowing over the Andes.
Brazil, mixed media on panel, 36" x 48", 2021, M. Brown |
Brazil, mixed media on panel, 36" x 48", 2021, AVAILABLE through Canvas Gallery
Friday, June 4, 2021
Kentucky Coffee Tree
Recently we had a Kentucky Coffee Tree planted out front. It is a beautiful tree. As I did this painting, the tree was on my mind. I love to watch how plants/trees grow over time.
Kentucky Coffee Tree, mixed media on canvas, 16" x 12", 2021. $440. SOLD through Canvas Gallery.
Thursday, March 4, 2021
MLK
MLK, mixed media on panel, 40" x 40" x 2", 2021, SOLD through Canvas Gallery.
I used a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. that talks about making difficult decisions. The quote runs in the background, although is somewhat obscured by the numbers.
This has been at times a difficult year where I have had to make decisions that were neither popular, nor safe, nor politic. Painting this piece helped me through these difficult times. Mixing paint and putting colours together takes my mind off the other stuff.
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
Reading Richard Wright
Reading Richard Wright, mixed media on panel, 12” x 9” x 1.5”, 2020, $240, SOLD through Canvas Gallery.
I was reading Black Boy, by Richard Wright, when I painted this piece. I found the book very moving. He was born in 1908 (the same year as my grandparents), but fought tremendous racism as a black boy/youth growing up in Mississippi in the 1920s and 30s. The text running in the background of this piece is from a quote of his based on the state of things in the US in the first half of the 20th C.
Saturday, December 19, 2020
Standing up for what you believe in even if you are alone
Standing up for what you believe in even if you are alone, mixed media on canvas, 16” x 12” x 2”, 2020, $425. SOLD through Canvas Gallery.
This quote (and title of this painting) comes from Sophie Scholl, an activist who died very young during WW2. As I navigated a couple of difficult weeks at work, I managed to create this piece.
Friday, August 21, 2020
Cortez - Newest mixed media painting
Cortez, mixed media on panel, 36” x 48” x 2”, 2020. SOLD through Canvas Gallery.
This is the latest in a series of text-based paintings. The numbers are drawn at random. The text underneath is taken from a speech from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Wednesday, June 3, 2020
Off the road - New mixed media painting
Off the road, oil and acrylic on panel, 90 cm x 120 cm, 2020
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Gallery 1313 show recap
Monday, November 4, 2019
222 Mill Road
222 Mill Road, mixed media on panel, 13" x 15" x 2", 2013 and 2019. SOLD
Monday, October 14, 2019
9 random numbers between 0 and 9
"9 random numbers between 0 and 9", mixed media on panel, 12" x 9", 2019. SOLD
Saturday, October 5, 2019
Sleep on it! It will come to you. Exhibition at Gallery 1313
Monday, September 30, 2019
16 random numbers featured on ArtBomb
Monday, September 23, 2019
16 random numbers between 0 and 9
16 random numbers between 0 and 9, mixed media on canvas, 16" x 12", 2019, $375. Available through Canvas Gallery.
This
piece I did first as a portrait in 2003. I reworked it 3 times in 2004,
2013 and finally in 2019. I feel the piece is finally finished. This will also be featured in an exhibition that I will
be having at Gallery 1313 from October 23 through Nov 6.
Thursday, September 12, 2019
168 letters drawn at random
168 letters drawn at random, oil and acrylic on canvas, 48" x 42" x 2", 2013 and 2019, $2400. AVAILABLE through Canvas Gallery
I reworked this piece that I painted in 2013. This will also be featured in an exhibition that I will be having at Gallery 1313 from October 23 through Nov 6.
Sunday, July 21, 2019
3 small pieces at Propeller Art Gallery
Bayview and Eglinton, Mixed media on panel, 6" x 6" x 2", 2018-2019, SOLD |
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Pi to 79 decimal places
I created this painting by randomly laying down the first 79 digits of the number Pi.
Sunday, August 19, 2018
Fibonnacci 17
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Summer 2018 - New painting
Bayview and Eglinton, 2018, acrylic on panel, 15 cm x 15 cm, 2018, SOLD
Dundas West and Bloor, 2018, acrylic on panel, 15 cm x 15 cm, 2018, SOLD
Lansdowne and College, 2018, acrylic on panel, 15 cm x 15 cm, 2018, SOLD
Saturday, July 8, 2017
Geometric Abstraction 2017
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Uxmal 1998 available through ArtBomb
Uxmal, 1998, mixed media on panel, 10" x 8" x 2", SOLD
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Copan, 1989 available through Canvas Gallery
Specs: Copan, 1989, Mixed media on panel, 8" x 8" x 2", 2016, $140, SOLD
About: The text laid down behind the graphic images is part of the wikipedia entry for the number 8, as this piece was created on an 8 x 8 panel. The glyphs or symbols laid down over top were done while reminiscing about a visit to the mayan ruins in Copan, Honduras in the summer of 1989. I was particularly intrigued by a hieroglyphic stairway there which seemed to be composed of rectangles within a rectangular staircase.
Monday, December 12, 2016
Kleescape
Background: This piece is inspired by the colour palette of Paul Klee. Each individual rectangle is in the same proportion as the canvas as a whole.
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Pi to 79 decimal places
Specs:
Pi to 79 decimal places
Mixed media on canvas
150 cm x 120 cm, 2016
Friday, August 21, 2015
Two new city inspired pieces available through ArtBomb
SOLD |
Sunday, August 9, 2015
Here are two new pieces that are available at Canvas Gallery.
A. Famous Artist Cityscape, acrylic and graphite on panel, 9.5" x 20", 2015, SOLD
B. Mandala Cityscape, acrylic and graphite on panel, 12" x 20", 2015, SOLD
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Top image: 222 Mill Road, acrylic on panel, 11.5" x 15", 2014, $365, SOLD
Middle image: Pottery Barn Road, acrylic on panel, 10" x 19.5", 2014, $395, SOLD
Bottom image: Sunny side up in the 1970s, acrylic on panel, 9.5" x 22", 2014, $410, SOLD