"We are peacefuL"- while they shake their fists'.;

Crumbling beneath you, this world is.
Bumbling like a drunken fool ,.
pan handling for food.

The masses feed off Hysteria
and hyper extend themselves into Her glare.

An age of helplessness, as if it's never not been here.
Armoured zombies in the streets ,.
without any shade of faith
they scream!

As they hand over their change
for a Starbucks Latte,
gripping it tightly as they throw hot opinions in your face
(in a crowd only allowed to feel comfort by being in a crowd) They SHake!

I hear sirens as I sit in my warm quiet living room,
writing without a clue how i feel..
just found a pen in my hand just now,
as i sit here grieving...

ALmost paralyzed by what I've been reading...

THe World's news flooding in through my window,

crashing across the floor
My feet dangle in the sewage,
cold and hurting.

THere is no quiet, never can be because of the distant drumming.
An angry crowd, out to be noticed
by fighting.

When it's clear, Peace is no where near.
A concept which lives in a fantasy. A foggy notion people chant loudly,
"WE ARE PEACEFUL! HOW BOUT YOU?"
I hear repeated on the news...

But you are NOT peaceful if you yell in crowds, and SHAKE YOUR FISTS!
You are fighting War with War, and that is why PEACE CANNOT EXIST!

I think the only hope, would be, if we,
stayed in our homes, unify,
and grieve.

Morn for The World the way you Morn a Dead Relative
be quiet - be kind - be sad -
and cry.

It all grows dark, heavy and thick
Smart people choose to keep walking in it..
only to be hit and hit and hit
in the face
with Stupidity's spit.

I'd like it to stop. I'd like to resist.
I'd like to quietly pray for the day when
Peace may have a chance to exist.

Until then, I'll be quiet and wish for it quietly
Because, I believe, that is what

Peace truly is.

-
Robyn Waffle
June 27th 2010

New Muse: BOTTICELLI

I went to Chapters today to find a beautiful picture book on Renaissance painting.. Funny cuz the first one I spotted in the Art section just read BOTTICELLI in white capitals along the spine. I grabbed it, flipped through, and gasped at how crisp and large the paintings were represented... i then noticed a stain on the hard cover....

I took the book to the front desk and asked how much it was, $89, I was told. 'But there's a stain right here, can I please have a discount?' ... of course, Mike said (a man wearing a name tag)... I can give it to you for 50% off, but it's final sale. PERFECT. $44 for the most beautiful book iv'e ever seen.

Anyways I rushed home, curled on my couch, and just started reading... this is what i found in the first few pages:

Cennini sets out guidelines for artistic training, developing what might be described as a somewhat simplistic description of individual style when he makes recommendations to apprentices on how to learn drawing from the example of skilled masters:

"Having now practiced drawing for a while as I have taught you above, that is, on a little panels, take pains and pleasure in constantly copying the best things which can be done by the hand of great masters. And if you are in a place where many good masters have been, so much better for you. But I give you this advice: take care to select the best one every time, and the one who has the greatest reputation. And, as you go on from day to day, it will be against nature if you do not get some grasp of his style and of his spirit. For if you undertake  to copy after one master today and another tomorrow, you will not acquire the style of wither one or the other, and you will inevitably, through enthusiasm, become capricious, because each style will be distracting your mind. You will try to work in this man's way today, and in the other's tomorrow, and so you will get neither of them right. If you follow the course of one man through constant practice, your intelligence would have to be crude indeed for you to not get some nourishment from it. Then you will find, if nature has granted you any imagination at all, that you will eventually acquire a style individual to yourself, and it cannot help being good; because your hand and your mind, being always accustomed to gather flowers, would ill know how to pluck thorns."

(something i wrote today, on a page in Adbusters)

I DON'T WANT TO REMIND MYSELF AND OTHERS OF THE AWEFUL UNTHINKABLE UGLINESS THAT RIDES OUR WORLD THESE DAYS... I WANT TO REMIND MYSELF AND OTHERS OF A TIME SO DISTANT AND BEAUTIFUL THAT IT FEELS LIKE A DREAM; A PASTEL DREAM ABOUT ROYALTY AND MYTHOLOGY - WHEN SPIRITUALITY WAS A WAY OF LIFE - AND ANIMALS WERE GODS.

Fascinated by Renaissance;;

Primavera (c. 1482) By: Sandro Botticelli

A 15' by 6' foot canvas print of this painting lives in our house right now... found it in an antique shop yesterday.. i sleep next to a life sized Goddess of Love and Goddess of Spring. It's incredible.















It has completely inspired me. I've decided to study Renaissance work...
I have always been interested, but I think I'd like to become an expert...

collag.ist

So. I've become obsessed with collaging..
tearing , puzzle piecing, creating in depth sketches with photos, drawings and paint... i'm strangely inspired by it all.. and imagine turning these intricate collages into large paintings.. .
Right now I am working on one inspired by ALexander McQueen, his tragic death, and his brilliant clothing. I will finish a few of them, then get them scanned professionally to post on here ...



THis is not mine, by a man named Romare Bearden -
The Calabash 1970
read all about collaging::

INSPIRATION

Marvelled by these jelly fish prints, and this moving tribute video: ALexander McQueen: A Tribute VIdeo

dream house

I had a dream about a house that looked like this last night,.



It was a crazy vivid dream , in colour, that my parents moved into this amazing dream house. THis is what it looked like...

a broken feather becomes a rock

I have been wearing this necklace for about three years.

I had it custom made for me out of glass to represent the rybon feather I sign my paintings with. I dropped it recently and it broke. So sad as it is my good luck charm, and favourite thing to hold when I'm feeling nervous.

Luckily I had two of them made for me, and I gave one of them to my Mom. She has sent me the other one, and I now wear it in the place of the original... of course it looks and feels different, and so i don't love it nearly as much :/

Bart Batchelor

,;'';,.;';.

(packing to a friend on the radio. . .
(moving yet again, . . . .. . . ))
(probably the 12 thousandth time since 21 .. .
(each one marking a morph to my character . . ))
(a changed perspective, while i examine existence . . .
(while i analyze each true pleasure held within IT. . . .. . )
(i suppose I am :: (

(an Experience Scientist)) . . . ; )

My Website

I have been working hard on my website... www.robynwaffle.com
I still feel like I have a long way to go, but it's getting there...

Fluevog Ad Design

I have recently entered an ad contest for John Fluevog Shoes.
I actually used to work for this brilliant design for about 3 years, and was excited to see that he's inviting artists to design his advertising for different shoes! I discovered one of the winners in Juxtapoz magazine, and figured it would be amazing if I got picked, because all the types of fashion and art magazines my illustration would appear in. I really hope I get chosen for the top four by John and his team, and then it's up to people I know to vote for me to be the winner... fingers crossed!

Have a look at my design on the Fluevog website:
http://www.fluevog.com/code/fc_gallery.php?view=311

Photos whiLe I work

Yesterday my friend Tristan Casey came by to capture me while I worked on my paintings. I was a little nervous, being that I find it hard to paint around other people... but it was seamless and amazing... it was like he wasn't even there, even though we casually chatted about very interesting things. I have never had such pretty photos of me in my element.... so so happy about it : )

See the photos of me at blog.tristancasey.com/2010/04/robyn.html, and check out tristancasey.com, he is truly a brilliant photographer.

painting what i know

I've decided to begin painting what I know....

I've always painted what i like, beautiful images that take me to other places.... but have realized that I would like to be a fine artist.... even before commercial art, fashion illustration, etc. I'd like my art to be taken seriously , stand the test of time.

So I'm going to paint what I know, by drawing out my memories and stories onto canvas... tell more about my life. Make portraits about what I've experienced, but as i make them, think about what I hope for.

So far, this portrait of my family and this self portrait, I'm working on, are showing me a side of my talent i haven't seen before, and so.....

i feeL inspired.

Record machine and Self-portraits

SO... it's been a good couple weeks.... i got myself a record player from the 60s, so i can listen to some warm tunes while i work... so excited to collect records.... it's be something i've always wanted to do.

Also, I have started my first self -portrait... a purple rendition of myself... I'm stoked to see it through.

Dear OLympics,

Funny, I never thought about The Olympics much until it became all the rage, news, hype, as 'they' arrived in the city I am currently living in.

Not only was my perspective especially unique , because I worked in the downtown hub for the people of the world to use as their playground/place to get fucked up, but because of such perspective - I realized a lot (first hand) about how messed up our world really is.

For two weeks straight - 3 fuLL weekends - I worked Thursday , Fri, Sat, Sunday in the heart of the party, at Subeez Cafe, on the corner of Homer and Smithe. A huge castle-like bar in downtown Vancouver, that can seat probably 200 people.

I opened the restaurant each day at 9am. And observed people busting in at 9am ,day in and day out, demanding double Caesars they chased with coffee, and wearing the same clothes they'd been in the day before.

I know the Olympics is a big deal for Canada and Vancouver, because the world is noticing us, giving Vancouver a reason to party, etc ... but for me, None of it felt Right.

The amount of money flooding in through Subeez' doors - spent all on alcohol , in the daytime, day after day- in parallel to the money flooding into 'The Olympic' ceremonies, Canada Apparel , stupid souvenirs etc, I found incredibly lavish, exuberant and seriously disturbing.

THis Money$ could be helping people!!! Instead the wealthy of the world are competing against each other, flapping about their 'colours' and 'signs' - to prove WHat?? That we are better at sport than you? We can out party you?? We can chug a pitcher of beer quicker than you?? We can host a better OLympics than you??

A poor seat at the opening ceremonies went for around $800 - you received a cardboard drum, a weird paper cloak, and some other crap.... I would find these drums scattered around the bar in the morning - people throwing them out , garbage, garbage.

Did anyone ever think of making the Olympics a minimalist event? Were it was only about the sport, the coming together, and putting all that money towards a good cause??? Banning together like that to help the world!?? Rather than get shit faced, while celebrating athletic excellence, which , to me, is completely hypocritical anyways!!

My blood boils as I write this. I don't know much about much, but from where I was standing - in the middle of ALL of it - Everything felt wrong and off balance... As I witnessed people from around the world gorging on their own egos, and on so called 'National Pride', with booze and cheap gimmicks.

We should have a flag for The World - and be coming together like that to help each other out! Not compete against each other and litter The Earth with puke - beer cans- and cardboard drums!!

Yes Canada landed 'On top' of the Olympics , taking the most gold ever won, beating The Americans over and over, etc. etc,. but I'm curious to see how Sweet Healthy Vancouver handles this Hangover, and I'm curious to see how The World can survive much more of this idiotic behaviour.

Sincerely,

Robyn Waffle,
aka: disturbed by what I just witnessed.

homesickness

It's sunny as hell out, spring is near... I'm feeling crazy homesick today - missing my peeps big time. It definitely feels like the novelty of 'being away' is wearing off... Now that I'm over all the shit I wanted to get over, am mended , and happy again. I really miss the people/stuff I didn't want to move on from. I want to be back in it, chillin in my East.

sprinkly face

happy/sad

I've realized it is quite hard to create in the way I'm used to creating....

Having spent the past few years feeling quite down, unhappy, lost,..
I've filled my time with paintings reflecting these emotions....
Full of feeling, dreaming, harbouring deep undertones of despair...
"Sad but beautifuL", someone once said.
I fell into my paintings...
I let 'rybon' wash over me,. I let 'Her' uplift me into a better place,..
In hard times, my art was my cure.

Now I am in Vancouver,
a place where I don't know many people,
but a place where I feel calm and at peace.
There's a beautiful little stupid kitten chasing her tale on my floor, and a beautiful intelligent man I live with, who cherishes me,.. both of them bring me joy and laughter everyday... they fill me with a secure happiness I haven't felt in a long time.

But.... I find it incredibly hard to paint in the way I'm used to paining.
So....... I think I have to create in light of how I'm feeling - lighthearted, happy, funny, etc.

I am changing course. ... It'll be hard to do... but painting these huge heartfelt images, just doesn't suit my mood.

I can feel it gettin there....

something is happening... at least I hope it is.
I am seriously lacking inspiration at the moment, but perhaps am on the brink of something huge, at least i hope i am.

i will say it again... I want to be good. I want to mean something...
I'm obsessed with good images, but they need to mean more than 'cooL' to look at.

I am yearning for the day I get there... i'll get there , and then i'll yearn for something else.