Snapshots | The Artist Project

Last Sunday, my friend Abby and I went to The Artist Project - a contemporary art fair - in Toronto. She was given 2 tickets by the studio she's currently interning at and she invited me to go along with her! I had never previously heard about The Artist Project but if it was a free ticket and something involving art in Toronto then I was definitely in. The show ended up being much larger and busier than I had anticipated, with 250 artists there sharing their work in booths set up throughout the building. I really enjoyed the show and I definitely plan on going again next year! Now I'll share with you some of my favourite works and artists of the show!

  I was really drawn to the intricate line work in James Smyyth's pieces. I particularly enjoyed this piece with an alien-looking pin up girl in a crowded city. I really like that he incorporated metallic gold with the flat black, white, and green palette.

 One of the booths I had the most fun viewing was the one of Paper Bag Beers. Their work was so unique compared to everything else at the show and had a really cool acidic colour scheme and some quirky pieces. Their booth was complete with a neon sign saying their name "Paper Bag Beers", as well as a "Scumland" banner.

 

This artists was possibly my favourite of the day - Andy Kittmer. I really loved his unique portraits. I loved his use of geometric and floral elements in his art.

 

One of the more fun booths Abby and I visited was Anna Church's booth. She had an amazing series of bison portraits portrayed as hipsters. She also had a project she was doing where you took a selfie with the hipster bison, and she printed the selfies out and will be using them for another artwork! I can't wait to see what she does with them and I'm glad that Abby and I got to be a part of it!

 Ramona Nordal had some really gorgeous portrait paintings. I loved her use of non-traditional colour palettes. The work on the right was one of a few paintings in the monochromatic palette with metallic gold stripes and a neon orange outline, and they really caught my eye!

 Another one of my favourite artists of the day was Kelly Grace. Her work was very vintage inspired and I absolutely loved these mini portraits she did of vintage-styled people doing their hair/makeup/etc.! I especially enjoyed the one to the right up there as I could relate to her winged liner ;)!

Those were just a few of the many amazingly talented artists whose work I got to see! Abby also did a post sharing some of her favourite artists and pieces from the day which you should go check out here!

Do you have any favourites from the pieces I showed above? What kind of art do you enjoy?

SNAPSHOTS: TBC Flea on Bloor St. W.

This past Sunday my friend Abby and I took a trip to Toronto! The main purpose for this outing was to check out the TBC Flea, which was held at TBC Vegan Bakery on Bloor St. W. There were lots of yummy treats to purchase and a few local companies were there selling some of their merchandise! The main company Abby and I were excited to see was Stay Home Club. I've been a fan of the brand and a member of the club (I have a membership card and everything) for a couple of years now and it's always fun getting to see their products in real life rather than just browsing through them online. The brand is right up my ally and I ended up getting myself a shirt and totebag with the logo on it (the logo has 3 cats in it how could I not?!).

I also bought myself a new DSLR this past week! I've been wanting to upgrade my camera to one that can film video for a couple of years now and I ended up getting a really fantastic deal on the camera I bought. I got a Sony a37 DSLR for anyone wondering. Anyways I used this trip into the city as a chance to try out my new camera and I'm really pleased with some of the shots I got! Check out my snapshots from our afternoon below!

SNAPSHOTS | Queen Street West

I've decided to start a new little series here on my blog where I'll show you some snapshots I take while I'm out and about! These photos were from a recent trip to downtown Toronto when I spent some time exploring the shops on Queen Street West. If you haven't been, Queen West is such a great spot to explore and walk down while in the city. There are countless shops, cafes, and sights to see! 

One of my favourite shops is The Paper Place. It's basically my dream store. They sell all sorts of stationery, journals, calendars, art supplies, craft kits, washi tape, and of course - lots of paper! I could spend hours browsing through the various lovely paper products there! 

Another must-visit place on Queen West is Dlish cupcakes! They have the most delicious and fresh cupcakes in lots of yummy flavours. They have stools to sit on inside too, so you can look out the large front window and people watch as you enjoy your treat.

One last place worth checking out (and isn't technically on Queen West but it's like a block over) is Crywolf! This trip was actually my first time going to Crywolf's shop but I've been familiar with them for about a year. Crywolf sells clothing, art, stationery, decor, accessories, and more! It has a very quirky and DIY vibe and is just a really interesting store to browse around in!

Of course there are tons of other places worth mentioning on Queen Street West in Toronto but I thought I'd share just a few today with this post! Have you ever shopped on Queen West in Toronto? What are some of your favourite spots?

SNAPSHOTS: Ripley's Aquarium

This is a different kind of post for me, but a few weeks ago I visited the Ripley's Aquarium in Toronto for my first time and I thought I'd share some photos I took! I had been wanting to the Ripley's Aquarium since it first opened last year and I'm so glad I finally went! I went when my friend from Ohio was visiting and it was such a fun way to spend an afternoon. There was so much to see (and take photos of) and I would definitely recommend going if you live in the area and haven't gone! My personal favourite part were the jellyfish!