Douglas Walker

That was a big project. Each section had to be cut off the roll, primed, prepped, cleaned, cut down to size, numbered photographed, photoshopped, and the whole assembled into a installation 14 x 77'. On top of that there was the computer mock-ups, all the painting tools and jigs that needed building, the studio had to be set up to handle the large sections, and there was the day to day paint mixing, errands to run, it just went on and on. I was so lucky to have capable help with all these tasks. So with very deep gratitude I wish to thank those who helped......

Amanda Nedham, 2009 OCADU graduate and medal winner.

I started working large on paper back in May 2010. Amanda Nedham was helping me out as an assistant back then. She did a great job, there was lots of work in getting setup and figuring out how the large paper series might work. Amanda shows with LE gallery, shes a very talented artist making some amazing drawings whose career is really taken off. She is getting lots of attention lately and she really deserves it, its great work.

Filip Anton started later that winter. Filip brought a real inventiveness to sorting out the process. He came up with many innovative solutions to how to get this whole thing going. Filip is going back to OCAD this September to finish his degree. We are wishing him all the best in his 4th year.

Jen Aitken worked here a few years ago when I was getting started on the blue and white series. Since then she moved to Vancouver, got her BFA from Emily Carr university, and now is back in Toronto. I was glad to have help out in the spring when she first arrived back. Now she is spending lots of time in the studio making some totally great sculptures. Jen has already developed a significant body of work that is smart, deeply involved and expressed in a totally original vocabulary. Have a look at Jen's work on her website here.

Micheal Abraham helped out too. Micheal is a talented artist doing some really nice looking work in plastics. In these objects there is a delightful play between formal composition and subtle material effects.

Jarrod Wilson came in to help with some of the computer graphics programs. He set the whale up in Cinema 3-D and the face in Poser. Jarrod is totally skilled on a Mac but is making his mark in the art world as a painter. He is represented by Neubacher Gallery and we are looking forwards to seeing his new work there. I was impressed by Jarrod's keen sense of aesthetics, it really shows up in the work, have a look.

Here's Heather removing crackle from a section of border. Note her expert bottle-wielding technique.

Heather Roblin and Sarah McCaw joined me this spring when I really began to get started on the 'Other Worlds' show. The 2 of them became my main assistants, starting out part time and then as the workload increased they worked pretty much full time throughout July & August. They have been absolutely fantastic, just really pushing through the gazillion things that always needed doing. They both quickly grasped what needed to be done and took over the logistics and made the process their own. It was so great to be able to hand off responsibility like that and know it would be well handled.
Heather is entering her 3rd year at OCAD where she is majoring in jewelery design. With her solid work ethic and good eye I'm sure she is going to do well and I wish her all the best luck with her studies.

Here's Sarah numbering squares for assembly and enjoying her 6th coffee of the day.

Earlier in the spring Sarah graduated from OCADU from the sculpture/installation program. Right off the bat she won a public art competition sponsored by First Capital Reality. Here's a photo of the work in progress.

Wax casting for "FRIEND" installation before it was sent off to Skara foundries.

What a great piece, I just love it, its really going to liven up its Oakville location. She is going to install the work in a few weeks at the plaza by the intersection of Cornwall and Trafalgar Rd. I'm looking forwards to seeing it set up. I know its going to look great. Sarah has an excellent ability to problem solve and keep things on track so I know that the complex process of building and installing a public art installation will go smooth. Its not easy to keep a personal vision fresh with all the technicalities involved but Sarah has managed it perfectly. Here's a young artist already making her mark.

The synchronized napping team makes an appearance.

The artist wishes to acknowledge the support of The Toronto Arts Council, The Ontario Arts Council and The Canada Council for the 'Other Worlds' exhibition.

We built a copy stand to shoot the large paper paintings. We cut the paintings up into squares and shoot them on the stand. Then they are reassembled with canvas and glued into sections. The copy stand is great in that it produces big files of each square. The problem is that the finished image is sooo huge. We are looking at the best way to deal with these big files, so far we haven't figured it out, its why I have no finished images at this point. Another problem is that the stand immediately became a cat roost. Boo likes to roost in the accessory tub but the Princess likes to think of it as her royal perch and is resistant to any suggestion that it might exist for another purpose.