FIRST SOLO SHOW EVEEEERRRRR

Hi everybody,

Thrilling news: I am having my first solo illustration show ever! I named it "Hot Toddies" because it will make you feel all warm and fuzzy like any hot drink spiked with the good stuff.

Facebook event details here.

Tuesday November 16th, Sadie's Diner, Toronto. 7:00 pm-10:00 pm. Lots of artwork for sale! ('Tis the Season to buy buy buy)

Come come come!!!! I will be there and will give everybody an obnoxious weloming cheek-kiss!

I'm so excited to see everyone with red noses from the cold.

xo Alex

Birthday Present

Coloured pencil, marker and pen on bristol paper.

My sister's birthday is today and I made her this little lady to hang on her wall.

It's not a portrait of her, but it certainly does remind me of her. Me and my sister tend to always pose with our fingers intertwined together under our chin, we both went through a turquoise nail polish phase this summer, and I always think she looks cutest with her hair in a ponytail.

Autumn Spice

Here is a little Fall lady for you.

I am obsessed with deep green nail polish lately and want to cover all of my ladies fingertips with them.

Right now I'm wearing TopShop nail polish in Poison Ivy and I LOVE IT.

Some drawings

Before I went to Ireland I buckled down and bought my first Moleskin. I wanted to use it and keep very well written notes on everything I experienced and saw. Things that made me think, things that changed for me...

But if you know me at all, you'll know that I write down things on almost anything but bound paper. I did manage, however, to draw some femmes of inspiration in my Moleskin and here the lassies are...

click to make big

click to make big

click to make big

Ireland was fun, and beyond what I thought I would experience. I went beyond my personal boundaries and just enjoyed myself and what life has to offer. I really can't wait until my next adventure.

xoxoxo

colouring pages

Hi y'alls. Just some stuff I was sketching from old magazines.

I've tossed about 20lbs of old magazines and saved some loose sheets to draw from. Enjoy!

xo Alex

Paintings for Friends!

Hey y'alls,

I have a long long list of illustrations I owe to friends in lieu of money/presents/hair care (I love my life) and I've recently started to make a dent in the list.

Here are the paintings I created for my friends last night.

This was for my new roommate Christina's birthday.

And this husky little guy is for my friend Steph for keeping my blonde locks looking fabulous. Love you!!!

Man it's raining, that means perfect time for a movie and a nap!

xox

Getting Down to Business

Hi friends,

My new website is up and running!! It feels so nice to have everything up to date.

www.alexdavey.ca

And I got business cards printed today! A whole box full! Let's all have a party so I can throw them around.

xoxo Alex

Side 1

...and Side 2

Ahhhh so many thumbnails!

Tutormill

Hello again (miss me?)

So let's take a trip back in time, shall we? Let's go back to January 2010. Winter. Snow. Instead of 30 degrees, think -30 degrees.

Anyways, a while back I received a phone call from my past illustration teacher Gary Taxali. He told me he was starting an online tutoring program called tutormill and that he needed some help with the site, and asked if I could be their "beta tester".

I wanted to share with you the process and final work I created.

My tutors were Edel Rodriguez (genius) and Marc Burckhardt (wise one).

I took the Fictional Book Jacket Design Course and this is what came of it.

1984

My initial sketches included one image only. From here my tutors suggested a more "graphic novel" approach...

So from there I created a panel-like cover including images directed from the novel.

My tutors suggested cleaning up the images, use more hatching/ texture, and avoid added type.

The end result! I was pretty happy with it but I can definitely see further improvements....

HAMLET

For these two sketches, my tutors agreed the image of the skull wearing a crown was strong, but agreed the type in the first one was best suited....

So I mixed the two together and came up with this sketch....

They then agreed that maybe I should tilt the skull and keep the typography tight....

The end result... what we all figured was the skull looked like he was smiling... which is cool don't get me wrong. But not what we were going for.

A couple of months of sitting on it and I decided to go back to this. I'm afraid it's still not up to snuff. Let's check back in a few months shall we? Next,

The Catcher in the Rye

My sketches included a lot of focus on Holden in the city, more of a portrait approach.

My tutors suggested to take the image of Holden away and focus on what was of important significance of the novel.

I had this sketch of using a cigarette, his lucky hunting hat, and his luggage with skinny type. My tutors suggested a more minimalist cover....

And this was the result. My tutors, and I, agreed the luggage was bit fussy, close to the typography, and the scale in general was a bit off.

And so a couple of months later and I refined the cover again.

I was really happy I got to experience tutormill and definitely recommend it to new illustrators starting out.

Ok goodnight!

xoxo Alex

Technical Difficulties...

Hey everybody,

I am going insane at the moment; I have been a bit of a Lazy Lucy with my website, and almost 1 year later I've decided to update it with all of my recent work. And because I am not the smartest when it comes to computers... my website is in a bit of trouble at the moment. Go take a look. Really. And please keep laughing to a dull roar.

Please stand by and do not panic! Breathe with me!

Inspiration

Please click on each image to enlarge

When I went to Florida, I went with my older sister and my parents. The entire trip we begged our Dad to take us to the Goodwill; everytime we'd pass it we'd get all riled up.

When we did eventually go, it was a big let down: everything was really picked over. A lot of Diaper Genies, clothes from 2000, and just general "blahness". But I did find this book, a true gem. I had never heard of Brian Wildsmith before, but his LSD-psychedelic style illustrations are absolutely gorgeous. Totally inspired.

And, for only 60 cents.

Look at this tiger! Shazaaam! And I got to pen my name into the ownership hot air balloon. Score 1 for me.

an elephant wearing watches on his trunk in space. Of course!

SO RAD

Such a great find, beautiful artwork, gorgeous animals, and lots and lots of colour and fanciness.

xoxo Alex

TOY!

Hey ya'lls.

I've been a bit MIA lately; I got to go to beautiful, sunny, not-yet-oil-stricken Florida. But now I'm back and I have something to show y'alls!

It was my friend's birthday yesterday and I finally debuted my first Munny!

Here, I present Faisel, the most peachy giraffe in the world.

xo Alex

Oh, and Go Habs Go! I don't particularly enjoy watching hockey but I watched the game last night (in a pub!) and it was very exciting.

AZURE

Hi friends,

Exciting news today: AZURE magazine's Annual Green Building Guide came out today and guess who has an illustration inside?

Spoiler alert: it's me!!

I was asked to do a cutaway illustration of a building, showing different elements inside that are "green". This was a great experience for me because I finally mastered the straight line! I typically never use a ruler in my illustrations but with this project I had no choice. I'm really happy with the outcome. Hope you all like!

xoxo

La La La

Hello friends!

Here is something to sink your teeth into...

My pal and ginger-friend Russell Gibbs is the proud papa of these new online music mixes, released at the end of every month, on his blog www.llessurdotca.tumblr.com .

He asked me to create something special for his third installment and here it be!

They are super foxy, non? Three lovely foxes ready for a day of sunbathing at the beach. I got my inspiration from Raphael's "The Three Graces"

The mixes are awesome and totally got me moving during this unpredictably horrible/amazingly beautiful month of March... looking forward to April!

xoxo

Alex

Oh and stay tuned for more exciting drawn out newz !

BIRTHDAY CARD!

Hi all,

There is something that I really love in life and appreciate to no end: homemade birthday cards. Actually, scratch that, homemade greeting cards. Christmas, birthday, festivus, or Valentine's Day, I'd rather get something made from a friend than bought (well... there are always some exceptions... )

Anyways here is a Birthday card I made for a friend that I thought I'd share. Not just because I think it is adorable, but because my friend introduced me to the coolest rap group on this planet right now: Die Antwoord (The Answer)

They are from South Africa. They live with their parents and grandparents. They are considered trailer trash. They have amazing stage-names, a well designed website, and wicked music videos. I am in love, to say the least. I have watched their video Zef Side everyday.

Anways my friend has a no-secret crush on Yo-Landi and I thought she should wish him a Happy Birthday on paper.

Watch the video Zef Side. You won't regret it.

xoxo Alex VI$$ER

Feathertale V

Hello chaps,

I wanted to remind all of you about the glorious, beautiful, charming, hilarious, and very amazing annual, The Feathertale Review !

I have had the pleasure of working with the fine people at Feathertale over the years and I wanted to share my contribution to their upcoming, fifth annual, due to come out end of March this year.

Buy your copies online at http://feathertale.com/Press/index.htm !

How to please her once you get her!

This illustration was for a story about a man choosing to read all about women before he could trust himself to talk to women.

Hope you kids like!!! Details to come on where the launch party will be held....

xox Alex

It Had to Do with Love

Hi lovers,

Last week (Tuesday February 9th) was the reception for the show, "It Had to Do With Love", held at Sadie's Diner in Toronto that I had the pleasure to be apart of. I really loved the vibe of the show - how can you refuse love? - and I really want to pursue having my own show soon. I love the stress and mayhem of it all!

I wanted to share some of the pieces that I contributed and are currently for sale.

Mr. Valentine

Valentine's Day Walk

Good Kitty Boyfriend

Me looking like a troll in front of my work

Come check out the show if you're in the area. And if you couldn't tell from the name already, it is a diner so you can look and eat and the same time! AMAZING!

xoxo Alex