Kaley McKean ◊◊◊ Illustration

2012-02-06T13:11:00.000-08:00

Here are some plush guys I've made recently! I've got another in progress, and I just found some wonderful fabric, so there will be more to come in the near future.

2012-02-05T18:16:00.000-08:00

Some people are inside some fishes, okay?

inter-species friendships

2012-01-11T18:06:00.001-08:00

I'm really into friendship. All kinds!

2012-01-01T14:15:00.002-08:00

You're #1!
Happy New Year everybody!

Spirit Fish

2012-01-01T14:15:00.001-08:00

Dragon Entomologist

2011-12-05T20:47:00.000-08:00

Here's something!

2011-12-01T19:19:00.000-08:00

just experimenting tonight!

mantis

2011-11-22T20:40:00.001-08:00

Dry as Bone

2011-11-16T19:05:00.001-08:00

Nobody likes dry itchy hands!

Another illustration FOR FUN! I should do a companion picture about sweaty swampy hands. Because if it's not one, it's the other!

2011-11-09T16:29:00.000-08:00

Here's a couple of quick extraterrestrials that I drew the other night while I was half-watching Popeye. They have nothing to do with the movie.

tesla girls, tesla girls ...

2011-11-01T21:01:00.000-07:00

Tonight I drew these girls who love outer space.

2011-11-01T17:28:00.000-07:00

This may be one of the reasons that many of today's parents are wary of letting their children go trick-or-treating.

I printed this up as a postcard for part of a halloween themed promotional mailer that I sent out a few weeks ago. There was also a small booklet and a bookmark - I'll post them later, maybe!

2011-10-31T10:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

I am just posting to say that I made a tumblr now too. "FOLLOW" ME???
http://smallquarks.tumblr.com/

2011-10-30T22:58:00.000-07:00

Lately when I'm bored I wind up drawing this ugly family. I haven't really quite figured out what their deal is yet.

And here is a Birthday Byrd for my good pal Joren.

Spooky moods.

2011-10-26T19:51:00.000-07:00

Some seasonal doodles for one of my favourite times of the year!

My neighbours down the street have a terrific four-eyed garbage bag vampire hangin' from their tree. He looks like this sort of.

And well, I just really like bats.

I can hear the guy who lives upstairs snoring. Unbelievable!!

2011-10-19T17:25:00.000-07:00

okay okay!
here we go. the rest of my pieces from MYSTICAL ENDEAVORS.
they've been up on my site for a while but I'll post 'em here too just for the fun of it.

Just a Sip

It Won't Be Easy

They Were Here First

Space Chase

Bug Juice

Here's something!

2011-09-29T13:49:00.001-07:00

This is a piece I did for an art show that I was in this month at the OCAD Student Gallery!

It's called 'Today is a "Me" Day'

The show was called "Mystical Endeavors" and it featured art by my really great friends Nolan Pelletier, Joren Cull, Ted Gudlat, and Eunice Luk, as well as yours truly. It was a lot of fun to put on a show with some of my favourite people (and favourite artists!), and I think it turned out really well.

Have a look at this poster that we collaborated on:

The show is over now, but if you didn't get a chance to go see it, check back here in a few days. I'll be putting up all of the pieces I did, as well as a few miscellaneous things I've done over the last month or so. I've been without internet (and still am, actually. SIGH!), so I've got a pretty good backlog of stuff to show you.

La la la la la...

2011-07-05T19:00:00.000-07:00

Tonight is a good night to spend watching season two of Daria and drawing pictures.

I never know what to do with those awkward long pieces you end up cutting off the ends of illustration boards. I guess drawing tall people on them is the only real solution.

bad hair-do's have all the fun

2011-06-26T20:30:00.000-07:00

Black & white??? Don't panic, I'm feeling fine - here's the blinding colour version:

2011-06-12T09:07:00.000-07:00

Here is a doll that I made for a lovely lady named Holly!

This peacock overheard what you said about him.

2011-05-31T10:34:00.000-07:00

I saw some really great peacocks on the Toronto Island yesterday. They sure know how to put on a show! I painted this before I saw them, though.

2011-05-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

it's me!

Eyes Like Molten Lava

2011-05-07T19:16:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, Team Cat Planet (aka Nolan and Eunice and myself) screen-printed a bunch of giant Princess Sharula posters! Do you want one? They are like 18" x 24" or something. Only $7! SIGNED BY THE BAND. GET 'EM WHILE THEY'RE HOT.

In other news, the OCAD grad show was great! Thanks everybody who came out! If you haven't seen it yet, tomorrow is your last chance! go go go!

2011-05-07T19:14:00.000-07:00

A space armadillo, in honour of Nolan's birthday. You deserve it, buddy.

2011-05-07T19:09:00.000-07:00

I draw things for fun, nowadays.

Bones not bows!

The good dream.

2011-04-21T20:52:00.000-07:00

I forgot to upload this birthday picture that I made a couple of months ago for my wonderful friend Alexis!

Cicada

2011-04-21T20:06:00.001-07:00

Cicadas are up among my top favourite insects.

final two thesis illustrations!

2011-04-10T10:26:00.000-07:00

Environmental Adaptations

Where Babies Come From

cool, I'm done!
you should come see everything at the grad show! it opens May 5th and runs to the 8th.

2011-03-24T11:33:00.001-07:00

just finished making this guy as a prototype for my Guerrilla Entrepreneurship small business project!

what do you think his name should be?

2011-03-10T20:41:00.000-08:00

only two more thesis pieces left to go now!
that's nuts!!

here's what I spent last weekend doing:

I guess that both of this week's pieces are about how the suburban environment is obsessively manicured and controlled.
I think it's funny how suburbanites like to completely obliterate any trace of icky, messy, scary nature and then replace it with plastic animals and astroturf. I've always loved those nutty people who completely swamp their yards with lawn ornaments like they're trying to make up for something. so here's a kid on safari in the suburban wilderness.

this one is about trying to keep things under control inside the house. the importance of living in a sanitary environment! a picture perfect home ought to be free of dirt and stains, and those plastic dust covers are great for keeping things in order. protect your furniture (and yourself!) from spills, dust, dander, oxygen ..

2011-02-10T17:02:00.000-08:00

Today's life model painting. Gouache and coloured pencils on mylar!

2011-02-02T21:39:00.001-08:00

This is supposed to be a still life. You'll have to take my word for it.

2011-02-02T14:14:00.000-08:00

Hey friends!
Thesis pieces #7 and #8 are complete!

For the first one, I wanted to do a piece about housework and the home. And the two-dimensionality of the suburban lifestyle - literally. I'm hilarious!

The second one features girl guides earning their demon-raising badge. Suburban kids can get into all sorts of trouble in such a dull environment. Parents may try to avoid this by micromanaging their children's lives with all sorts of after-school activities, but as you can see here, it doesn't always work.

2011-01-19T21:16:00.000-08:00

Hey! You folks who are seriously interested in buying a plushie from me (one-of-a-kind, hand-sewn!), go ahead and send me an email - smallquarks@gmail.com

$25-$30 depending on what you want! I can make you something similar to the ones I've already posted, or I can make you a unique design.

Plushies!

2011-01-17T19:56:00.000-08:00

Now that I've distributed all of my late Christmas gifts, I can show you my other winter holiday project - plushies! I made a couple of these last year and really enjoyed it, and since I had nothing but time to spare in Alberta, I ended up making a bunch more.

2011-01-09T16:23:00.000-08:00

Did I get any school work done over the winter break? No. I didn't. But did I paint a bunch of monsters and aliens and subterranean princesses? Totally.

I also made some other pretty cool things, but I can't show them to you for a few more days. Stay tuned!

2010-12-09T16:32:00.000-08:00

School's done and it's pretty terrific. Here are my last two thesis images of the semester! Once again, my project is called Suburban Myths, which of course is a play on the idea of urban myths - modern day folk stories that offer a really warped and exaggerated perspective on the nature of humanity. My thesis offers a similarly mutated interpretation of the values and habits of people who inhabit suburbia.

For this first one, I wanted to do a sort of title illustration to tie everything together. It was a good opportunity to do a panned-out image of the suburban landscape. It was also a good opportunity to go bonkers painting billions of tiny tiny houses.

And here is an appropriately seasonal illustration about the unexpected consequences of having the best Christmas light display on the block. Happy Holidays. :D

A Brief Detour to CAT PLANET

2010-12-01T16:25:00.000-08:00

I made this animation for a class! It was a fun thing to do.

A Brief Detour to CAT PLANET from Kaley McKean on Vimeo.

You should also go to my friend Joren's blog and watch his animation. I like it a lot.
http://jorenmania.blogspot.com/2010/12/interviews.html

poor lil' guy

2010-11-14T19:57:00.000-08:00

This guy happened while I was waiting for something else to dry. He's kinda special.

Thesis!

2010-11-12T20:11:00.000-08:00

So I guess I'll post what I've been working on for my thesis project so far.

My thesis is called Suburban Myths. Suburbia is a pretty mundane, isolating environment that leads people to get mindlessly wrapped up in their own repetitive, short-sighted little worlds. It's a lifestyle that values normalcy and keeping up appearances. For my project I am doing a series of illustrations that reveal the strange, mutated underbelly of suburbia - all the weird things that are going on beneath the glossy, well-manicured surface! Here's the first four:

I'm not 100% satisfied with what I've got so far. I feel a bit unfocused and like I'm sort of still experimenting stylistically. But it's a start and there are things I like about each piece. I'd like to push things a bit more with the next ones, though.

If you have any critiques or suggestions I would like to hear them!

This art update is brought to you by 1996 and the movie "Jumanji"

2010-10-25T18:52:00.000-07:00

Alexis posted some swell little kid art, and it prompted me to do the same, because I think it's so great to see. Everybody show me your little kid art! I think I did most of this around the ages of 7 or 8 - clearly at the height of my artistic career.

Maybe one day I'll post this whole book. Written in 3rd grade. It's laminated and everything!

Rare dog breeds I discovered during my explorer years:

From a series of Jumanji fan art illustrations I did:

My future dream home, complete with swan:

From a book of animal facts. I was pretty certain that I could make a career outta this:

Self-explanatory:

Bump in the Night

2010-10-10T20:59:00.000-07:00

These pieces will be up on the 2nd floor of OCAD until the 29th of October for a super spooky halloween-themed group show! Opening night is Friday the 15th - you should totally come see it!

Call Susan for a Good Time

Yikes!

7 Minutes in Heaven

Sketchbook dump and a brand new website!

2010-08-13T13:20:00.000-07:00

A profoundly boring summer class has resulted in these:

At least something good came of that class!

In other news, I have a new website!

The Infantile Spirit of De-Evolution

2010-07-26T18:40:00.000-07:00

Look what I did!

It's for this art show.

Cool story: not long after this painting was finished I got to hang out with DEVO at the Marriott in Montreal until 2 o'clock in the morning! It's the best thing that has ever happened.

2010-07-11T09:13:00.000-07:00

Here are the two pieces I did for the Milk Thistle show which is currently up and running at Function 13 gallery until the 16th!

Birthday Hippo

2010-07-02T10:54:00.000-07:00

A birthday hippo for my friend Kay! It was my first hippo experience and, well .. I liked it.

In other news, I'm all registered for classes and actually pretty excited for next year. Looks like a pretty good line-up! Even though I still don't have a clue what I'm doing for thesis. But I'm not the only one, right? RIGHT?

In other, other news, I'm doing a couple pieces for the upcoming Milk Thistle art show at Function 13 (156 Augusta Ave). Opening night is July 10th. So I guess you should stop by or whatever.

How many people live on my head?

2010-05-21T08:04:00.000-07:00

A commission for Ariel Garten of Interaxon - thought-controlled computing! Neat-o.

2010-04-17T14:11:00.000-07:00

Our final Illustration project was to create an image based on a random "found" note, to be used in a hypothetical book being put out by foundmagazine.com.

Original note (text had to be included in the illustration):Illustration!:

And that pretty much wraps up my semester! Actually, I think there are a few projects I still have to post, but I'll get around to that later. I'm taking a bus to Alberta tonight for a couple weeks! Catch you on the flip side, cool cats.

2010-04-03T16:13:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty happy with this painting of a model I did in class a couple of weeks ago! It's nice to combine drawing and painting techniques.

Summer Chillz

2010-03-24T20:11:00.001-07:00

Illustration for Hot Mess magazine, coming out this summer!

2010-03-18T17:57:00.000-07:00

Another in-class Media Studio assignment, completed in like half an hour.

It's a painting of a face!

2010-03-16T16:11:00.000-07:00

Acrylic and graphite.

2010-03-12T16:15:00.000-08:00

Here are the four pieces I put together for the "White Cloud, Buttermilk Sky" show that's up and running now at Hotshot gallery until the 21st! SERIOUS thank-yous to the wonderful and talented Andrea Manica who did such a great job organizing it all. The opening was last night and it went marvelously, so more serious thank-yous to everybody who came out and said nice things! You rule.

Idiocracy

2010-02-15T17:50:00.000-08:00

For an assignment to create a DVD cover for the movie Idiocracy.

2010-01-28T21:24:00.000-08:00

This guy was completed in about an hour and a half for an in-class Media Studio assignment. At the beginning of class we were given a phrase, and had to then create an illustration inspired by that phrase using a combination of traditional media and photoshop.

Our phrase was "My unpleasant family."

Solvestra: Solve Everything!

2010-01-25T20:26:00.000-08:00

Helloooo!

Back to school! The first project of the semester was to do an illustration that could be used as an advertisement for a new imaginary pharmaceutical product called "Solvestra." Solvestra is a pill that will temporarily solve any problem you might have! Amazing!

So here we are. This nice looking young man was out on a pleasant boat excursion when he was attacked by this really big crocodile. Fortunately, thanks to Solvestra, the monster's teeth have been turned into harmless bunnies. A little creepy maybe, poking out of the gums there, but harmless nonetheless.
And a detail. This would look a lot nicer if I scanned it, but we'll just have to make do with a photograph for now.

2010-01-05T17:17:00.000-08:00

So, I was compelled to make people some dolls for Christmas. Yeah! I am by no means an expert at sewing beyond like .. occasional clothing repairs, but I think they came out pretty okay! Aaand fun to make so there will probably be more.

JENNA DOLL. Is the resemblance not striking.

And for Alexis! This one is not meant to look like her.

2009-12-19T00:01:00.000-08:00

Oh yeah! I've got this one too!

Had to design a shopping bag for Barney's in New York. (So this design would be printed out and folded up into a rectangle - you know, bag-shaped!) It was supposed to be about non-conformity, and America, and independence, and fashion! USA! USA! USA!

2009-12-16T21:53:00.001-08:00

Hey there! Here are a couple of projects from this semester that I realized I had not posted yet.

This one was my first project of the semester for Illustration. All I've got is this crummy dark photo of it which I think is why I didn't post it earlier, but I probably won't get around to scanning it for a while, so whatev. The project was to illustrate a "guilty pleasure." Mine was Really Big Hair!

And another Sequential Narrative project. This one had to be based on a myth, although I mostly made mine up.I'm in Alberta for a couple of weeks! Hope everybody is having a nice holiday.

Laws of Power

2009-11-16T16:44:00.000-08:00

For our third Illustration assignment, we each had to illustrate two of the laws, chosen at random, from Robert Greene's "48 Laws of Power."

Law 35: Master the Art of Timing
"Never seem to be in a hurry - hurrying betrays a lack of control over yourself, and over time. Always seem patient, as if you know that everything will come to you eventually. Become a detective of the right moment; sniff out the spirit of the times, the trends that will carry you to power. Learn to stand back when the time is not yet right, and to strike fiercely when it has reached fruition."Law 44: Disarm and Infuriate with the Mirror Effect
"The mirror reflects reality, but it is also the perfect tool for deception. When you mirror your enemies, doing exactly as they do, they cannot figure out your strategy. The Mirror Effect mocks and humiliates them, making them overreact. By holding up a mirror to their psyches, you seduce them with the illusion that you share their values; by holding up a mirror to their actions, you teach them a lesson. Few can resist the power of the Mirror Effect."

woo!

AHHHHHHH.

2009-10-28T19:28:00.001-07:00

Story time!!

Okay so this is not art related and probably nobody except me cares anyway but whatever it's my blog.

SO! this is what happened to me on Saturday: I MET DAVID BYRNE. This is a Big Deal.

In case you are unfamiliar:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x20vxi_talking-heads-road-to-nowhere_music
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x20vya_talking-heads-this-must-be-the-plac_music

Okay so anyway the point is he is my favourite person ever and was the frontman for my favourite band ever and on Saturday he was speaking at the Toronto Festival of Authors about like, bicycling and city planning. So Jenna, and our two best friends Nick and Anthony and I got tickets and showed up like two hours early because we are all obsessive fans to an extent that verges on creepy personality cult. As a result, we got front row seats because everybody else attending the talk was middle aged and probably not as enthusiastic about things as they used to be. So for like an hour we were a mere TEN FEET from David Byrne (and the other people speaking on the panel, which included Jack Layton for some reason). THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN ENOUGH FOR US. But there is more.

Our friend Nick builds synthesizers out of trash: old electronics and toys and other junk that people throw out. They are actually pretty genius and they make obnoxious grating electronic noise music. He decided to build one and bring it to the talk so that on the incredibly remote chance that we might be able to meet David Byrne he could give it to him as a gift.

So at the end of the talk, when the speakers were getting up and walking off-stage, we were like "DAVID BYRNE" and because we're clearly awesome he was like "okay!" and totally came right over!! Nick gave him the synthesizer and he knelt down and let Nick show him how to work it, and he was totally interested and polite and knew all about the crazy shit going on in Nick's instrument which is totally beyond me. Anyway it was amazing and he was totally great and everybody else in the theatre crowded behind us and tried to get his attention but he was only into us!

Here we are giving him the synthesizer. Some nice lady was excited for us and took all of these pictures and sent them to us! Check out Jack Layton trying to get in on the action. He wants to be hip with the kids too. We've actually met him before and he totally recognized Nick.

I take credit for this awesome picture:
WE SHOOK HIS HAND. It was soft and warm! We told David Byrne that we liked Brian Eno too and asked him to say hi to Brian for us and he was like "k!"Here we are shortly afterward on the BEST DAY OF OUR LIVES. I'm not even kidding. I'm still all fluttery about it.

AHHHHHH.

2009-10-26T21:01:00.000-07:00

Our latest illustration assignment was to find a review of an album (or movie) which focused on a particular person's performance and then create an illustration to accompany that review. Mine was a review of Tom Waits' Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards. (Link, if you're interested: http://www.villagevoice.com/2006-11-14/music/oliver-twisted/)

It was lots of fun! Mixed media: acrylic, a bit of oils, ballpoint pen .. some of the drawers are made with collaged bark and brown packing paper!

Tom Waits is cooler than anybody. His level of coolness verges on supernatural, in fact. I guess that is why he's really fun to draw.

!

2009-10-14T15:42:00.000-07:00

Had to come up with a character design for a toy using Illustrator. Here he is! Despite the fact that I'm not really into digital art, I actually enjoyed this. I think he turned out pretty well!

2009-10-11T09:57:00.000-07:00

My last two projects done for Sequential Narrative:

SCANAPALOOZA

2009-10-08T20:16:00.000-07:00

Hey there cats and kittens. I finally scanned some stuff!!

Stay tuned for more! I've gotta go to bed now.

2009-08-28T17:28:00.001-07:00

So I know I haven't updated in a million years. It's coming! Gotta get myself to a scanner.

In the meantime, have some rat photos!

2009-06-18T07:17:00.000-07:00

Another quick thing. Watercolour, acrylic, red ballpoint pen, and brown ink!

2009-06-12T13:27:00.000-07:00

An experiment that turned out kind of nicely!

2009-06-03T10:16:00.001-07:00

Went to life drawing last night!

2009-06-01T15:02:00.000-07:00

2009-05-24T16:58:00.000-07:00

I've been painting! Just a random sketchbook creature, for fun.

In progress:

Finished. The background actually has a bit more green to it.

I also made this with acrylic and tissue paper, and I think it's nice. But I haven't decided what to paint on it yet! D:

Eye Beetles

2009-05-15T11:50:00.001-07:00

And now it's time for: more sketchbook pages! Yeah! Alright!

And I went to life drawing! Good times. I actually really miss not having it every week - it's so relaxing. I'm gonna go more often.

2009-04-19T11:01:00.001-07:00

Life model from a couple weeks ago:

Bearded Lady

2009-04-06T12:02:00.000-07:00

Final media studio project. Subject matter and media were open, so here's another collage/painting of a bearded lady on a unicycle!

2009-04-06T11:58:00.001-07:00

A quick thing I did for a Drawing and Painting assignment:

And a 3 hour life study from that same class that I'm pretty happy with!

Private Eye

2009-03-30T07:12:00.001-07:00

A media studio assignment, which was to make a collage about crime scene investigation. I don't know why I haven't experimented more with collage previously ... it's great! Expect more.

V-Day

2009-03-25T18:06:00.000-07:00

An Illustration assignment for V-Day, which is a movement to raise awareness about violence against women and children. Acrylic and ink!

The Lambkin and the Little Fish

2009-03-23T07:59:00.000-07:00

A media studio assignment about "the dark side of fairytales." I illustrated a German fairytale about a stepmother who, for no clear reason, hates her stepchildren so much that she turns them into a lamb and a fish and tries to feed them to her guests.

Media is graphite on illustration board, over a watercolour wash.

Models

2009-03-23T07:56:00.000-07:00

A couple of paintings from models that I'm not entirely displeased with.

#4 - Balloon Man

2009-03-23T07:37:00.001-07:00

He looks like a dispirited real estate agent. I might do a series of these. Acrylics!

Bad Things Happen to Good People

2009-03-23T07:23:00.000-07:00

A media studio assignment in red and blue ballpoint pen!

Man and Machine

2009-03-23T07:18:00.000-07:00

Acrylics on illustration board.

2009-03-23T07:13:00.000-07:00

Okay, so since I don't feel like posting the entire backlog of my old art on here, I'm just gonna link to my Flickr. It's all up there.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaleymckean/

That's so going on my blog.

2009-03-09T11:02:00.000-07:00

It seemed like a better idea to put my stuff up here, rather than on like ... facebook. Yeah! Far out!