Looking back, moving forward

As in previous years (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020), here is my annual recap of how my year unfolded.

In January, my article for UPPERCASE Magazine hit the stands. 

February was mostly dedicated to paint explorations (The results come later in the year...)

In March, I completed a couple of fun sign and mural projects for a boutique toy store.

In April, I released a collection of paintings called "New & Improved".

May was more studio painting time, which lead to the release of my "Painted with Pride" collection in June.

In July, I completed some custom lettering for a theatre game show called "Whose Land is it Anyway". I also completed some custom sign painting for one of my favourite local shops, Secret Planet. As well, I did some custom lettering for the cover of Reader's Digest (in English and French!) July was also my birthday month and I painted a self-portrait to mark the year.

In August, after weeks of preparation, I launched a series of 21 paintings called The New Pop. I also painted a couple of interior murals for a new pediatric clinic.

In September, I jumped on a plane to NYC for a top secret project (more details in December...)

In October, I designed a new album for local musician Jeremy Voltz. I also snuck away to visit my family - and the Rocky mountains.

In November, I refreshed my "Not Amazing" campaign to encourage people to shop local. I was also thrilled to share that my Rotary Calendar was now available at the Art Institute of Chicago gift shop.

The biggest news of the year came in December. My new online course, Sign Creation with Hand-Painted Lettering, was launched on Domestika. It is so exciting that I'll be able to share my passion for sign painting with students from around the world. And to cap of the year, I received a most generous mention of my Rotary Calendar from Martha Stewart in her holiday guide, 54 Holiday Gifts Perfect for the Guys in Your Life.

2021 was another topsy turvy year. I am endlessly grateful to be able to do work that I love. This also marks 10 full years of freelance life (more to come on that in the new year...)

Have a safe and happy holiday!

Painted with Pride

First come, first served.

Prices listed in CDN, and do not include taxes or shipping costs.

To claim original, please contact me directly hello [at] christopherrouleau [dot] com.

12" x 16" digital prints available on through my shop.

Local delivery and pickup available. Shipping within Canada and USA based on size and destination.

Thank you for your support! Happy Pride!

Fruity

Acrylic and enamel on Bristol board 

22" x 28", unframed

$200

There's no place like homo

Enamel on thrift painting

30.5cm × 61cm, unframed

$100

Gay!

Acrylic and enamel on Bristol board 

22" x 28", unframed

$200

Homo is where the heart is

Enamel on thrift painting

30.5cm × 61cm, unframed

$100

Queer

Acrylic and enamel on Bristol board 

22" x 28", unframed

$200

Homo on the range

Enamel on thrift painting

30.5cm × 61cm, unframed

$100

New & Improved prints

By popular demand, three of my “New & Improved” paintings are available as prints in my shop. 

The original paintings have been scanned and reproduced as 12" x 16" prints, printed on Mohawk Superfine Eggshell Ultrawhite 120lb matte fine art paper using an HP Indigo 7800 Digital Press. 

Limited quantities available. 

Available for purchase in my shop. Free local delivery and pickup available. 

Thank you for your support!

Frosted Flakes

Laurentien

Pine-Sol

New & Improved

Now more than ever, we allow advertising to disrupt our audio and visual environments, under the presumption that corporations are looking out for our best interests — that it is simply part of our modern world. But at what cost?

Juxtaposing the benign familiarity of readymade thrift store paintings with artefacts of legacy packaging and advertisements, Christopher uses nostalgia and wordplay to make us confront complex questions about our relationship with consumerism:

Is the current advertising model sustainable? What is the future of targeted advertising?

How do corporations manipulate our emotions — and purchases — with branding and language?

Can artists survive without sponsorship? Can art exist without ads? Can ads exist without art?

Christopher uses traditional showcard and sign painting techniques to create a false screen print overlay with acrylic, making creative nods to Wayne White, Andy Warhol, and the Dada art movement. Through careful construction/destruction and the use of scale/contrast, he makes us look closer, and urges us to think more critically about marketing language and our everyday consumption.

Laurentien

Acrylic on paint-by-number

48cm × 38cm, framed

$140

Sunlight

Acrylic on paint-by-number

20cm × 25cm, unframed

$80 (diptych)

Life

Acrylic on paint-by-number

69cm × 54cm, framed

$280

Thrill

Acrylic on paint-by-number

38cm × 48cm, framed

$280 (diptych)

Snowy

Acrylic on oil painting

52cm × 42cm, framed

$170

Star-kist

Acrylic on paint-by-number

31cm × 37cm, framed

$175 (diptych)

Joy

Acrylic on paint-by-number

54cm × 44cm, framed

$180

Bounty

Acrylic on paint-by-number

31cm × 27cm, unframed

$130 (diptych)

Pine-Sol

Acrylic gouache on paint-by-number

41cm × 31cm, unframed

$100

Tide

Acrylic on paint-by-number

32cm × 27cm, framed

$130 (diptych)

Frosted Flakes

Acrylic on paint-by-number

41cm × 31cm, unframed

$100

Swan

Acrylic on paint-by-number

33cm × 43cm, framed

$220 (diptych)

S.O.S.

Acrylic on paint-by-number

61cm × 46cm, unframed

$220

Cap'N Crunch

Acrylic on paint-by-number

35cm × 45cm, framed

$225 (diptych)

-

First come, first served.

Prices listed in CDN, and do not include taxes or shipping costs.

To claim, please contact me via email: hello [at] christopherrouleau [dot] com

Local delivery and pickup available. Shipping within Canada and USA based on size and destination.

Thank you for your support!

Looking back, moving forward

As in previous years (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019), here is my annual recap of how my year unfolded.

In January, I created some custom lettering for the cover of Chatelaine magazine.

In February, I lettered a unique note for a Maison Simons advertisement. I also got the chance to do some window painting at Type Books.

In March, I created a quick custom letter animation for the new H Word podcast.

At the end of June, I released three Pride graphics to share on Instagram.

To mark this bizarre year, and my 38th birthday, I did a self-portrait in graphite in July. I also released a couple of new custom signs in August: Start & 100% homo milk.

In September, I launched two new online course books: Brush pen lettering, as well as Showcard and Sign Painting. I also released my new Rotary calendar. Also, Life is Good!

In October, I created a small campaign called Not Amazing to encourage people to shop local. I also teamed up with some amazing Toronto artists to do a special Holiday card sale - it was a huge success! I also had the chance to paint the window of the new Craig's Cookies.

In November, I was featured on the podcast Talk Paper Scissors (thanks again, Diana!) My work was also featured for four weeks at the Window Gallery exhibit on Church Street (thanks again, Sonja!)

And before the year came to an end, I painted a special note on the The Theatre Centre windows, and also created a unique Parkdale High Park custom lettering commission.

2020 was a year like no other. Thanks to everyone for your support. Have a safe and happy holiday!

Not amazing

2020 has been a challenging and transformative year. As an independent freelance designer, I have been grateful for the financial support of the Canadian government to help bridge the gap in income as clients adjust to new and evolving economic realities. And as an artist and maker, I am thankful for the people who continue to support my art practice through likes, shares, comments, commissions, and sales though my online shop and Etsy store. Right now, it could not be more important to support local business.

Every purchase you make is a choice, and in 2020, we seem to have more choice than ever. With the freedom of online shopping, you can now have exactly what you want, delivered to your doorstep, sometimes even in the same day.

But discounted prices and unprecedented convenience come at a great cost, and we must no longer turn a blind eye to these hidden consequences. Multinational mega-corporations like Amazon, Walmart and Costco threaten to crush small businesses because of the power we have given to them through our seemingly innocuous purchasing.

Take Amazon as an example. It is notorious for its deplorable working conditions and unfair wages for its warehouse employees, ongoing lawsuits, tax evasion, and the cumulative effect that their shipping model has on our environment is catastrophic. Yet, it has soared into a new level of market dominance since the onset of the global pandemic. Amazon now has a market cap over $1.14 trillion. Its CEO Jeff Bezos, is the wealthiest human on the planet, with a net worth over $204.6 billion (Forbes, August 2020). He makes $215 million in one day. He makes more money in one minute than what his warehouse workers make in one year. (Sidenote: one million seconds is 11 days, one billion seconds is 32 years, one trillion seconds is 31709 years.) Think about what Amazon will be worth after the pandemic. This level of wealth hoarding is dangerous and unsustainable. 

Corporations like Amazon rely on your complacency. Amazon’s revenues are nearly incomprehensible, and it and its peers can use their scale to intimidate and stifle competition. It may feel hopeless, but the purchasing choices you make have power. Like a single voice in a protest, or an individual ballot in an election, your actions contribute to direct, cumulative change.

Moving into this holiday season - the bread and butter for so many small businesses - you have choice. Not just in what products and services you buy, but which businesses you support. Please make a commitment to support local as often as possible, even if it costs a few more cents than Amazon.

If you are in a position to purchase gifts this year, here are some things you can do today, tomorrow, and every day:

• Talk about these issues with friends and family (share this post!)
• Research to find out what is available locally. Then, work your way outwards to support neighbouring communities.
• Share what you like. Word of mouth is magic for small business.
• Ask for what you are looking for. Small businesses want to help other small businesses.
• Consider making purchases earlier this year (to prevent creating backlogs in the post system this December), and grouping and sharing your shipping when possible.
• Pay it forward. Rate high, refer often, and tip generously.

Be kind, stay safe, and help each other. Thanks!

 

Rotary calendar

This rotary calendar works all year round, every year, ever. Perfect for home, school or office.

Measures 9.5” x 11”. Designed and printed in Toronto on 34pt matte Convertible Solutions Multiloft on the HP Indigo Digital Press, and meticulously diecut on the Zund digital diecutter. The calendar is then hand-assembled and bound with a metal rivet.

Available for purchase in my shop.

Showcard & Sign Painting workbook

Sign painting is a perfect blend of draftsmanship and artistry, of rules and intuition, of precision and incongruity. With the emergence of the “slow movement” in the last decade, and a renewed interest in analog techniques – perhaps a reaction against the technologies that dominate so many aspects of our lives – the demand for traditional sign painting has returned. Many small businesses prefer signs made by humans, not machines. People want art in their homes made by people, not factories. And those with an interest in typography and handmade letterforms (both professionals and hobbyists) are interested in painting letters by hand. 

These 10 worksheets will help you navigate your sign painting journey. This booklet contains an overview of supplies, techniques, stroke practice, as well as full reference alphabets and guideline sheets. Please let this workbook inspire you to embrace your own personal style, and create your best sign painting work.

No experience required, but you will need your own paint materials, which are thoroughly discussed in the kit.   

Available as a physical booklet or digital download in my shop.

Brush Pen Lettering workbook

Hand-lettering often speaks louder than a font or typeface because of its personal touch and charming imperfections. Brush pen lettering, a variation of cursive handwriting, has made a resurgence in recent years because of a renewed interest in the handmade, and a yearning for authenticity. It also acts as an excellent exercise in mindfulness, and offers the groundwork for creative ventures like lettermail, journalling, and art projects.

This 12-page workbook will help you navigate your brush pen lettering journey. The booklet contains an overview of supplies, techniques, stroke practice, as well as full reference alphabets and guideline sheets. 

No experience required, but you will need your own brush pens and paper, which are thoroughly discussed in the kit. I hope this workbook inspire you to embrace your own personal style, and create your best brush lettering work. 

Available as a physical booklet or digital download in my shop.