Browsing “The Proof”

Hilary Moses is a Canadian animator living and working in Vancouver and is an amazing woman; full disclosure up front – I’m her husband. She embodies many attributes of what we think of as an artist – creative, expressive, obsessed, dogged in the pursuit of her vision. She’s also very kind to animals (me included) and lives with five of them (me included). Hilary is currently working on an animated film called ‘Creamers’, a comedic look at the drudgery of repetitive work. Her blog chronicles her exploits making this film and, like her, is honest, pithy and informative.

The Proof
01 Me working on my laptop as my husband does camera tests on our new Canon 60D. Our dining-room converted-into-a-studio is behind me.

02 Throwing sticks for my dogs Ted and Penny at Iona Beach.

03 Beautiful winter view from our street – I love the view of the city from here. Blenheim is always higher than I think and sometimes it’s snowing up here when it’s is raining in the city.

04 My groovy new line tester where I shoot my animation drawings and bring them into the computer to test them and colour them.

05 Desk number two in my workspace – mainly being used to dump stuff right now. Hoping to fill it with an assistant if some money falls from the sky.

06 Zombie finger puppets.

07 Pencils and more pencils – lots of different colours to code all the different bits of movement on the drawings.  4 levels of drawings per shot – 12 drawings per level per second = 48 drawings per second and a lot of paper and a lot of pencils….

08 Breakfast over email – muffin, coffee, scanner and my geriatric cat Tony.

The Questions
What neighborhood do you live in?

I live on the edge of Pacific Spirit Park in the Dunbar area. I love the drive along Cornwall into town – some of the best views in Vancouver.

What do you do and where?
I am a self-employed animator and graphic artist. I am director of Fantastic Cat Productions – a Vancouver born and bred production company that has been alive and well for the last 11 years.  I work out of my home and occasionally I teach at Capilano and Emily Carr which means every once in a while I get to talk to live interesting people.

What are you working on?
Well apart from the random freelance gig I am spending all my time and pennies on my 14 minute animated film Creamers. It’s been a work in progress for 10 years. All the drawings are done on paper and then coloured in the computer. I get about a second of animation done a day – 780 days to go.

Where can we find your work?
My commercial work can be seen at :

www.fantasticcat.ca

My film work can be seen at:
http://thelongestdayhasanend.blogspot.com/

Ms. Rachelle Harvey fled her prairie homeland for the greener (and generally awesomer) pastures of Vancouver in late 2009. Since setting up shop in Mt. Pleasant, she has spent the past year-and-some scoping out tasty bakeries, climbing fig trees, and occasionally drinking wine out of jam jars on the beach.

When not careening around the city on her squeaky-but-loveable bicycle, you can find her in her Gastown studio, putting her design skillz to work creating print and publication designs for all kinds of folk. Her work is full of whimsy, wit, and wonder, creating sophisticated solutions that are just as smart and surprising as she is.
- Alaine Mackenzie

The Proof
01 The studio I work out of, in the midst of a screenprinting production outburst!

02 Peas, wine, summertime. I love vegetables. And grapes.

03 The Saskatchewan skies I grew up under. Pretty. Damn. Good.

04 Some thangs at my studio desk: Bowie-worthy glittery sticker papers, bookbinding fabric, screen transbase, apron for messiness, hot/chaud mug, some illustrations I’m working on, rainbow degredé prints that say ‘Fantasmical’ (made up words are the best!), cedar incense, and a giant spool of white/teal thread. When I can’t figure out how to put these seemingly arbitrary items together, I stare out the window to the left and eavesdrop on patio conversations drifting up from the Cambie.

05 My bookshelf/jenga-nightstand. Highlights include: Marian Bantjes’ golden bedazzled ‘I Wonder’, and an accordion-fold book about animals on a seesaw by Enzo Mari.

06 Tofino stole a gigantic piece of my heart on my first trip there. My friends and I took off running with excitement and tried to make it all the way to Japan. The sunset that followed turned the sky and sand magical shades of purple, pink, red, and orange, and I’ve never seen so many elated 20-somethings shriek with sheer joy and amazement. Its one of the most beautiful and mystical places on earth I’ve ever visited. Swoooon.

07 Some shots of my most recent endeavour, Mainly Main Magazine. Its free and you can find yourself a copy of Issue 2 out now!

08 Here, with some friends drinking wine at my ‘beach office’. That salsa jar aerates like nobody’s business!

The Questions
What neighbourhood do you live in?
Mount Pleasant. And it is every bit pleasant as it sounds.

What do you do and where?
I’m a freelance graphic designer juggling my urge to doodle obsessive patterns, silkscreen in bright shades of teal, and zen out with my inner hippy. I do most of my design work in branding and editorial, and try to surround myself with passionate people who have passionate ideas. I work from several locations because I like to feel as though I’m always on an adventure: a studio in Gastown, my kitchen table, my patio office and my beach office. Some lend themselves to more productivity than others, some to more inspiration than others. All are necessary.

What are you working on?
Issue 3 of Mainly Main. Also: pretzel valentines, future textile patterns, and a web comic with a friend!

Where can we find your work?
www.rachelleharvey.com! Come visit!

Melanie Jane is a Vancouver fashion, boudoir and pin-up photographer, ‘wicked-smart’ and gorgeous from her cerebral cortex to her distal phalanges.  She is also charming, good-humored and has an affinity for occasions which require a costume.
– Catherine McGee

The Proof
01 Epic view from my balcony of the city, downtown and the mountains at sunset… no two sunsets are ever alike – I will never grow tired of this view!
02 Our freezer, stocked with booze and, perhaps more importantly, U-Pick berries and homemade pies that my boyfriend makes from scratch!
03 My ex-roommate’s cat, her name is Fizzgig and I like to call her the silver monkey… we have a good thing going on: I adore her and she pretends not to care.  This is her decked out in the tackiest Photoshop job I could muster, as, you guessed it, the Easter bunny.
04 A shot from one of my first Boudoir photo shoots, just out of camera, without any retouching; I spend a lot of time working on my computer and a lot of it is retouching… it’s a tougher job than  you might think.
05 One of my happy places: Cypress mountain on opening day this season… breathtaking.
06 Working with model Holly Elise at a recent photo shoot in my studio, for the Robots & Monsters art show at Ayden Gallery.
07 This winter I discovered that knitting is extremely awesome and not just for grannies.  This old school toque is one of the first things I ever knit, for friends who just had a baby.
08 Glow bowling at my last 30-somethingth birthday… I guess this is me refusing to grow up for as long as possible.

The Questions
What neighborhood do you live in?
Collingwood – though I long to return to Mount Pleasant.  The very best thing about my current home is the epic view of the city and mountains.

What do you do and where?
I run my own photography business.  I shoot mainly fashion/apparel, pin-up and boudoir; I work from my home office quite a bit, and from my studio which is near the Cambie Bridge.

What are you working on?
A collection of retro-styled pin-up photo-art, some new beauty shots for my commercial book, my new website.

Where can we find your work?

In May I’ll have some new pin-ups on exhibit at Coup Salon in Shanghai Alley, and throughout the year I’ll be showing new pin-ups around town in various venues.  I just won an award from Applied Arts magazine, and I’ll be in their May/June issue.

Online:

My new website coming soon
Facebook
Twitter

Dan Climan was born and raised in Montreal. He moved west to pursue an education in art at Emily Carr University of art and design, and sample what the City of Vancouver had to offer in the way of living.
Dan now possesses his diploma stating he knows more than you about art, and remains living in this beautiful town we all call home.
Dan’s work has been described as having a “grungy New York City skate- punk aesthetic” but I would disagree. Dan’s work does not anchor itself to any static location, or evoke notions of action sport
Sub-culture, but allows itself to blossom and change from one mood to another.
If Dan is not grinding away in his DTES office, cooking up the aesthetic of the soon to be reopened legendary Save-On-Meats, you will find him wild in the Vancouver streets with his fellow Gnashionals.
Dan Is an up and coming force in the world of things visual in Vancouver and the horizon has never looked better. Keep up the good work Dan.
- Calen Knauf

The Proof
from right to left:
My desk in my living room / office / studio
Watercolor and ink flash sheet
Recent works on my leather couch
The other side of my living room where the records are played
My neighbor Malcolm’s living room
Hand built doors and hand painted signs from my solo show at JD’s barber shop in Gastown
A new ready-made artwork
Lurkin in the alley with some homies.

The Questions
What neighborhood do you live in?
I currently live in Kits, close to Vancouver’s oldest and best skate shop Skull Skates. When I moved here from Montreal I was lucky enough to fall into an amazing living situation with great people and cheap rent, so I’ve been here ever since.

What do you do and where?
I am a full time artist working from home and my office in Gastown. For the last couple of years my work has been based on the re-appropriation of signage focusing on a history of images that is slowly disappearing.

What are you working on?
I am currently working on artwork for the re-opening of Save On Meats on Hastings Street and have recently started an apprenticeship with one of Vancouver’s most talented tattoo artists.

Where can we find your work?

Right now my work can be seen at JD’s Barber Shop on Abbott Street.
Also on the Internet:
Website
Tumblr

Melissa Mercier is a talented minimalist fine art photographer. She loves her work and her martinis. She spends most of her time on her computer or her iphone (or both) and is a self proclaimed mac loving geek. Her attention to detail is insanely sharp and I’m often impressed by her understanding of composition and comprehension of colour.
There’s no doubt she is french Canadian as she loves food, wine and long after dinner conversation. She is a passionate entrepreneur possessing an uncompromising drive. She’s a vegetarian who eats fillet mignon and an environmentalist who owns a 1980 Camaro… nobodies perfect!  Oh… and she’s my wife.

The Proof

01 This is me in my studio (aka kitchen) cutting and scoring some promotional items for my latest two series.

02 The advantage of being self employed: the midday martini. My personal favourite recipe: 4 oz Bombay Gin, tiny splash of  vermouth, shaken with three olives.

03 Everything in my life seems to start with “M”. Mac and Milano coffee in this case. Milano is the best coffee I’ve ever tasted. Stop in at 8th and Columbia.

04 I absolutely love this bag made by Kata! it protects my gear and it’s light enough for me to get around with.
05 I have a shoe and boot obsession. I need a bigger closet!

06 Receiving my 38″x38″ image from Fidelis Printing. They did an amazing job. Sometimes size does matter!

07 I’d like to say I have a passion for cooking, but I don’t. I have a passion for eating! (especially when it pairs well with bubbles!)

08 Obsession is a theme in my life. I think obsessions are healthy to a certain extent. There is straight and then there is absolutely straight. There is minimal, and then there is absolutely minimal. When my mind is focussed on something, there is little else that can compete for attention.

The Questions
What neighborhood do you live in?
East Van Baby!

What do you do and where?
I’m a photographer. I take pictures at home in Vancouver, where I grew up near Quebec City and around the world (whenever I’m able to get there)

What are you working on?
I just finished printing, framing and delivering images to the Vancouver Art Gallery Art Rentals and Sales. Now I am working on a promo book to go along with my framed work.

Where can we find your work?
My website
Vancouver Art Rentals and Sales
And in my home.

Here’s the deal: Kim’s brain never stops. Ever. She is a walking, talking, poor-dancing idea machine. She is a creative addict who never stops conceptualizing. If you think your idea is great, ask Kim for her two cents. She can turn a neat idea into an enterprising possibility in a pinch. It’s really cool. She loves to write, design, and give back. Her vision has always been simple and she has no apologies for it: to do good work for good people. No jerks. That good work comes in the form of identities, sales materials, websites, tshirt designs, brochures, annual reports, tradeshow booths, and a whack of other stuff. Plus she donates a load of time and talent to charity. Because she believes that she should. She fired the last accountant who told her that charitable work would get her nowhere fast. “He has no balls,” she said. “And no heart.”

Kim definitely has heart. She also has an unstoppable need to stop civilians from leaving the grocery store with plastic bags. If she’s behind you in line, she’s going to force her eco-bag on you and buy another for herself. She can’t be stopped – in this, or in any other cause or creative conviction. Don’t even try. Your best efforts are futile.

The Proof
01 Chocolate chip cookies from Finches Cafe in Gastown. They are the size of a fist. And they taste like Grandma made them.
Screw the calories; I have one a week. Okay, maybe two.

02 A beta version of an idea mapped out on the kitchen floor. Messy. Organic. Wrinkled. Insane. Bliss.

03 This is me leaving on a jet plane. Leaving on a jet plane somewhere, anywhere is my favourite thing.

04 The love of my life. The heartbeat of our office. The stink behind the silent farts.

05 I’m not gonna lie: I have a thing for typography. Like a BIG thing. It makes my heart pitter patter.

06 I grow stuff. Then I eat it. It should be the way of the world.

07 Baking = therapy. Baking cakes that look like stuff – like this lop-sided treasure chest attempt – make my brain buzz, my friends oooh and aaaah, and my tummy growl. So I pretty much love it.

08 Shoo-in cure for a bad day? Nephew playing Bon Jovi on the fly swatter air guitar.

The Questions
What neighbourhood do you live in?
Kits, baby.

What do you do and where?
I run a small graphic design and writing studio with heart in Gastown. So I design. I direct. I write. I strategize. I build marketing plans. I draw. I scribble. Basically, I use my right brain with the goal of producing killer creative for companies with a conscience.

When I need a break from all that, I design and write greeting cards for my charitable greeting card company, Uncle Phil.
It’s warm and fuzzy. The proceeds go to the Starlight Foundation. You should buy some for the holidays.

What are you working on?
Other than being able to do at least one chin up in my lifetime (a work in progress), I am working on some kick-ass creative for cool clients. Some brand identity for some up-and-coming local entrepreneurs, a full-fledged international marketing campaign and roll-out for a client we adore, some tv spot creative, some web writing. My fingers are in a lot of pies at the moment.

Where can we find your work?
Check out my corporate marketing work
Check out my charitable greeting card line
Check out my garden at Davie and Burrard.