We Paint: The Drake Hotel, Toronto

Site: The Drake Hotel (Cafe Patio), Toronto, Ontario
Time:Thursday, September 17, 2009. 8:30 pm- 11:00 pm


More Photos!

The Drake Hotel Cafe served up a TIFF event George Clooney would regret to miss out on tonight! Party people and Queen Street wanderers collaborated on one of the most excitable We Paint canvases yet.
The preliminary gold and green brushed canvas shifted in content as the night progressed. It evolved from the meadow home of a contented dinosaur into a sea of vibrant color proclaiming the definitive text: "FLOCK" (an adaptation of an earlier process: "COCK").
Servers scowled at the ring of the kitchen timer singing its invasive pitch over clienteles' short ribs and wine glasses, as 90 seconds came and went at the Cafe patio.
Of the memorable performances tonight one includes a young gentleman who stopped on his way to LCBO in Parkdale before close. This painter decided to speak with the rest of us who huddled around the painting for the first 89 seconds of his piece until the buzzer erupted and he splattered what he could from his paint brush onto the canvas.
Then there was Kal's "palette as a brush" technique, which seemed to tie together some of the visual loose ends, and the toddler whose first inclination was to eat the paint off her brush. Finally, the painting would not have been complete without the participation of the trio who ate their dinner alongside our unexpected rukus. It seemed they considered the opportunity a second dessert (perhaps rivaling the satisfaction accrued from that chocolate cake I spied on the table moments before).

Thank you to all those who made this evening possible!
Rui Pimenta, Kal Mansur, Mia Nielson, Maita Sayo, and a special thanks to impromptu camera extraodonaire Tom Rathborne!

We Paint! Bay Street

Site: Southeast corner of Bay Street and King Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Time: Monday July 20, 2009 12:30- 2:30 pm

Photos!

It was a sunny afternoon in downtown Toronto as business folk in pin-striped suits, tourists buried in city maps, and street ramblers alike migrated hastily from point A to B along the bustling cross-walks of Bay and King Street.
Today's We Paint! was situated on the southeast corner of the street, comfortably and perhaps suitably propped up next to a CIBC Bank logo.
Our first painter was doubtful of his artistic talents as he picked up a paint brush and marked the canvas. He then lingered watching us coax 90 second slots out of passersby.
A couple eating hot dogs alongside the canvas watched noting how people tended to avoid making eye contact when spoken to, even though the call was an enthusiastic tone and mostly harmless.
One (cookie gifting) participant posed a question of "how much money is 90 seconds worth to the people who work on Bay Street?". It is possible, we speculated, that asking for 90 seconds is equivalent to asking for a million dollars.


Nonetheless we managed to create a piece that is reflective of that day. Business men multi-tasked as they made calls on their Blackberries with brush in hand, tourists who couldn't find their way decided to stop and paint penguins, a mother-to-be expectantly painted the word "baby", and one gentleman's craft tells all of those who pass by the canvas that "Jesus love U".
It seems that Monday lunch hour is a particularly rushed time for the inhabitants of Bay Street. There were many promises of fulfilling the task "on the way back", from where is unclear.
There will be a return to this site in the future to test out the time variable.
How much money is 90 seconds worth after 5 pm on a Friday?
To be continued...


*Special thanks to Sidney Cohen, Lo Bil, and Hannah Etlin-Stein for making this We Paint! a success!

Photos

Check out photos from all We Paint! events on the flickr photostream.