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


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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.

We Paint! Little Italy; Toronto, Canada

Site: Intersection of Crawford Street and College Street, Toronto
Time: 2:30 pm-5:00 pm

Photos

It was a slow Sunday in Little Italy when we set the stage for "We Paint" this afternoon. Passersby were consistently streaming past the corner of Crawford and College, making for perfect "We Paint" conditions!
Our first participant volunteered immediately when asked the question "do you have 90 seconds to share?", setting a positive tone for the rest of the afternoon. After him there were those who wouldn't look our way as they passed, others who pleaded that they truly did not have the time to spare, and those who set aside 90 seconds and picked up a brush.
A variety of artists worked on this painting from experienced painters to first-timers. Across the board it seemed that people were able to work most effectively when they considered themselves as the owner of the canvas during their 90 second artistic opportunity.
A five year old boy stopped to make a scene while his father acted as the painter's assistant. A woman who had not painted before stopped, and a woman who told us that she dreamed of having her own easel and canvas had the chance to live out a bit of her fantasy.
One gentleman who was hesitant to stop at first, lingered long enough that it seemed silly not to participate. When he finished his work he remarked emphatically, "I am glad I stopped (to paint)...it's inspiring". I hope he went on to do things to inspire himself and others later in the day. I hope we all did.
Today's beautiful collaboration is just more proof that it only takes a little bit of work from those willing to spare a moment, to make a significant difference.
Special thanks to Maita and Naoko for great work in documenting today's event.

We Paint! Bryant Park, New York City

Photos!
Site: Bryant Park, New York City
Time: 3:45- 5:45 pm
Contributors:
Benny Goldman, Ariel Zipkin, Mollie Zipkin, Zach Pollakoff
(*I did not have a sign up sheet for contributing artists at this event. If you contributed and would like to be added as a creator of the work, please write your name on the comments link below)

We Paint is back in North America! Thanks to Zach who was the official 90-second timer of the day as well as a fine participant-grabber.
Setting up in Bryant Park seemed to assure us that we would attract a wide variety of New Yorkers and out-of-towners, and certainly a midtown location should draw a number of business men and women. We had a great start with a group of art students who dove in hands first, followed by others who were mostly more reluctant at the start. Amongst those who are more inhibited in their art practice, a common thread is the growth in the level of their comfort once the brush is in their hand and the paint is spread across the canvas.
One woman in particular made me feel that the project was doing its job. She almost passed by the site without noticing the canvas at all; she seemed to be deep in thought in a far off place. When asked to paint, she snapped out of her other world and into this one. She was glad to paint, grabbed a brush dipped in red paint, and made a seemingly small contribution to the canvas. Nonetheless she walked away with a smile and with an expression on her face that said "I am here".
It is these moments that remind me of the importance of the one a day moments in every individual's life experience.

We Paint! Damascus Gate, Old City, Jerusalem

Site: Damascus Gate of the Old City, Jerusalem
Time: 1:30 pm- 3:30 pm
Contributors: Ardea Vinuegopd, Mhomad, Julio Delgado, Raed Almouhtsb, Razd, Dina, Asil, Jubril, Alaa Obeid, Hassain Al Kaissa, Aea Dwak, Ibrahim Sandlouka, Katia Birs Kefa, Mohammaed Hawash, Hane, Aaleh Arejibi
Click here to see more photos.

The Damascus Gate of the Old City in Jerusalem is better known as the bustling East Jerusalem entrance to the city, and is typically highly populated by Arabs. The primary-color-washed canvas was set up on the lowest platform leading outward from the gate. Though it was a hot day, those of us female facilitators wore long sleeve t-shirts in order to show respect to potential religious painting participants.
The flow of interest was consistent and controlled as the first hour of painting proceeded. We had a diverse gathering of participants ranging from South American to Indian, along with locals. There was a noticeably larger amount of men than women who were willing to paint, and by the second hour there was a sizable crowd of young boys (along with a handful of daring girls), surrounding the canvas.

As more people gathered around and the kids realized it would take longer for them to have a chance, the group began to crowd the painting so that there was barely any space between the canvas and the front row's noses. An older man who also wanted the chance to have a chance, turned his walking stick horizontal and pushed the line back. I continued to ask the group to take three steps backward until I made my best efforts to do the American thing and line up by number. After I numbered the group off, everyone insisted that they were in fact number one.

Soon enough the kids had abandoned the line and were grabbing brushes and paints, sloshing the colors around on the canvas as they pleased. While I appreciate the process of this painting and perhaps its portrayal of these young boys and their culture, I knew that it was time to pack up.

We Paint! Jaffa Gate, Old City of Jerusalem, Israel

Site: Jaffa Gate of the Old City, Jerusalem
Time: 2 pm- 4 pm
Contributors: Jackie, Andrew, Chaya, Smen, Yischar, Daniel, Yitzchak Meir, Alyatt, Mohammad, Andrew, Audrey Thomas, Dominique Young, Harel Gabai, Paul Sass, Maya Tobias, Rachel Ellison and other anonymous artists

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Today "We Paint" went to the Old City of Jerusalem, a holy site for monotheists everywhere, to add a little more color to an already vibrant place.
On the technical side of things I decided to take some good advice (thanks, Tuvs) and made a wash of color over the white canvas before starting both "We Paint" projects set in Jerusalem. In my opinion the results were most definitely favorable. Artists were much more daring with their approach to the canvas, were more willing to layer their color over previous works, and were not reluctant to paint to the edge of the canvas.
Above: Before participants began

The crowd today was a great mix of locals and tourists, children and adults of all ages, and believers of various religions. While the Jaffa Gate is typically the main gate Jews use to enter the city, it is used by people of all faiths and backgrounds. The project is now able to attract a good variation of people with invitation signs in 3 languages (English, Hebrew, and Arabic). I am hoping to have more as time goes on. One challenge that comes with the language barrier becomes evident when artists paint words on the canvas that I cannot read. Jerusalem is obviously a highly political atmosphere with a population of Palestinian/Arab and Israeli/Jewish civilians living side-by-side in apprehensive peace.
Though the nature of "We Paint" is peaceful and good-hearted, it is also open-ended to the point that it can be manipulated in negative ways. One man emphatically explained that he painted "Palestine" in Arabic. Then later on when a religious Jewish teenage girl painted the words "מוות לערבים’, meaning "death to Arabs", I was able to decipher the Hebrew completely. Feelings of shock and even embarrassment fell over me for a moment, knowing that someone from my culture would make such a mark on our shared canvas. This, however, is a part of the process of the work. Everyone is able to make their own touch. Such is art. Nonetheless, Maya's turn to paint came conveniently after this hateful marking, and she healed it up with colorful green and purple stitches of paint (see photo above). Overall the project was a success today. Thank you to all who took a moment to make a difference. Special thanks to Maya Tobias and Paul Sass, who joined me on the trip to make the "We Paint" Jerusalem tour!

Above: the final product
More photos coming soon!