Chili's Blog

Entries for 'Chili Thom'

In Celebration of Spring

Posted Mar 21 2012 by Chili Thom in Inspiration

Well today is the first day of Spring. The days are longer and the cherry blossoms are starting to bloom down in Vancouver. I love this time of year. It's the start of something new, a time of hope and it means we will soon be running around in the sunshine in the great outdoors. It's a time of great inspiration for me and I tend to be really productive. This spring I have a tonne of art projects on the go that I am really looking forward to.

Christmas SALE!!

Posted Nov 15 2011 by Chili Thom

Well it's almost that time of year again! It seems to sneak up faster and faster every year and we all know Christmas can be an expensive time of year... so I'm going to do what I can to hep that out.
For the next week (until the 22nd of Nov) I am offering 20% off my paper and giclee prints. In addition to that any purchase made over the next week gets a free art card with their order...still not good enough??? any purchase over $250 gets a free print of "Right place Right time" as a bonus! Sounds like a total 'As seen on TV' offer I know, but heck, you've helped me to live my dreams and create all the fabulous art that you love so I need to do something for you as a thanks.

The coupon codes for the sale are here. Just enter them in at checkout on my site:

Giclee Prints:
happy_HoHo_2011

Paper prints:
happy-Ho-Ho-2011

Feel free to share these codes with friends and family!

A lot of the prints available on my site are made to order so please allow 3 weeks for shipping. Timing should work just fine to get your gifts before Christmas with no stress.

Wishing you all a fabulous fall and for those of you who ski and snowboard...OPENING DAY soon...get out and shred!!!!

Tales of the B-Grade

Posted Nov 9 2011 by Chili Thom

10 years ago, while making pom poms for a Doctor Suess party with my best friend Feet Banks and partner KLC, an idea was sprung. We were listening to a Fat Boy Slim album and there was a track called Green Jesus...jokingly I said to Feet "he would make a great superhero!". we babbled on about making a movie about him and came up with a script idea. The problem then was why would we make the movie and who would we show it to???? "Let's start a film festival!" I said to Feet. There were so many talented ski and Snowboard film makers in town that sat around with Idle hands during the slow season and it was a perfect event to get the community involved and creative. That was the birth of the Heavy Hitting B-Grade Horrorfest

We started off with only a handful of films in the first year and it was a real hack operation. We had a projector balanced on a ladder in the middle of the Garibaldi Lift Company bar and showed the films played directly off the cameras. Over the years we slowly evolved and then changed venues to Millenium Place in Whistler. This venue would repeatedly sell out every year...the fastest sell out was 5 minutes after the tickets were released. After this had gone on for several more years we decided that we had created a monster and we were ready for the big time. So we got together with some more friends, Stu MacKay Smith (artistic and computer genius), Stu Andrews (Whistler Creek Productions) and Travis Tetreault (Heavy Hitting Films Founder) and made the move to The Chateau Whistler hotel where we could host 1100 people, which was a big up in size from the 250 we had had in years past.

Now 10 years later we have created the largest Horror Film Festival this side of Montreal and possibly the most savage event in all of Canada!! (we are currently looking for sponsors for next years event...if anyone can help out??!! )

This year I teamed up with friend Miles Wilkinson to create a Conan style EPIC with sword fighting and lots of skin. The idea for this one sprung up as a child, but recently when I started to take Western and Japanese style sword fighting classes, I was hooked on the idea. IN October we spent nearly 500hrs each, working day and night on the film. Hiking 35 km to exotic locations for a 3 second shot, breaking fingers sword fighting on top of the chief, calling in favors and organizing plane and heli-cam fly-by's to get some amazing shots...this film definitely is an epic. The Humor is a little twisted, but so is the event so it was a perfect fit. WE split our film in 2 parts for the festival and made the cuts super fast paced with non stop action, comedy and blood. After spending so much money and time on our film we are stoked up with costumes and props. So... over the next year we intend to shoot a bunch more scenes and piece together a solid hour long film out of our little idea. I have never been so committed and worked so hard on a project in my life... I hope you enjoy!!

There is a link to the film on my last Blog post as well as on my Facebook Fan Page

B-Grade Horrorificness

Posted Nov 8 2011 by Chili Thom

Here is the first half of the film I did with my friend Miles Wilkinson for this year Heavy Hitting B-Grade Horrorfest. An event i started with my best friend feet Banks which has grown into the largest horror film fest this side of MOntreal...WOW.
I'll have some more stodies about ths hooting soon... gotta run to the city now.
Enjoy the flick!
http://vimeo.com/31815803

Haida Gwaii

Posted Sep 22 2011 by Chili Thom

Back in August I had the great pleasure of accompanying a family who is commissioning me for a painting on a 7 day sailing trip up in Haida Gwaii and I must say it was a trip of a lifetime!
We had one day on land where we had a great tour of lots of the native cultural sites, a museum as well as the spot where the Golden Spruce was cut down.

The next day we hopped on board of MAPLE LEAF, a 92 foot wooden Tall Ship. This beautiful vessel is over 100 years old and an absolute pleasure to be aboard. On the trip south from port we were witness to the immense amount of logging that happened in the recent past as the logging companies, who knew the end was in sight of logging in Haida Gwaii, went on a rampage to collect the massive trees that inhabit the islands up there. One of the coolest moments on the trip was passing in to Park boundaries. Immediately I could feel the ancient forests untouched by man and see nature in it's finest form...pure.

Over the 7 days of the trip we were witness to a multitude of old native village sites which are protected within the Park and manned by the Watchmen, Haida Natives who act as greeters and teachers to all those that visit the sites. We bore witness to countless poles in various states of disrepair. It is a tradition to allow the poles to fall to the ground and return to the earth and not attempt to prop them up or alter them in anyway other than what mother nature wants to do...that's a pretty cool philosophy I must say. It was really amazing to see the very same poles that Emily Carr painted and immortalized so many years ago. It was truly inspiring!

One day when the winds were in our favor we set sail heading back up North and to our amazement, after searching for whales the whole trip, were greeted and followed by at least 20 Humpback whales and 3 Fin whales for nearly an hour an a half. They surrounded the boat and played with us until they became bored and the wind picked up and carried us off at a faster pace. At moments every direction you looked we were greeted with spouts from their blow holes or flukes in the air. It was so amazing I actually had a tear in my eye. To look a creature of that size in the eye and know they see you and are connecting with you is a pretty powerful moment.

On the second to last day we woke early in the morning to a bit of sunshine and after breakfast we hopped in the Zodiaks and headed to Burnaby Narrows. An absolutely amazing tidal narrows that boasts some of the richest intertidal life in the world. This was the area for which I was being commissioned to paint. I dawned my wetsuit and plopped into the FREEZING cold water and snorkeled around snapping as many photos of all the marine life I could. There were Bat stars, sun stars, sea urchin, cauliflower anemones, moon snails, bull kelp, octopus...you name it, we saw it. Not to mention there was a huge jellyfish bloom and there were lions mane jellys almost every 10 feet...this made it a little treacherous to snorkel I must say! I remained in the water until I began to shiver and my memory card was full on my camera FULL of inspiration.

If you have not been up that way I would highly recommend it! Especially soon because the poles will not be standing forever.
You can sea kayak around the park or charter a boat, either way is amazing! I have done both and they both offer a much different experience. The boat is a great way to go if you have the money and don't like camping in the rain (it rains a lot up there). My experience aboard the Maple Leaf was amazing. The crew was fantastic, the vessel was stunning and the food was fabulous. You can get more info on Maple Leaf HERE

I had such a great time on this trip and became so inspired that I am thinking about doing a week long sailing art class aboard the ship. If anyone is interested in partaking on such an adventure please let me know as I would love to share some experiences up there in one of the most spectacular places on earth...and teach you what I know about art at the same time!

here are a few of my favorite photos from the trip:

Hot off the press

Posted May 27 2011 by Chili Thom in Chili life

A few exciting new things in the world of art. I have been in hibernation/creation mode for the past month and have created some amazing new works and limited edition T-shirt as well.
For the past 5 years I have had a certain painting on my list of to-do's and for one reason or another it has been moved from list to list to list for years. It has been one of those things that has always been looming over my shoulder giving me a little poke every time I was painting saying "paint me now...paint me now". Finally I listened to what it said and created this piece. I still haven't decided on a title for it yet, but it will be soon to come. The piece is 24"x48" image of an alpine meadow at sunrise looking across the Whistler Valley. It took a long long time due to all the detail, but it was well worth the wait. There will be a very small limited edition run of Giclee prints of this one and I will be posting info for that soon.

Another piece that I just finished was a commission by Parks Canada for Glacier National Parks 125th anniversary. The piece is of Swiss Peaks. One of the prominent peaks you see while driving through Rogers Pass. The piece will be displayed at the Visitors Center in the Park. Another painting is coming during the summer and it will be of the same peak, but in summertime with a field of alpine flowers in the foreground. I totally lucked out with this arrangement with Parks and I will be selling prints out of the visitors center...AMAZING!!! I'm hoping to team up with Parks Canada and do paintings of various Parks across the country, fingers crossed on that one.

I also have just released a limited edition run of T-shirts featuring my painting "Basscoast Beauty". they are available for one month and can be purchased or ordered from Studiotique at 617 Kingsway in Vancouver. The phone number is 604 736 5651. I don't have a link yet for online ordering, but I should have it soon. I've attached an image of what the shirts will look like. There aren't very many out there so grab one today and be one of the lucky ones.

Whistler Art Workshops on the Lake are rapidly approaching. I am teaching a 3 day beginer acrylics class and I think there is still one slot left. I will be going over everything you need to know to get started as a painter as well as tips to make you a better painter. This will be my third year of teaching and I have had great feedback from all my classes. You can book online HERE

Another cool thing on my plate is some design work. I am doing a series of paintings to be used for packaging and marketing for an organic fertilizer company caller Rainworks. It's was a bit of a weird opportunity, but a really neat one as well. the more ways to get creative the better I always say.

Keep your eyes peeled for weekly specials on my Twitter and get the scoop in the inpsiration behind my paintings on my facebook FANPAGE

Arts is Important

Posted Apr 7 2012 by Chili Thom

After being on the Board of Directors for the Whistler Arts Council I have learned a lot about how the game works when you are a Non Profit Society. My eyes have been opened to the abilities and limitations of the organization and this has redirected my dedication to Arts in this community. On April 4th I worked with the Arts Council and helped to Co-ordinate an artists meeting to help gather all the artists of various disciplines to brainstorm about how WE, as the Arts Council, can serve the artistic community better and help to create more opportunities in the community and attract more people from around the globe to our amazingly talented community.

Here is a link to the article they wrote in the Pique as a follow up:

http://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/whistler/artist-meeting-draws-like-minded-crowd/Content?oid=2295495&fb_source=message

Fundraising for the Arts

Posted Apr 6 2012 by Chili Thom

ARTISTS IN WONDERLAND FUNDRAISER IN SUPPORT OF CHILDREN’S

ARTS PROGRAMMING

Whistler, B.C. The Whistler Arts Council is proud to present the inaugural Artists in Wonderland Fundraiser. Everyone is invited to fall into another world on Sunday, April 29, 2012 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre and immerse themselves in a true arts and cultural experience.

The après tea party will be full of intrigue and discovery showcasing live art, eclectic teacups, musical entertainment and live and silent auctions. Culinary creations will be complete with David’s Tea, Whistler Cooks Catering, Sugar Mamma Pastries, Delish, Pure Bread, Nonna Pia’s balsamic reduction, and Nesters Market, paired with wine by Sumac Ridge and samples

by Pemberton Distilleries.

The event will include pieces donated by local artists, featuring unique artwork, pottery and jewellery. Vincent Massey, Laurie MacCallum, Kathleen Tennock and Kay Austen will have their pottery for sale during the afternoon.

The Artists in Wonderland themed fundraiser is in support of Whistler Arts Council’s events and programs with special focus on the children and youth programming, including Whistler Children’s Art Festival, and workshops and performances at Millennium Place. The fundraiser also aims to highlight Whistler Arts Council’s 30^th anniversary as an umbrella for arts and culture in Whistler.

“This is a great opportunity for everyone to come out and mingle with like-minded art enthusiasts and support your local arts scene” said Joan Richoz, Chair of the Whistler Arts Council “Our goal is to raise $10,000 with proceeds to support annual events and programs put on by WAC, focusing on youth programming”.

Save the date and don’t be late for a delightful afternoon sure to captivate all of your senses.

WHAT: Artists in Wonderland Fundraiser

WHEN: Sunday, April 29, 2012 from 3 p.m. – 5 p.m.

WHERE: Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre

TICKETS: $55 per person (includes snacks and refreshments)

Tickets are available at artswhistler.com or at Millennium Place

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About the Whistler Arts Council

The Whistler Arts Council (WAC) has been integrating the arts into the daily life of Canada’s premier resort community since 1982. A respected community stakeholder, WAC is a registered charity that leverages strategic government and business partnerships to increase cultural tourism and community engagement by producing unique arts initiatives that foster audience, artist and economic opportunities.

WAC produces dynamic events year-round while operating Millennium Place, Whistler’s home for arts and culture featuring a 250-seat theatre, gallery and meeting space.

Gearing up for an adventure

Posted Apr 2 2012 by Chili Thom

This summer has in store for me some really exciting things. From maximum culture to maximum nature and everything in between.
This May I am traveling to Europe to suck in as much culture as I can handle. On my hit list is Dracula's Castle in Transylvania (I'm a horror film nut) Prague, Berlin, Paris, Morocco and the UK. I have been feeling the pull to head over there for some time now and it just feels that that time is now. While I am over there I am planning on doing a number of little paintings in areas that inspire me. I will be posting pics online of the pieces and the main intent is to sell them while I am on the road to help fund the next stage of my adventure. It will be pretty cool for the buyer as well who will get the piece mailed from where it was painted with a little story about the area. I will most likely just be posting on Facebook because it's the easiest way to reach the masses. You can follow my fanpage HERE so you can see what I produce on the road.

Shortly after returning from that adventure I am doing a 10 canoe trip down the Yukon River to fully absorb the natural beauty of an area of Canada I have never seen and gain inspiration for a number of new pieces. Then the day I get back from that trip I am off again to sail the proposed Tanker route along the Great Bear Rainforest. I am joing a group of artists who are dedicated to saving the Rainforest from near certain destruction if the pipeline goes through. We are putting together a nice coffee table book, calendars etc and a traveling art show to raise awareness and funds to help protect our magnificent planet. More details on that project will be coming soon as well as other ways you can help.

I have always said the best time to by art is when an artist needs money for a project..well...that time is now for me! Until April 14th I am offering 35% off of my prints. just enter the code :

spring_bling_2012

to receive the discount at check out. And in other exciting news...for the first real time I am offering 20% off any original I have in stock...which, if you are interested in the 'Green Giant"...you save $3000. If you are interested any an original please email me directly at info@chilithom.com

I hope your spring is going well

Art workshops

Posted Mar 13 2012 by Chili Thom

This summer I will be teaching a 3 day art class on the creative process and how to refine your own unique style. Follow the link below for more info:
http://www.artswhistler.com/events-a-programs/whistler-art-workshops-on-the-lake

Art workshops

Posted Mar 8 2012 by Chili Thom

I am going to be doing an art workshop up in Whistler in mid June. It's going to be all about the creative process and I will be teaching a series of steps to grab inspiration out of thin air and turn it into a masterpiece. Below is a little info sent to me by the Whistler Arts Council.

DISCOVER YOUR HIDDEN TALENTS WITH WHISTLER ART WORKSHOPS ON THE LAKE!

For immediate release: Thursday, March 8, 2012

Whistler, B.C. – Whistler Arts Council is expanding the Whistler Art Workshops on the Lake summer program with more chances to explore and discover hidden skills and talents.

This season features one to four day visual art workshops taught in various Whistler locations by well-known B.C. instructors.

Whistler Art Workshops on the Lake runs from May through the end of August featuring 17 talented instructors offering their expertise in an intimate class setting around Whistler. This summer’s session features an impressive line-up of returning instructors as well as new educators with classes catered toward a multitude of skill levels and areas of interest.

Back by popular demand are Suzanne Northcott and Chili Thom offering new workshops. Northcott with “Sketchbook Journaling” and Thom with a “Creative Process” workshop.

Other returning favourites include: Janice Robertson with a two-day workshop on “Intermediate Acrylic Painting”; and Lori Goldberg with an “Acrylics for Beginners” class. Both acrylic workshops focus on students’ skills and techniques taught through exploration of colour and brushworks. Additionally David McEown’s traditionally sold out “Intermediate/Advanced Watercolour” and Gaye Adams’ “The Daily Painting Experience” workshops also return this summer.

To keep up with the demand on this popular program, Whistler Art Council is introducing new mediums, including a one-day “Basket Weaving” workshop with local artist Cheryl Massey and “The Human Canvas: An Introduction to Body Painting” with Nina Moore. Anastasia Chomlack will return to instruct a photography workshop, with photographer Jeffrey Boyce offering a beginners class, Vivienne McMaster will teach a self-portrait photography workshop and a renowned world photographer Glenn Bartley will teach nature photography on location on Whistler Mountain and other locations around Whistler.

Additionally, Whistler Art Workshops on the Lake is expanding its creative horizons by adding workshops catered to youth (ages 14 -19). “Action Photography” will be taught by local photographer Adam Taber and will take place on-location during various Whistler events including Crankworx in August. Spray Painting and Graffiti” taught by Kris Kupskay will teach youth about the etiquette and process to graffiti as well as safety and precautions of spray paint in addition to exploring creativity on the shores of the Alta Lake Station House.

Registration opens on Friday, March 16^th at artswhistler.com and is based on a first come first serve basis; classes are limited to size so register early. For more information, full schedule of workshops and their availability, instructor bios, member discounts, and Whistler Art Workshops on the Lake fundraiser at Millennium Place please visit artswhistler.com under Whistler Art Workshops on the Lake.

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About the Whistler Arts Council

Painting for Parks Canada

Posted Jan 9 2012 by Chili Thom

Last summer I had the amazing fortune of being contacted by Parks Canada and asked to do a couple of paintings for the 125th Anniversary of Glacier National Park. The Park is located outside of Revelstoke BC, smack dab in the middle of Rogers Pass. If you have ever driven through the Pass, especially in the winter, you are familiar with the epic mountain vistas you see throughout the Park and if you haven't it's well worth the visit. Here is a link for more information on this park
http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/bc/glacier/visit.aspx

The piece I decided to do for the winter scene is that of Swiss Peaks. It's one of the prominent peaks you see as you are approaching the newly renovated Visitors Center in the middle of the Park. It is a popular area in the winter for ski touring and has some great hiking in the summer as well. As for the summer piece I am still to do...I haven't quite decided yet which view I wish to capture. I am leaning toward Sir Donald though.

In September I was asked to come to the Park to Present my painting to Parks and the Chief of the Canadian armed forces. Why the military you ask?? for the past 50 years an Artillery regiment of the Canadian Army has been doing avalanche control and keeping the highway safe. For the celebration I got to witness the military band play the 1812 Overture with LIVE artillery rounds for the cannons... it was definitely loud and impressive!

I am truly grateful for this opportunity with Parks and I look forward to creating my next piece for them as well as a new piece in a couple of years for Revelstoke National Park's 125th Anniversary. I have had the great fortune of being included in Park brochure and my paintings will be hung in the Visitors Center. If you are passing through on a summer road trip or going for a winter tour, stop in and check out the piece in person...it's one of my best!

Interesting article

Posted Dec 5 2011 by Chili Thom

Here is a link to an article about me in the Pique written by talented Whistler writer Michel Beaudry. The second part is coming out in next weeks paper. there might be a little snippet of information you didn't know about me in there!

Enjoy

http://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/whistler/chili-thom-creative-mind-in-outgoing-body/Content?oid=2264759

In your Dreams

Posted Nov 9 2011 by Chili Thom

Coming up on Nov 17th in Whistler is an art opening of some really cool art by Sea-to-Sky artists. The show is called "In Your Dreams" and is focusing on a little more of the surrealist side of the art world. I have a couple of my resin pieces in the show that I had created last year based on some sketches I had done in Australia about 9 years ago. It's always cool to have completion on an idea as an artist. I can't tell you the amount of ideas I have jotted down on napkins, cardboard boxes or in my multitude of sketch books.

Not only will I have some art at the event but I will be DJing the night as well. I think I'm gonna stick on the swing tip for musical selection during the event. After that I am off to go DJ a fundraiser party for "Movember" at Tommy Africas in Whistler. That'll turn into a fun night for a great cause.

Here is the show flyer with info for anyone who might be in the area and wants to check out some amazing art and have a nice mingle with the who's who in the Sea to Sky art world...Hope to see you there!

In your Dream Exhibit

Posted Nov 3 2011 by Chili Thom

IN YOUR DREAMS EXHIBIT AT SCOTIA CREEK GALLERY

For immediate release: Friday, October 28, 2011

Whistler, B.C. – The Whistler Arts Council presents the In Your Dreams surrealist exhibit at Scotia Creek Gallery from Monday, November 7 to Thursday, December 15with an ART NIGHT slated for Thursday, November 17.

Like many great projects, this one began with a dream. The dream was to encourage local artists to create artwork for a joint show themed – In Your Dreams – anything goes.
Participating artists come from greatly differing art disciplines, encompassing painting, sculpture, drift wood creations, glass blown jelly fish and a sky of clouds all transforming Millennium Place for the one night event to evoke a feeling of being caught inside a surrealist dream world.

The Whistler Arts Council received dozens of applications and chose the following artists’ work for the exhibit: Alexie Villaseca, Amber Butler, Andy Anissimoff, Chantelle Pellerin, Chili Thom Dave Petko, Jocelyn Harris, Julie Edwards, Kevin Su, Kris Kupskay, Lani Imre, Larissa Blokhuis, Laurel Terlesky, Lisa Geddes, Luke Pollard, Michelle Chatham, Taka Sudo, Vanessa Stark and Wayne and Miyuki.

On, Thursday, November 17^th during ART NIGHT at the revolutionized Millennium Place, guests will have the opportunity to have their picture taken in a colouring book style display where they themselves are the colour and can improvise with a variety of black and white props. A separate display entitled “Colour Outside the Lines” offers party goers the chance to colour in large scale drawings on canvas of local artists and community members. Additionally, Paintertainment will wow party goers with their walking works of art and Stab Me Pretty will creatively pierce her clients’ back over 20 times to emulate the appearance of the lace binding found on the high fashion 1920’s corset. These live art displays encourage attendees to get involved and help bring solitary art to the masses.

ART NIGHT will also feature music by the infamous local D.J and Artist Chili Thom weaving electronic funk, eclectic and uplifting beats in ways guaranteed to move your body and soul.

Entry to ART NIGHT is by donation and includes a complimentary beverage with all proceeds supporting local artists and the community through the Whistler Arts Council’s exhibitions and community programming. Entry to view the month long exhibit at the Scotia Creek Gallery is free of charge.

For more information please visit artswhistler.com or call 604.935.8410

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About the Whistler Arts Council

WAC produces dynamic events year-round while operating Millennium Place, Whistler’s home for arts and culture featuring a 250-seat theatre, gallery and meeting space.

Etsy site discount

Posted Aug 4 2011 by Chili Thom

hi all,

I'mOffering up a 25% discount on all items on my Etsy site for the next week. Feel free to share the code: summerof69
http://www.etsy.com/people/ChiliThom?ref=si_pr

Summertime Happenings

Posted Jul 14 2011 by Chili Thom

I hope summer is going well for all of you so far...that is what summer there has been! Up in the mountains here in Whistler it has been mighty cold and it is still snowing on the mountain tops on occasion...yikes! All the excess snow will prolong my trip back to Glacier National Park to get the images I need to create my next piece for Parks Canada. I have been commissioned to do one summer and one winter piece for them to be displayed in the Visitor's Center at Rogers Pass and I am really excited about that. The Park is absolutely gorgeous in both the winter and the summer. I have lucked out and have permission to stay in one of the Ranger/Research huts in the alpine during the summer for several days so I can explore the Park and get the images I need to create my next piece which will be of the amazing alpine flowers up high with a view of Swiss Peaks. I should hopefully have the piece finished around late September.

Another really exciting thing coming down the line for me is an 8 day sailing trip in Haida Gwaii. I have been commissioned by a great patron in Whistler to paint a few pieces of Burnaby Narrows in Haida Gwaii and to get me inspired so that I am really connected to the area when I paint the piece he is taking me on a sailing trip up there to get me inspired. My whole life I have felt blessed and incredibly lucky when it comes to opportunities like this. From my years as a wilderness guide to my TV show "Wild at Heart" it seems as if I am meant to have these great experiences in the outdoors so that I can share the experiences through my art in an attempt to help others reconnect with their natural surroundings and treat Mother Nature with the respect that she deserves. The piece I am doing for Lennox, the patron, will be of the tidal shallows rich in sea life that are so abundant in the Charlotte's. I had attempted to do a piece many years ago with anemones and star fish in it, but it was before I had taught myself better colour and brush techniques. I finally feel that now I finally have the skills to pull it off.

Speaking of skills, the last three pieces I have created have, in my eyes, been totally next level. It feels as if I have reached the 10,000 hour mark(Malcom Gladwells theory laid out in his book "The Outliers") in my painting career. My hand seems to have steadied and my eye for colour has been refined yet again. I feel the detail and the mood I have created in the last three pieces have helped me to realize a new level for which to take my art. In an artists career this realization or new level of achievement is one of the most exciting things that can happen to you...aside from getting a show in the National Gallery (which will hopefully come soon). It marks the stage where I can now turn ideas into reality. All the years of concepts and sketches laid down in my sketch book can now finally come to fruition. It feels as if now I am ready to get the grants I am seeking and the recognition I have been striving for.

Coming up in a few weeks I will be doing a live art piece at the Basscoast Music Festival in Squamish. I have had an idea for several years to play with the idea of perspective and space to create art pieces. I have received a small grant from the festival to put something together this year. It wouldn't make much sense in a short amount of words so i will just say keep your eyes peeled for a video of it on my site after I finish it at the end of the month. This will be a test piece for the even better ideas I have for the future and will hopefully be a great example of my idea to include in my future grant proposals.

I really appreciate all the support you have given me over the years and I hope I can keep adding colour to your lives and hopefully inspire you to be creative and to reconnect with nature on a regular basis. If you are interested in how you really connect with nature check out on youtube or anywhere on line Dr. Masaru Emoto's experiments on water. Some of you might have seen the film "What the Bleep do we know" that had a short section about Dr. Emoto's work... if you haven't seen it check it out...it's mind opening!

Whistler's Artwalk

Posted Jun 22 2011 by Chili Thom in Art Shows

Coming up on June 30th from 630-9pm is Whistler's annual Artwalk.
With over 17 venues within Whistler Village there will be a whole slough of amazing art and artists out that night for a fun meet and greet journey along the village stroll. I will be having a few new hand touched giclee prints in there. The ones of "Across the Valley" will have loads of high lights and extra color added and there will only be 12 of them in the edition so they will be hot ticket items!

I hope to see you there

Live Streams

Posted May 12 2011 by Chili Thom in Art Shows

Well yesterday I tried out the live painting stream on the net while I was in the studio last night. It went pretty well... I didnt have any feedback so I wasn't even sure if the audio was working so I wasn't really talking that much. It did however draw 51 viewers so I'm really stoked with that on my first go. Definitely keep your eyes peeled on the site, twitter and facebook to see when I'll be doing it again (maybe even tonight) I'll be putting up random promotions in front of the screen that you can get if you are watching. Last night I offered up 50% off of paper prints, pretty good deal if I do say so myself....

Live Painting Stream from the Studio

Posted May 3 2011 by Chili Thom in Paintings, Videos

I'm going to be trying to work out the kinks with the online broadcast stuff through ustream.com so that whenever I am in the studio painting I will be broadcasting. That way you can see what I am up to in the studio...should be kind of cool. Eventually once all the kinks are worked out I will be doing some video blogs as well that will be teaching more technique specific things...

State of the Art

Posted Apr 16 2011 by Chili Thom in Art Shows

For the next 10 days Whistler is a hot spot for arts, culture and sports. The World Ski and Snowboard festival is in full swing now and the weather has been great to help things along the way.
I have been working hard on a number of new pieces that are featured in the State of the Art show. It's a very high profile show with some big names in art gracing the walls with their works. I have been fortunate enough to be involved with it again this year and I have done some cool new pieces for it. They are all in a more graphical style than my usual landscapes and I REALLY like what I have created. All the pieces have been coated with a super smooth and glossy acrylic resin and the colours really pop!
I have attached a photo of my wall at the show. The background was painted black and white to match the style of the pieces and it seems to add a lot to the overall effect.

In other news, I am working on a couple pieces for Parks Canada for the 125th anniversary of Glacier National Park at Rogers pass. I will be doing a summer and a winter piece of some of the epic views you get in the park. I am really excited for this as the pieces will be displayed in the visitors center and prints will be available there...REALLY COOL! so if you are passing through Rogers Pass during the summer stop in at the visitors center and have a gander at what I have created.

I'm off to enjoy the festival right now! More updates to come

New piece for sale

Posted Mar 31 2011 by Chili Thom

Hey all,
just a quick note. I just put my piece "Sunrise on a new idea" up for sale and I have a new river rocks water piece that I just finished that will be available soon!
Have a great night!

Bringing art on my road trip

Posted Mar 17 2011 by Chili Thom

Just a quick heads up that I am doing a ski town DJ tour starting this Saturday. I will be spending 4 days in Revelstoke starting this weekend. I am Djing with my good friend Kori K on the mountain at the RMR lodge in the afternoon and then again at the Regent Hotel saturday night. I will be in town until Tuesday and I was planning on bringing a good selection of prints with me. After that I am planning on a day in Canmore and then we are off to DJ the Hi Fi club in Calgary on Thursday night. Followed up by a great night on Saturday the 26th at the Spirit Bar in Nelson. Anyone in those areas that might want some at a bit of a discounted rate and a change to meet me can contact me at 604 698 5060 and we can try to arrange a time to meet up... or just come on out and shake your tail feathers to some good music!

I'm teaching another class

Posted Mar 17 2011 by Chili Thom

This summer I will again be teaching a beginners acrylics class for the Whistler Arts Council. If you are an aspiring painter, or even if you have some experience, i am teaching a 3 day acrylics class to help you get the foundations for greatness in your paintings.
Registration has opened now and I guarantee it'll be worth it.
Please see the attached jpeg for more info on how to register...hope to see you there!

On to something new

Posted Mar 8 2011 by Chili Thom

For the past while I have been trying to figure out a good way to do some really cool pieces using lots of texture. I have tried many times and in my eyes, not always succeeded...until now.
I just finished this piece a week and a bit ago and I feel that I finally hit the nail on the head with it!
The textured pieces have been really fun for me to play with and I look forward to doing some really large sized ones in the near future.
The really cool thing I like about these pieces is that they all came about from me spreading waste paint while I am working on other pieces onto a spare canvas. i always felt bad about wasting an excess paint I mixed and I try to be as green as possible when I paint. By recycling my paint I get to save the planet a little bit more and create some cool texture on my canvases at the same time. And I dont have to spend a whack load of money on special texture compounds from the paint manufacturers!! Bonus!!

This piece is called "Sunrise on a new idea" and I love it!. Really stoked to do some more pieces like it.

New snowboard graphic for Prior

Posted Mar 8 2011 by Chili Thom in Paintings

I had mentioned a little while ago about a new graphic I had done for Prior Snowboards for both their skiis and boards. I was approached by Dean from Prior to do a piece that incorporated an Innukshuk. At first I was a little hesitant to do a piece with that because of the overuse of that imagery during the Olympics last year, bet then inspiration struck. After working on the T-shirt designs for MEC (the images are a secret until the line is released in May) and I began to think beyond the typical landscapes that I do. I decided to create a self contained image that is way more graphical than what I normally do. It was really fun to play with these new ideas and I cam up with something that I think is pretty cool. The graphic isn't available until next year, but here is a sneak peak of the image I did for their top sheets.

Upcoming DJ gigs abroad

Posted Feb 23 2011 by Chili Thom in Chili life

Hiddey ho neighbouroonies!

Just a brief note about some upcoming gigs over the next month.
Have some super cool sets coming up and I have lots of fun new music to make you all get out and dance. I've really been digging the electro swing sounds as of late because they are a little bit different than the sounds that are coming down the line these days. I am working on a new mix of Gypsy-swing and electro-swing today. Hopefully I get it finished tonight so you get a chance to have a listen to what I'm talking about if you aren't familiar with this style of music. I have also gathered a gang of Nu- Disco beats as well that I know you'll love!

GIGS:
Tuesday March 1st - Tommy Africa's
spinning with Tim Livingstone

Kori K and I are doing another BC tour starting mid March.
I dont have all the names of the clubs we are playing, but Kori does and I'll post them soon.

March 16th- Kamloops
March 17th - Canmore
March 19th - Revelstoke - Regent Hotel
March 20th - Revelstoke
March 22nd - Jasper
March 23rd - Kelowna
March 24th - Calgary - Hi Fi Club
March 26th - Nelson - The Spirit Bar

More info on all those gigs is coming soon. As well I am changing the name of the group again and My DJ Monikor...I'm tired of being somebody else so I'll just be going by Chili Thom form now on to avoid confusion... if you do however see "Mr Fister" on a poster expect banging Electro and booty shaking dance beats. If you see "Dr. Awesome" I'll be playing all vinyl.

Thanks for the support!

I'm a Fan...are you?

Posted Feb 4 2011 by Chili Thom in Chili life

I've been spending a lot of time on the computer as of late trying to keep up with the whole social networking mania that is going on now. My web designer Jon from next level IT http://nxtlvl.ca has been killing it on a revamp of my site and I will soon, in the next couple of days, have ecommerce on my site. So you'll be able to buy art directly off the site and you will no longer be redirected to my etsy page. Super excited about this! I will also have a more up to date DJ page on my site where I will be putting up links for mixes and new tracks as well as all my upcoming gigs and tours.

Here is the link to the fan page: http://www.facebook.com/ChiliThomArt

Please join my fan page if you are one facebook because I will have more frequent updates on the page as it's easier to do from my phone when I am on the road.

Thanks for being rad!

Texturizing my life

Posted Jan 28 2011 by Chili Thom in Paintings

I just finished a cool new textured piece a few days ago. It's up on my gallery page now. It has inspired me to finally get off my butt and finished all the textured canvases I have kicking around the studio. So keep an eye out for some cool new stuff coming down the line.

Print Sale

Posted Jan 17 2011 by Chili Thom in Paintings

For the next week I am offering 20% prints at my online etsy shop.

You can go to http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChiliThom and enter the code:

POMO1234WEEE

A sigh of relief

Posted Dec 3 2010 by Chili Thom in Gigs, Chili life

Ahhhh... i just handed over the keys to gallery and I have finished setting up at my new home studio. Feels good to have the great taste of freedom once again. Now I can finally head back into the great outdoors and get inspired yet again to create some amazing new works. I have a seasons Pass for Whistler and I am ready to go.

I recently was just down in LA to DJ a side stage for a Massive Attack/ Thievery Corporation show and show my art...it went super well. Then I got flown to San Fran to talk on an NBC travel show about how wicked awesome Whistler is. I'm back in the saddle at home now and working out of my home studio on my own time. Right now I am designing 4 T-shirt graphics for a climing shirt line for Mountain Equipment Co-Op..wow! super stoked to have been asked to do that. I believe the shirts will be out in their spring line so have a look in the store once the weather warms up!

Also I am doing another graphic for Prior Snowboards/skiis. It should be out early next year. Priors boards and skiis are great so if you want to support a local company and buy quality made in Canada gear go to www.priorsnowboards.com/

Now that Christmas is only 22 days away peole are starting to think about gift buying. Due to the turn around time on custom prints and shipping if you are planning on ordering anything for a loved one I suggest getting your orders in soon so that I have time to get the prints made that I dont have in stock and get them in the mail to you before Xmas. As a little holiday bonus I will throw in an art card and postcard for every order made before Dec 15th....and if you purchase over $1000 I will throw in a paper print of "Right place, right time" for Free!

I wish you all the best this holiday season and hope you get a chance to get out and enjoy the snow!

Chili

Updated artist list for the 18A show

Posted Oct 23 2010 by Chili Thom in Art Shows

There have been a few new additions over the past few days to the upcoming art show...so here they all are in no prticular order...

Stu MacKay Smith, Pilar Alvarez, Pepe, Goldfinger, Lisa Geddes, Jon Dis, Dave Barnes, Brent Ray Fraser, Natalie Vasquez, Sharai Rewels, Lauren Ritz, Andrea Moore, Oli Roy, Stan Matwychuck, Laurel Terlesky, Susie Cipolla, Samera Gibson and Chili Thom

Photographers:

Matt Walker, Bruce Rowles, Blake Jorgenson, Lorne Warburton, Ryan Nadeau, Dagan Beach, Rick Legal

Hope to see you here on November 5th!

Art for the masses... well sort of

Posted Oct 21 2010 by Chili Thom in Gigs, Chili life

well it's been a little bit since my last mail out but lots has been going on! ... where to begin...

The 9th annual Heavy Hitting B Grade Horror Film Festival has sold out yet again. It keeps getting better and better every year and keeps selling out...

Nakedness

Posted Oct 8 2010 by Chili Thom in Paintings, Art Shows

Well the countdown is on! Less than a month from now the final show at the gallery will be up, open and turning heads.

I finally have made the move and am working on the human form. I have broken awaay from my landscapes and explored a different style...

9 years strong and proud!

Posted Oct 1 2010 by Chili Thom in Gigs, Chili life

Well, it's been 9 years now since my best friend Feet Banks and I started a little film festival up here in Whistler so that all the talented film makers in town had some form of creative outlet during the rainy slow season. Now it is the largest and longest running horror festival in Western Canada...

T-shirts now in

Posted Sep 29 2010 by Chili Thom in Gigs

I just got a boat load of T-shirts in the gallery from a Vancouver artist company

www.ebonaves.dphoto.com

check 'em out they are pretty sweet! Lost of sizes and choices and I will have some of my own shirts coming soon as well as more from Stan Matwychuck and Taka Sudo!

Another Goal accomplished, so it's time to move on

Posted Sep 25 2010 by Chili Thom in Gigs, Chili life

It had been one of my dreams to open my own gallery and represent myself, my art and my friends. After the realization of that goal a year ago I am feeling very satisfied and very happy to have had the experience. But now after a very business-full year I have realized that I need time to follow my passion, live my dreams and get inspired and paint more...

Ever want to make love to a painting?

Posted Aug 31 2010 by Chili Thom in Paintings, Gigs

Quick question for you... how many of you would be interested in seeing my art on t-shirts or stickers? I have been contemplating doing this for sometime, but haven't taken the leap yet because of an uncertain outcome.

Video walk through of the gallery

Posted Aug 21 2010 by Chili Thom in Videos, Gigs

For those of you who can't make it out to the gallery here is a little virtual walk through for you! enjoy

Showtime!

Posted Aug 14 2010 by Chili Thom

today is the big day for the opening of "A Forest for the trees" art show at the gallery today. It looks amazing and sales have ben good. Reception is tonight at 730 and then a bit of an after party.

I'll have a video walk through of the show up soon!

Enjoy your evening!

New T-shirt designs out now

Posted Aug 10 2010 by Chili Thom

I just got word from Sitka that they have just launched their new artist t-shirt line and it just so happens I did two designs for them.

here are the links:

Womens Chilli Kelp Tee:

http://www.shopatron.com/products/productdetail/Girls+Chili+Kelp+Flare+Hem+Tee+*NEW+ARRIVAL*/part_number=F10-SW1255/1746.1.1.2.9323.6249.0.0.0?

Womens Chili Tree Tee:

http://www.shopatron.com/products/productdetail/Girls+Chili+Trees+Flare+Hem+Tee+*NEW+ARRIVAL*/part_number=F10-SW1256/1746.1.1.2.9323.6249.0.0.0?

Mens Chili Kelp Tee:

http://www.shopatron.com/products/productdetail/Mens+Chili+Kelp+Tee+*NEW+ARRIVAL*/part_number=F10-SM1255/1746.1.1.2.9325.6249.0.0.0?

Mens Chili Tree Tee:

http://www.shopatron.com/products/productdetail/Mens+Chili+Trees+Tee+*NEW+ARRIVAL*/part_number=F10-SM1256/1746.1.1.2.9325.6249.0.0.0?

Saturday saturday

Posted Aug 10 2010 by Chili Thom

Just got back from an amazing weekend at Shambhala music festival...wow! I got to DJ side by side with some of the biggest names in electronic music today and got to play a set of 50's rock 'n roll to boot.

My head is a little foggy right now, but I am on track to my the show opening on saturday an amazing time! If you are in town and can make it for the opening it will be a really fun time. The show will be up until September so you'll have time to see it you are coming to town. On my last count I have 15 painters, 6 photographers and 2 jewelers doing pieces specific for this show.

This is just a short one...have a great day!

A blast from the past

Posted Aug 1 2010 by Chili Thom

Wow,

what a great summer so far! Been working hard at the gallery on a bunch of new pieces and been at one amazing festival already. I was just at Basscoast Festival last weekend performing doing both live painting and DJing. The piece I chose to do for my live art was a sketch that I did while I was in Australia 8 years ago and I have been staring at it in my sketchbook since then. I felt a great connection with nature at the festival due to it's amazing location. Right on a river underneath the stunning Tantalus Range in Squamish. It was really fun to visit an idea from my past and bring it to life. IT's completely different from my usual style, but as an artist I believe it's important to branch out, try new things and not pigeon hole yourself into one particular style. I have been asked to do all sorts of tattoos as of late s well as some big contracts for T-shirt designs so my art has taken a bit of a twist to a more graphical style. I look forward to the merger of my two styles over time and the amazingness that will com from it.

A reminder about the "Forest for the Trees" group art show at the gallery. The opening is on August 14th and will be amazing. i'm looking forward to seeing the whole gallery transformed into a forest. I am working hard to get two more pieces finished for the show....hopefully a third if I can go without sleep for a few days.

I'm off to Shambhala Music Festival in Nelson next weekend to dj to thousands of people having fun on the beach...yay! I'm going to be playing all 50's rock 'n roll and I can't wait! I play at 530pm on Friday the 6th if anyone is going to be there.

I hope you like the new piece and the new style!

Have a great day and a great summer!

Show flyer

Posted Jul 16 2010 by Chili Thom

Here is the show flyer for the upcoming show at the gallery.... hope to see you here!

Whistler Art Walk

Posted Jul 8 2010 by Chili Thom

Tomorrow is the big day for Whistlers Art Walk. Opening reception starts at 6pm and goes until 9pm. The Arts Council has made a great Arwalk guide that labels all the venues and the artists in the Village.

This year, as always, I am showing at Sushi Village. This year I am displaying a newer style of art. Since I have been doing a lot of Live painting demonstrations I have developed an new style with dry brush techniques on a textured canvas... I really like it and plan on using the technique in future more detailed creations. So please check it out in person if you can and follow how my progression evolves...it will be really cool!

The Function Junction Art Walk starts on August 6th for the South end of Whistlers artwalk and there will be street entertainment, live performancesand all sorts of cool stuff!

Oh yeah, all the live art pieces are very reasonably priced because they are the developing pieces in a style and don't tae months to do like my usual pieces. If you are planning on collecting art they would be some good ones to have because I will be expanding on the style and working hard at creating some new and incredible pieces because of it!

All the best...go enjoy the sun!!

Charity event fundraiser

Posted Jul 7 2010 by Chili Thom

I recently did a live painting piece at a Gala fundraiser for the Whistler Film Festival Society. The piece turned out great and it auctioned off for $900 to raise funds for the film festival!

new prints released

Posted Jul 7 2010 by Chili Thom

HI everyone,

summer is finally here and it's lake time.. at least for some. I'm going to be spending my days and nights getting ready for "A Forest for the Trees" art show at the gallery on August 14th. I've been talking with the other artists involved and it is shaping up to be amazing!! You absolutely must come by and check it out if you are in town. It will be up for a month so there will be lots of time if you live other places.

In other news... I just released giclee prints of "Float on" the Etsy listing is:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/51005732/float-on-giclee-print

I really love this piece and hopefully you do to. IT reminds me of all the amazing sunsets I used to see when I Kayak Guided on the west coast of Vancouver island...Nootka sound was my favorite place, followed a close second by the Broken Group...if you have time this summer for a paddle head over there... you wont be disappointed...I promise!!!

Enjoy the sunshine

Whats new at the gallery

Posted Jun 26 2010 by Chili Thom

As everything in life, the gallery is evolving constantly.
As I slowly get my business savoy down and my books etc. sorted, things are getting easier to manage here all by my lonesome. I am trying to keep everyone up to date with what has been going on..sometimes it takes me a while though... c'est la vie.

Contrary to popular belief the Chili Thom Gallery isn't just full of all of my work. I currently have works from a huge assortment of local artists and I am always looking for new up and coming artists to display as well.

I finally have a great assortment of prints form a bunch of local artists so if you are looking for some nicely priced prints to decorate your walls or as great gifts swing down to the gallery and check out prints from 11 different artists. There is also a decent mix of art cards, amazing metalwork and fantastic jewelery!... and soon I plan on having artist T-shirts too.

August 6th is the opening of the Function Artwalk. There will be live entertainment, food, drinks and an overall good vibe. So swing on down from 6-9 pm. If it's a nice day ride your bike down, get some exercise and save the environment as well.

On Saturday August 14th there will be a group show down here
called "A Forest for the Trees".
It will contain the works of lots of different painters, sculptors and a new addition of photographers. The whole show will have a green forest theme and the impact in the space will be amazing. If you cant make it down for the actual opening it will be up for a month so make sure you come down and check it out, as it will be the best show yet at the gallery!!

For the Artwalk in the Village I will be changing up my art in Sushi Village and showing off some new works in a different style. I have 6 new pieces that I have done on a textured canvas that are a departure from my usual work, but it is all in a progression towards some great ideas I have brewing in my head.

Artists currently featured:

Chili Thom    - acrylic paintings, giclee prints, paper prints, cards
Lani Imre    - Mixed media paintings, giclee prints, paper prints
Laurel Terlesky   - Acrylic paintings, giclee prints, art cards
Kyle Bubbs    - Metal works, furniture
Incredible Amoeba   - mixed media paintings
Darren Camplin    - Acrylic paintings, paper prints
Pilar Alvarez - Acrylic Paintings, giclee prints, jewelery, cards
Josee St. Amour   - acrylic paintings, prints, cards
Vanessa Stark   - Prints, art cards
Ollie Roy - Acrylic Paintings, prints
Pepe - Acrylic Paintings, prints, stickers
Goldfinger - prints
Phresha Le Vende - prints
Taka Sudo - Acrylic paintings, hoodies and shirts
Jodi Coonce - silver jewelery
Andrea Cooney - Resin jewelery
Christy Feaver - Silver jewelery
Hannah Chornoby - earrings feather jewelery
Dave Barnes - Acrylic paintings, prints

Whistler Brewery Label Launch

Posted Jun 25 2010 by Chili Thom

Today is the big day! Whistler Beer approached me a month and a bit ago to design a label for their new "Powder Mountain Lager"...so I did...and today they are launching it at the Brewery.

I totally scored by doing the design because I have my name on the 12 packs and on all the bottles...SWEET! The beer is really good to. It's a nice light lager, easy for sipping at apres or anyday on a patio for that matter. speaking of it makes me want to close shop early and run across the street for a sample!

This is the image they used, it's called "A fine brew"...next time you are in the cold beer and wine store and are looking for nice new beer to try, check out this one!

Back in the Saddle

Posted Jun 10 2010 by Chili Thom

I'm back in the gallery, refreshed and recharged after 3 weeks in NIcaragua. It was a fun filled time of scuba diving, snorkling, surfing, DJing, music production and my favorite part... filming for a horror movie. I travelled down with a few friends and started filming for a B-Grade Horror Film for th eannual Heavy Hitting Films B-Grade Horrorfestival that started with my best friend 9 years ago. The film is about the misadventures of a lost soul who unknowingly unleashes a Chupacabra from the other dimension and is forced to face it in battle to save his soul... sounds epic, but it'll be really funny and just a little bit scary!

I had a chane to clear my head and get ready for the next wave of events that will enrich my life. I am teaching a colour theory art workshop this weekend and then I willl be starting my weekly art classes the following weekend.

The annual Whistler ArtWalk is coming up soon and I will be displaying some of my new works at Sushi Village in Whistler for the summer as well as in my Gallery.

The next show that is coming up will be "The Forest for The Trees" and group show with a forest theme will transform the gallery into a lush green forest, complete with a fresh cedar smell and forest sounds playing all the time. I will be inviting a number of talented local photographers into the show as well as the usual artists that I represent here. It will most likely be towards the end of August to give everyone a tonne of time, but it might happen sooner so keep an eye on the blog!

that's it that's all...

Upcoming classes

Posted May 14 2010 by Chili Thom

Well,

Im off in 3 days for a beautiful surf vacation in NIcaragua...sorry to make you jealous! While I am away I will be filming a short B-grad horror film for our annual B-grade horro film festival...good times I must say!!

My friend Hayley will be looking after the gallery while I am gone. If you are in town and wish to book a viewing with her you can call her at 604 698 7376. She isn't handling any other business aspects for me though...

Upon my return I will beteaching a 2 day acrylics workshop through the Whistler Arts Council. Focusng on colour theory and effectively creating depth in your work.

Here are the two links for more information:

http://www.whistlerartscouncil.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=233&Itemid=459

http://www.facebook.com/photo_search.php?oid=121551367874717&view=user#!/event.php?eid=121551367874717&ref=mf

Have a great spring...I sure will

New Prints just released

Posted May 1 2010 by Chili Thom

Just a quick note that I have finally released a limited run of paper prints of "The Light at the end of the tunnel" they are 18 x 24 and are avaiable at my Etsy store Read More

A sigh of relief

Posted Apr 30 2010 by Chili Thom

I can breath deeply now that I have made it through the most hectic, busy and exciting year of my life. This season was crazy. I managed to open my gallery, totally kill it at the 2010 Olympics and Paralympics and finished the season of with a successful group show at the gallery. It might not sound like that much, bt trust me, it nearly finished me off..now it's time for me to step back and relax for a little bit to recharge and coast on my successes for a bit. I feel that I was hit with the 'overachiever bug' on my birthday last year and I have finally kicked it! The timing was right though and it was a chance of a lifetime... I'm glad I didn't blow it.

Now it's time for me to focus on my gallery and to start spending more time painting for myself. My next plans, whenever I can pull it off is for a show at my gallery called "The forest for the trees" and it will be all lush, green west coast forests. It should make a great impact in my space and I will be incorporating some little extras in the multi-media world to make it something extra special. I'll be sending updates on that as the pieces come to life. I don't want to claim a date yet so that I don't have to chase my tail to meet it!

For those of you who were interested in prints of the "CTV Olympic Breakfast" piece that I painted live during the games...I finally have prints available. They are 18x36 paper prints and are going for $99. I will post them up on my site when I get a second. I will also be making prints of "Float on" in the next few weeks. It's a geat piece and dozens of people were asking about it during the show...gotta keep the crowd happy :)

In other news... I will be away in NIcaragua for 3 weeks mid May to relax, surf and film a B-grade horror movie... Good times on all accounts! If anyone is looking for a print or painting for a specific event (birthday,wedding) that you might need it around early June please let me know asap so I can make arrangements before I go away.

I hope you all get a chance to get out and smell the flowers this spring! Remember to take time for yourself, slow down and enjoy life as it comes...I just remembered to do that myself!

Mid way through the show

Posted Apr 24 2010 by Chili Thom

It's 7pm right now and this is the halfway point of the group show at the gallery. It has been great. Over a hundred people through here already and the next night time onslought is about to happen. Sales have been good and the artistic turnout is amazing. The best artists in the area have come together to put on a fantastic show! Paintings, sculpture, jewelery, prints, t-shirts and stickers. I did a video walk through,but I cant upload it from my compuer...soon I promise, just so you can see what it looks like in here!

This is the start of the revoluton in Whistler in terms of art and culture. Keep an eye out on ths town cuz things are changing and the artists are on the forefront! It feels really awesome to finally have a space that can showcase to the world what a great art scene we have in this part of the world.

Thanks for the support... keep your eyes peeled...it's all happening now!!

some music for you

Posted Apr 13 2010 by Chili Thom

Here is a mix I did a while back. It's a nice and smooth midtempo blend of beats perfect for chillin on the beach, at home or even a mellow drive in the country!

Enjoy

follow this link:

https://www.yousendit.com/download/bFFNZHlpTk1ENlJjR0E9PQ

Upcoming sho

Posted Apr 10 2010 by Chili Thom

HI Everyone,

I am having a big group show on April 24th at the Gallery noon until LATE.
There will be several new artists in the mix with a large assortment of work. There will be new paintings, loads of prints, more jewelery,stickers and T-shirts!

This is the first show I've had here since the opening because of the whirlwind of excitement with the Olympics... and I am really looking forward to it. This is an opportunity for you to come out and see what the Whistler art scene has to offer!

I am putting all of my prints on sale at 20% (on the 24th only) and I will have a number of different pieces that I have created both live and as an experiment in style. If you are a collector then a few of the pieces that are up for grabs have a cool story behind them and were instrumental in the evolution of my style.

Here are some links to the websites of the other artists that I will have at the show:
http://planetpili.com/
http://www.davebarnes.ca/
http://www.bocaseda.com/
http://christyfeaver.com/home.html
http://tifdyl.com/
http://davepetko.com/
http://vanessastarkart.com/
http://smackaysmith.com/
http://www.laurelterlesky.ca/

As well, just a reminder about the art class I am teaching down in Baja Mexico. It is booked through ACE Camps and will be really fun. It is a week full of surfing, snorkeling, art gallery tours and of course, art class with yours truly! I will do 2 days of workshops on how to paint water and waves, which is very tough to do. Then after you have a better understanding of the techniques we will work on a big collaborative piece that will be donated to the local soccer club so that the kids can afford to travel to all of their away games ( a great cause in my eyes).
For more information on this visit:
http://www.ritchieacecamps.com
It will be a fun week of hanging out n the sunshine in the water and getting to know some great people.

I hope you can make it to the show! If you can't maybe you could let anyone else know that might be in town and want to come check out some great art!

I hope you have a great weekend!
Thanks for your support

Chili

Stuff 'n Things

Posted Apr 7 2010 by Chili Thom

It sure feels nice to be back in the swing of things at my gallery. The plans for the showsale on April 24th are coming aling nicely. I have a bunch of other local artists on board for the event. I will be offeering a 20%on my work that day in order to move some overstock and make room for the new pieces I have planned for the next few months.

I have just had a published artist feature online at http://www.thenewnew.ca/2010/04/05/art-feature-chili-thom/ check it out to get some more insight in my art.

The mural project I was a part of is moving to a new loacation for a few weeks. If you are in the area go and check it out...it's a really cool collaborative piece...

The Kunamokst mural will be on the move tomorrow March 30th. We will be heading to West Vancouver and taking the mural down and moving it that same day over to its new home for 17 days- COQUITLAM CENTRE in COQUITLAM BC. Then the mural on April 18th will be moved and displayed at the VICTORIA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT until JUNE 18th. Which at that time it will be moved to its final resting place GALIANO ISLAND!! There will be a great artists celebration on that day. A very proud day for us all. A great collaboration that has gained fans already from around the world. The details of that day will be announced in much more detail soon but circle June 20th for a visit to GALIANO ISLAND.

I am currently working on a label for Whistler Brewery for their new local Lager... if you are in Whistler come try a beer, and keep the art on the bottle!

that's it that's all for now! Thanks for believing

Back in my head

Posted Apr 2 2010 by Chili Thom

I just got back from a great week on Vancouver Island surfing and relaxing. I got to witness a crazy stormin Tofino...24 foot waves, 80 km winds, sideways hail and pure chaos in the ocean...it was amazing to experience. I got loads of inspiration for some lush forest scenes and I think that will the theme for my next big show. Imagine a room full of lush green forest paintings...yum!

I have just updated my Etsy site and I have all of my available prints listed there now so check it out and see if there is something new!

I am planning a big sale at my gallery on the 23-24 of April during the World Ski and Snowboard Festival. I'm going to have 20% savings on my stuff and I am getting a lot of new artists in soon as well. There will be lots of prints, originals and over stock. The jewelers are bringing in some new stock too... I still need to get my links page set up on my site so you can check out all the other amazing artists and jewelers that I have in the gallery now... that will happen in time...baby steps, baby steps.

I have done a few live pieces during the Olympics that I am just cleaning up now and they will be on sale as well. There will be images of them on the site as soon as I finish them up.

just a reminder that there is still room for people in the art class I am teaching down in the Baja. It's 8 days of surfing, art, boat trip, a dj set by yours truely at a resort, and I will be teaching you how to paint water and waves. The group will also do a collaborative painitng that the proceed from will go to a local kids soccer club to help them travel to all their games!

Go to www.ritchieacecamps.com for more information

Thanks for being amazing!!

22 hours and counting

Posted Mar 20 2010 by Chili Thom

wow... I thought I was busy for the Olympics... My Paralympic involvement has been off the hook.

Surfing and Art

Posted Mar 10 2010 by Chili Thom

I’m teaching a workshop in Pescadero, Baja, Mexico. Join me for 8 days of adventure, culture and education. Learn to paint water and waves, take surfing lessons, dance at a party as I spin at Rancho Pescadero, go on a catamaran cruise though the Pacific Ocean to Santa Maria Beach, spend a night at Los Milagros Hotel in Cabo San Lucas, collaborate on a painting we will donate to Baja kids’ soccer…and much more. For more information go to www.ritchieacecamps.com. Space is limited.

Absolutely Tree-riffic -Olympic Live Painting

Posted Mar 9 2010 by Chili Thom

This is a piece I painted Live in the Village Square during the Olympics.

I got to watch my friend Ashliegh McIvor win the Gold Medal for the womens skier cross... it was a very happy day for all of whistler. Because she won gold that day I decided to put a little gold paint in the piece in her honour.

The painting is very textured and measures 16" x 24".
It's for sale for $425

The Aftermath

Posted Mar 9 2010 by Chili Thom

It's been a week now since the Olympics is over... seems like the town is just starting to get back to normal...but it feels different. The general level of Extreme Stokedness during the games has passed...I miss it I must say! But we have the Paralympics coming up next week so hopefully we get the same buzz in the village again.

My Role as Artistsic Director of the Whistler portion of the Closing Ceremonies Athletes Parade has been keeping me very busy. plans are coming along nicley now though and almost all the components are in place.It's been a big task with a small budget, but i am confident that it will be a great welcoming impact to the athletes. I will have tonnes of photos from the event so keep your eyes peeled on the blog for what it was all about.

I am looking forward to having a few days off at the end of it all... but first I got hired to DJ the after party in the Athletes Village.. pretty sweet I must say! Then it's time for a few days of surfing and no technology!

I will be having a big one day sale on any excess stock that I have left over from the games... more info will follow...just planting the seed now!

I'll also have some more imaes of the live pieces I did during the games online soon. The piece that I auctioned off for the Whistler Adaptive Sports Program raised $1800 for the cause... hooray! Feels great to be able to help with such a worthy cause!

Thanks for the continued support!

Lots of celebration, lots of fun and lots of work! Whistler Olympics

Posted Feb 25 2010 by Chili Thom

It's been a long fun filled road with the Olympics in my home town. Lots of celebration, lots of fun and lots of work!

I just finished painting in the Athlete's village today and I am gearing up to go DJ at Maxx Fish tonight... and thankfully I have no more scheduled events for the weekend so i will get a chance to wind down a little bit before heading straight in to the Artistic direction of the parade... wow!

April will be my time to take a deep breath and sigh heavily.

Here is a photo my friend Blake Jorgenson took of me DJing at the medals plaza in Whistler right before we were awarded our first gold in Whistler to a Canadian... it was pretty crazy, but really fun!

Live painting at the Olympics...

Posted Feb 23 2010 by Chili Thom

Today I'll be on the Village Stroll at noon painting live so come say hi and watch how it all comes together.

See you there!

And if you haven't made a bid yet on the CTV / WASP peice, there's only a couple hours left. The procedes from this painting are being donated to WASP.

One day left for auction

Posted Feb 22 2010 by Chili Thom

Well, yet another great day here in Whistler. The sun is shinning and so are all the smiles on literally everyone's faces. Olympic fever has hit Whistler hard... in a good way!

Today I am planning the Parade lead in for the athletes parade leading in to the paralympics at the end of March. I am designing te float, organizing performers, planning music, and wrangling talent and helpers...going to be big project, but really fun at the same time!

Tomorrow from noon until 430pm I will live painting in the village again in the Town PLaza. It's really fun to be able to create in the thick of the excitment...it's hard to wipe the smile off my face when I am painting!

Just giving a heads up that the Auction for the Piece I painted on Olympic Breakfast on Valentine's Day it ending in 1 day. The proceeds will go to The Whistler Adaptive Sports Program. You cn bid directly on the Ebay widget on my home page...it's all for a good cause, so don't be shy.

Have a great day... I sure will!

I love the Olympics!

Posted Feb 21 2010 by Chili Thom

Wow... I was a bit of a nay sayer about the Olympics before it came to town...but I gotta say, I'm having the best time ever!

I got To DJ at Medals Plaza right before the medals Ceremony lastnight...soooo much fun. the energy was electric and we got our first Gold Medal in Whistler for a Canadian. Yay!

I have a few more crazy DJ events and a few more live painting demonstrations as well. I will be painting in the Town Plaza in the Village on feb 23rd from noon until 430pm. Swing by if you are in town!

Gotta run, lots to do!

W.A.S.P.

Posted Feb 17 2010 by Chili Thom

The CTV piece I painted live will be auctioned off and the proceeds will go to th WHISTLER ADAPTIVE SPORTS program

I forgot to include the website before for information...so here it is

http://www.whistleradaptive.com/

I am Djing at the Whistler Lulu Lemon store tonight. PLaying a fun world flavour set. Stop on by if you are in town. It goes from 8pm til 11pm

Thanks to everyone's support and interest in my work. I am very appreciative of all the great comments and kind words! It inspires me to keep doing what I am doing as I believe I am on my true path in life now!

Enjoy the rest of the games...GO WORLD!!

CTVPainting Auction has begun

Posted Feb 16 2010 by Chili Thom

HI Everyone. I have just listed the CTV Live painting I did on Ebay...it was the easiest auctioning software I could sort out. the item is listed as:

CTV Olympic Breakfast Live Painting by Chili Thom - 150415021533

happy bidding...it's for a great cause! Whistler Adaptive Sports Program (WASP) is a not-for-profit society that provides year-around, recreational programs for people of all ages with disabilities.
www.whistleradaptive.com

The Games

Posted Feb 16 2010 by Chili Thom

Well,

the hype in Whistler is finally here. the town is buzzing with free concerts, art and the whole world. It's been a fun few days and it is only building up steam. As more and more medals are won the more the excitment grows!

The Piece that I painted live on CTV's Olympic Breakast will be auctioned off online on February 18th. Look on my site for details. Most likely it will be done thru Ebay to maximise exposure so it can generate lots of funding for W.A.S.P. (whistler adapive sports program). I will put out another blog post with more details when I have them. I will also put something on the site.

And in other news, The Mural Mosaic project that I participated in has been unvieled. You can check it out at http://www.muralmosaic.com/kunamokst.html

I'm gearing up for my big DJ gig as well. I am headlining at the Medals stage on Feb 20th from 6-730pm...if you are in town come and check me out and shake your groove thing!

More updates ocome in the next few days!

Go Canada!

Olympic Breakfast on CTV

Posted Feb 13 2010 by Chili Thom

I have just been asked to do a live painting on Olympic Breakfast on CTV, Canada's Olympic station. Should be a good time. I have 6 hrs to complete a piece that will be auctioned off and the proceeds will go to a good cause.

the catch... after working my gallery all day and DJing for 5 hrs tonight (until 230 am) I will be starting the painting at 3 am until 9am. The show goes live on the east coast at 3am PST.

If you happen to be making coffee in the wee hours of the morning, tune in to CTV and see what I am able to pull off in 6 hrs...

Wish me luck!!

It begins tomorrow

Posted Feb 11 2010 by Chili Thom

Well, tomorrow is the big day...the start of the 2010 Olympic Games! Th madness will be coming down the line in T Minus 18hrs.

I've been booked for 3 more DJ gigs and one more live painting gig in the Athletes Village. I also am going to be doing some Live Painting for CTV's Olympic show. Dont have the date locked down yet, but I'll let you know. I have 6 hrs to complete a painting and then it will be auctioned off and the proceeds will go to a good cause (to be determined) It should be interesting... I have to work my gallery all day, then DJ for 5 hours and THEN go into the village and start painting at 3am for 6hrs....WOW!! I need a RedBull Sponsorship!!

I have poster prints of "Right PLace, Right Time" out now....

12"x19" for $20 and 15"x26" for $30

I just had a great 5 page article come out in Mountain Life Magazine. It's their collectors edition and it looks fabulous...not just because I'm in it...it's a great magazine!

http://chilithom.com/media/press.aspx

Thanks for caring!!

Just Days away

Posted Feb 9 2010 by Chili Thom

wow...only 3 days until the 2010 Olympic Games... It's been a long build up to the famed games. Loads of construction, parking restrictions, guys with guns and mandatory buses. Right now it's the calm before the storm. We all have our fingers crossed in Whistler that all the games have to offer will be offered to Whistler and not just Vancouver.

It's been years of long days and late nights for me to get ready for the next month and a bit and I'm feeling confident that I couldn't be any better situated than I am now to really benefit from the worlds media exposure. I'm on the top 7 list of people to talk to in terms of art and culture...that goes a long way!

I am just about finished sorting out my stock and stretching all my prints. Once I have all my stock up and the gallery organized I will do a little video walk through for those of you who live far away from Whistler. It'll look full and amazing! I'm really stoked with what i have managed to build up and create all from the fruits of my creativity!

I just got hired to do some live painting in the Athletes Village on the 15th...that's just across the highway from my gallery so hopefully that will help bring over some traffic.

Well...wish me luck! Thanks for following my updates and offering your support!

GO TIME!!

Posted Jan 29 2010 by Chili Thom

Hi there,

sorry it's been a while since my last update... I have been going full tilt getting ready for the Olympics that are now only 2 weeks away. I've got my gallery dialed in, my prints all ordered up and pretty much everything else I can possibly do to nail it on my chance of a lifetime... I definitely won't blow it!

If anyone will be up in Whistler during games time here is a list of art things, dj gigs and just cool stuff during the games:

Feb 9th         Tommy Africa's Night Club...djing with Alib from the UK and hosting the first annual "Unofficial Olympic High Kick Contest"
Feb 11th       Maxx Fish Night Club... djing for The Troutsmens fundraiser for "Whistler Adaptive            Sports Program" proceeds go to buy the program a new sit ski for disabled skiers.
Feb 17th    LuLuLemon Store...DJing a world music night in store...gonna be fun
Feb 18th       Live painting in Village Square from 11:15 am until 630pm...come see how I do what I do
Feb 20th       Headline DJing the medals stage to 5000 people right before the medals ceremonies... wow... so stoked on this one!!!
Feb 23rd      Live Painting in Village Square from 11:15am til 430 pm
Feb 24th      Maxx Fish Night Club...Djing with legendary DJ Vinyl Richie
Feb 25th      Maxx Fish Night Club... djing with DJ Moochie Mambo
Feb 27th      My Birthday...hooray!!

Lots of goodness for March and the Para Olympics as well, but I'll update that stuff later.

I am going to have my artwork all over town so there are lots of places to check it out:
The Media center, Dignitaries lounge, The Roundhouse on Whistler Mountain, Sushi Village for ArtWalk, Whistler Real Estate, Street To Peak window display, Artwork projected on the snow for 17 days for the Fire and Ice show at the base of Whistler...the list goes on...oh, and of course my own gallery. I will have a full stock of all my available prints so it will be a good time to see the full range of my work all in one space!

Also if you read German I just had a Feature in GEO (germany's national geographic) I will have a 5 page spread in Mountain Life Magazine for the Olympics issue. If you are in the states keep your eyes peeled on the Weather Channel for a little piece they did on the arts and culture scene in Whistler. Tourism Canada did a little feature on WHistler as well that I was featured in.

At the end of the Para Olympics I am art directing the lead in float and spectacle for the Athletes parade to the closing ceremonies... so if you see something big and cool on TV... my team and I will have done that!

Ok Ok...enough about all that... thanks for all your great support over the years! I wouldn't be situated where I am today without it...

Here is my latest piece that I am sure will do well over the next while... it's called "Right PLace, Right Time"   wish me luck..IT"S GO TIME!!!!

Things are looking up!

Posted Jan 16 2010 by Chili Thom

wow, what a journey life has given me... I'm super stoked to be where I am today tho! The Olympics will be keeping me busy with art shows, live painting, DJ gigs, and TV interviews...it's nice to say I am ready for it!!

Here is a new piece I just finished. It's called "Goodnight Sweetheart" and is 8 x 16 for $425

Thanks for the support!

New Chili Thom Whistler Art Gallery Finally Opens

Posted Dec 13 2009 by Chili Thom

After 7 years in the Making i have finally opened the doors to my new gallery. the grand opening was on November 28th and was a huge success! Over 300 people came through the doors in support of my new venture! Thanks to all thos people and thanks to you for your continued support!

I couldn't have done it without your help!!

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I'mOffering up a 25% discount on all items on my Etsy site for the next week. Feel free to share the code: summerof69
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