The Players: Women installed outside off the Halifax Memorial Library. 304cm long x 182cm tall – 120″ long x 72″ tall. Acrylic ink on canvass suspended from zinc pipe supported by two wooden tri-pods. 2009. 
The Players: Women installed at the AKA collective in Kingston, Ontario. 406cm long x 182cm tall – 160″ long x 72″ tall. Acrylic ink on canvass suspended from zinc pipe supported by two wooden tri-pods. 2009. 
The Players: Women installed at the Bandshell in Cornwall, Ontario. 609cm long x 182cm tall – 240″ long x 72″ tall. Acrylic ink on canvass suspended from zinc pipe supported by two wooden tri-pods. 2009. 
The Players: Women installed at the Murphy’s Inn in Cornwall, Ontario. 609cm long x 182cm tall – 240″ long x 72″ tall. Acrylic ink on canvass suspended from zinc pipe supported by two wooden tri-pods. 2009. 
The Players: Women installed at Street Cafe in Sackville, New Brunswick. 305cm long x 183cm tall – 120″ long x 72″ tall . Acrylic ink on canvass suspended from zinc pipe supported by two wooden tri-pods. 2009. 
The Players: Women installed at Crumbs cafe Fredericton, New Brunswick. 610cm long x 244cm tall – 240″ long x 96″ tall. Acrylic ink on canvass suspended from zinc pipe. 2009. 
The Players: Women installed at Blockhouse Park in Merrickville, Quebec. 610cm long x 244cm tall – 240″ long x 96″ tall. Acrylic ink on canvass suspended from zinc pipe supported by two wooden tri-pods. 2009. 
The Players: Women installed at The Manhattan in Moncton, New Brunswick. 610cm long x 183cm tall – 240″ long x 72″ tall. Acrylic ink on canvass suspended from zinc pipe supported by two wooden tri-pods. 2009. 
Developing The Players: Women live in Harvard Cambridge, Massachusetts. Acrylic ink on canvass. 2008. (photo by Rick Kresta) 
Developing The Players: Women live in Central Park, New York. Acrylic ink on canvass. 2008. 
Developing The Players: Women live in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Acrylic ink on canvass. 2008. (photo by Karol Orzechowski) 
Sheila Watt Cloutier. 122cm x 152cm – 48” x 60” inches. Acrylic ink on canvass. 2009. 
Ella Josephine Baker. 122cm x 152cm – 48” x 60” inches. Acrylic ink on canvass. 2009. 
Irena Sendler. 122cm x 152cm – 48” x 60” inches. Acrylic ink on canvass. 2009.
Having been working on “The Players” series for two years I wanted to focus on women since my research has disproportionately leaned towards man so far. A set of Library of Congress cards “Women Who Dare v.2.” served as a jumping off point form choosing who I would end up researching and painting.
The work was primarily developed in studio with a few exceptions where I have taken a number of pieces out to a park in Toronto, Winnipeg, New York and Boston, initiating a performative vending happening. It was a great way to have a variety of interaction between the artist, the object, its creation, message and audience. Once completed I toured the work throughout Eastern Canada as part of a month long art project “We Made a Deal with the Devil” art and music tour* organized by MeThinks Presents.
Like with earlier paintings in the series, the works continue to emote the style of propaganda posters. Unlike with earlier works which solely focused on black and white portraiture and colour background this series was an opportunity to design a narrative about the person and their contribution to society. I really enjoyed the challenge of conducting regular burst of research on each of the individuals and quickly synthesizing the research into a painting.
*The tour was inspired by “La Chasse-galerie” a cautionary French-Canadian legend. It was comprised of two major traveling exhibitions: a “Portage Gallery” of drawings by over 100 artists and “The Players – Women” my poster style painting as well as a shifting roster of music bands.