Can You Play with Me? II

10×10″

Mixed Media on Panel

This is a bitter sweet story.

At the end of 2008, a man by the name Shawn Findley put up an online call in Vancouver for a “Vancouver Art Box Show.” The idea of the group show was that all artists would create a piece of art with the same wooden panel (buying from the organizer) for a one-night group exhibition. All art would be sold for $100 CDN. I made two boxes. This one was sold at the show to a friend of mine. (The other was sold through Doctor Vigari Gallery the following month–thankfully.)

The buyers had already paid the organizer for the box. Weeks had passed since the promised date of payment from Shawn Findley. I contacted Vancouver Police, along with numberous other organizations such as CARFAC (Canadian Artists’ Representation, a federal non-profit corporation that is the national voice of Canada’s professional visual artist) and Gallery Gachet (to whom Shawn Findley had promised 10% of the profit.) After hours and hours over the phone, I discovered that Shawn Findley is a well-known subject to the Texan Police. He’d never had a job in his life. He swindles around to “make a living.” The box show idea was stolen from a Texan gallery whose owner had filed a harrassment report against him. Shawn Findley has many police reports against him.

Georgia Straight’s article on the scam: http://www.straight.com/article-204171/alarm-over-art-box

FB Group of the artists scammed: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=82995200184

CARFAC’s article on the scam: http://www.carfac.sk.ca/?s=resources&p=scam2

Note: I still have people contacting me once in a while to ask about this person. If you found this article because you’re dealing with Shawn Findley and are not sure about his character, I advise you read the above article and judge for yourself.

You may think…why is this one of my favourite pieces then?

This is one of my favourites because it triggered my ongoing love affair with drawing and painting on wood. Since then, I have not stopped working on wood. I am addicted to the smooth fibrous surface of the wood. In fact, right now I am working on a series of 24×24″ paintings on wood! This new medium never would have come to me if I wasn’t pushed to create this work for the “Vancouver Box Show.” Another little reason is that the hairstyle of the girl happens to be one of my favourites–I had this hairstyle for years. Finally, the experience is an awakening reminder that there are people who prey on other innocent people.

Most importantly, this piece always reminds me of the importance of always looking at everything positively.

Painting in the collector’s cottage.