When I (aka me) was a kid, I'd constantly be on the lookout for pieces around the city done by a certain artist: Chad MacDonald. Whenever I would stumble upon some, they would always blow me away. His pieces stood out from the rest because his style was so different from the cookie-cutter pieces of other artists in the area. He had fantastic ideas, and was able to execute them using a spraycan with ease. He'd paint just because he liked to, rather than have it be some kind of ploy for fame, and his pieces clearly reflected that. Art without ego is a beautiful thing.
The first time I met Chad, I was in the middle of trying to figure out how to use a spraycan by painting my nickname under a bridge...and failing miserably. (Seriously, this thing was the worst piece of shit you've ever seen. If I were to post a picture of it now, my parents would disown me, my girlfriend would break up with me, and you'd never visit this site again. Really awful.) Anyway, Chad strolls on up, introduces himself, and gets really excited about what I'm painting, telling me how awesome it looks. It wasn't of course, but his encouragement was. Having someone who was so good at what they do, encourage you (even when you suck), just pushed me to keep practicing and get better.
While I never got even remotely good at using a spraycan, Chad is still one of my all time favorite artists, and he's continued to be a very positive influence on everything I've created since.
Anyway, Chad has a solo art show starting today, and you absolutely need to go check it out. It runs at the NAC on 354 St.Paul Street, St.Catharines until October 2nd. Don't sleep on it!
More information on it can be found HERE.
-Eric Pause ¶ 2:07 PM
